Drag panic

Drag panic (also called drag queen panic or anti-drag hysteria) is a moral panic that stems from the belief that exposure to drag, especially for minors, can be harmful, due to its perceived sexual nature. Drag panic has motivated protests and attacks against the LGBTQ+ community by extremist groups, and often includes the belief that all-ages drag performances are attempts by the LGBTQ+ community to sexualize or recruit children.

Anti-drag sentiment (and broader anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment), which had been building for a number of years, became more prominent in 2019. Since then, a series of rallies and counter-rallies have been held in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and in other countries, largely against drag queens reading children's books at family events. Throughout 2022, there were at least 141 incidents of protests and harassment towards drag events in the United States alone. Drag panic has been suggested as a motivator for the fire bombing of an Oklahoma doughnut shop and the Club Q mass shooting, among other violent incidents.