Cumberland Council has waged a culture war on LGBTQIA+ people. In February 2024, Cumberland Council passed a motion banning drag storytime events. The ban on drag sent a hateful message that LGBTQIA+ people should not be seen in public. Three months later, they doubled down on this crusade, where Steve Christou successfully passed a ban on books with queer parents from libraries, with the support of some Labor councillors. Worryingly, Christou has also recently indicated his intention to ban public unisex toilets.

That there is no actual historic record of a drag storytime event in the Cumberland LGA goes to show that this ban was merely manufactured to incite hate.

Clearly, drag bans do not exist in isolation. The attack on drag is part of a broader attack on queerness itself. In the U.S., drag bans have been introduced alongside broader anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation and policy. In 2023, 32 bills across 17 states were introduced to suppress and/or ban drag performances at various levels of government. Tennessee, the first U.S. state to introduce a bill banning drag, have presented and passed a flurry of anti-LGBTQIA+ laws including but not limited to:

• Bans on changing the gender marker on your ID if it differs from your birth certificate

• Bans on transgender students’ participation in school sports;

• Bans on transgender students using the correct bathroom at school;

• Restrictions on youth access to transgender healthcare;

• A state-mandated definition of biological sex;

• Bans on mandatory diversity training in public education institutions; and

• Legal protections for religious adoption and foster-care agencies to discriminate against prospective LGBTQIA+ parents.

In addition to the legitimacy that the Cumberland drag ban made for further institutional homophobia, the drag ban also incited homophobic and transphobic violence within the broader Cumberland community. In protests against the drag ban, activists from Pride in Protest were intimidated and harassed by members of Christian Lives Matter. During the campaign to reverse the book ban, several LGBTQIA+ organisations and allies received threats on social media for criticising the ban and promoting the protest. At the protest against the book ban, counterprotestors used hateful and derogatory language towards us. Even for those who were not involved in the campaigns against these bans, many young, closeted LGBTQIA+ people have consequently experienced greater isolation and fear.

Furthermore, Cumberland Council has normalised the Orwellian censorship of education and the arts, which exist precisely to invite curiosity, entertainment, and community. As former Councillor Farooqi emphasised at the meeting to reverse the book ban, representation is extremely important for young people who come from marginalised communities, such as the representation of hijabis in books for Muslim children. LGBTQIA+ people exist here. We deserve to feel safe and we deserve to be seen. In the words of Suzanne Nossel, “Whether it’s youthful pranks, beloved plays, historical costumes or adult performances, the ability to dress up and play characters unlike yourself is core to artistic expression.” Cumberland Council should not be policing events that allow us to engage with the vastness of human expression and fun.

In the wake of the recent far-right rallies led by Nazis, which Councillor Christou promoted and spoke at, the primarily BIPOC immigrant population of Cumberland is frightened right now. The rise of fascism targets all communities. We must stand united against all attempts to divide us. Far right policies have no place in a diverse community like Western Sydney. Exclusion and discrimination is antithetical to the beautiful diversity that the Cumberland community thrives on.

The drag ban has created a dangerous precedent for homophobic violence and censorship.

The time is up. Cumberland Council must rescind the ban on drag storytime.