Notre Dame Defends Drag Show, Claims the Display Isn't Counter to Church Teachings
It was not that long ago (perhaps even as recently as the 1990s) that drag and cross-dressing were the punchlines to various jokes.
If you watched any number of 90s sitcoms growing up, there was invariably an episode where a male protagonist, for one reason or another, dresses in drag.
Heck, Robin Williams starred in a feature-length film whose whole premise was that he needed to dress up as “Mrs. Doubtfire,” and yes, that movie was largely a comedy. Even in the early 2000’s, like in 2002’s “Juwanna Mann,” cross-dressing was a joke and a punchline.
Somewhere in the last two decades, however, drag and cross-dressing leapfrogged its joke status into something more… normalized? Even celebrated?
It’s a worrisome development to be sure, but one that many people who grew up in the 90s assumed would stay at the fringes of society, even if it did become more accepted.
Well. You know what they say about assuming.
Not only has drag and cross-dressing not stayed at the fringes of society… it’s infiltrated some of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in America.
Case in point, the University of Notre Dame (you know, the Catholic part of the classic “Catholics vs. Convicts” college football rivalry with the University of Miami Hurricanes) recently came under fire for allowing and promoting an upcoming drag show on its campus.
Slated for Nov. 3, “What a Drag: Drag on Screen – Variations and Meanings” is going to be a symposium on the history of drag — followed by a performance.
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Given that, by its own mission statement, Notre Dame is a “Catholic academic community” that is “dedicated to the pursuit and sharing of truth for its own sake,” the move was swiftly met with resistance.
As Fox News notes, students staged a protest over this clear violation of their Catholic doctrine, but received nary a satisfactory response.
If students complained via email, they were greeted with an automated message from the school president, Father John Jenkins, that offered the following empty platitude, per The Federalist:
“We defend this freedom even when the content of the presentation is objectionable to some or even many. The event you reference is part of a one-credit course in Film, Television and Theater on the history of drag, and the principle of academic freedom applies.”
Perhaps even more tone-deaf than Jenkins’ response was the response from the mastermind behind this whole debacle, Pam Wojcik, the chair of the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre at the prestigious school.
Wojcik spoke to Campus Reform and didn’t just defend drag, but seemed to imply that the only reason its vilified is because of… Republicans?
“So, do you have any evidence that the Church has opinions about drag one way or the other? ‘Cause I don’t,” Wojcik told Campus Reform.
It’s unclear how Campus Reform responded, but even the most theologically challenged mind could easily Google “What does God think of men and women?” and find evidence of the Church speaking against drag.
Deuteronomy 22:5 is actually pretty clear and obvious about it:
“The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God.”
That seems… pretty cut and dry, no? There’s not a lot of room for interpretation when it comes to the word “abomination.”
Wojcik, whose educational bona fides are clearly already in question, doubled down on her nonsense when she spoke to Campus Reform.
“I don’t see any reason that drag would be perceived as being anti-Catholic in any way,” Wojcik said. “It does have its long tradition.”
Some other choice and bizarre quotes from Wojcik (who, it cannot be stressed enough, is an educator with some semblance of power and influence at one of the most recognizable schools in America) included:
- “There is no evidence of drag ever hurting anyone and I don’t think it’s counter to the teachings of the Church, I don’t think it’s counter to the teachings of Notre Dame.”
- “[B]ecause the national conversation about drag has this distorted view, it really is just trying to give students the opportunity to learn about something in a rational, intellectual environment, rather than through this sort of hysteria of Republicans trying to ban something that they don’t understand.”
- “Drag has been central to all of these entertainment forms and part of the reason we’re doing this class in Film, TV, and Theatre is because there’s a lot of misperception about what drag is.”
Look, this piece is not meant to disparage the entirety of Notre Dame’s faculty. Surely there are good, honest, Biblical teachers at the school who see this farce for what it is.
And to be sure, college students are mostly adults who can choose to partake in this facicial act. This isn’t a “youth drag show” or some similar nonsense.
There’s nothing to argue against consenting adults partaking in debauchery. The argument here is that Notre Dame, an ostensibly faith-driven university, should not be helping proliferate this rot whatsoever.
But as long as this sort of rot exists anywhere in the faculty or on campus, Notre Dame should really stop calling itself a “Catholic academic community” and accept that the school has become just another far-left bastion masquerading as “higher education.”
This entire drag show debacle — and the school’s shocking lack of understanding pertaining to biblical truths — is proof of that.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
