Arkansas Bill

and that’s really dangerous for trans students, trans individuals,” Danzy said. Former Bryant student Amari Green believes that the language of the bill was meant to target the LGBTQ+ community.

“I honestly think it’ll cause more fear than good. Now people can’t openly be honest as to who they are, so they have to take extra measures to be able to do it in private,” former Bryant student Amari Green said. “Honestly, it’s taken a long time for the LGBTQ+ community to get to where we are now, but we’re slowly going back in time. And I think this bill is just the beginning.”

Opponents of the original bill argued that drag is an art form and allows for expression and representation of the LGBTQ+ community.

“A lot of the diction used to describe [drag] recently, especially in Arkansas has been that it’s like, sexually provocative and it’s dangerous to the innocence of children, but I freely express themselves through drag.

“I believe the bill takes away people’s free right of expression. It really does show people’s ignorance and closed mindedness when it comes to people being their authentic selves on their own terms,” Green said.

The original bill sparked protests at the state capitol on Jan. 19, and many claim that Arkansas has a pattern of anti-trans legislation.

This bill followed other similar legislation directed at the transgender community, such as a 2021 bill that banned gender-affirming health care for transgender children, as well as another bill that banned transgender girls from competing on girls’ sports teams in school. More recently, House Bill 1156, filed on Jan. 17, proposes that all students at public schools or open-enrollment public charter schools must use the bathroom that corresponds with their sex assigned at birth.

According to Danzy, instead of limiting the rights of individuals, our community should be encouraging people to explore their identities.

“People think that they’re confused. Even if you think they’re confused, why aren’t you letting them explore themselves,” Danzy said. “Our community should be open to allowing children especially to explore who they are. Instead we’re trying to limit that behavior, and we see it as a behavior, see it as a phase, but it’s not a phase. It’s their identity, and we shouldn’t stop people from being who they are.” really just think it’s a form of expressing yourself and one that needs to be explored more, especially here,” Danzy said.

For Green, forcing drag out of the public eye takes away the right for individuals to