Among the many, many political and societal issues surrounding the United States, the matter of opinions will always be the fire starter. There are the conservatives who would much rather silence the LGBTQ+, Black, disabled, and remotely “different” voices all around the world than ever give them basic human rights. Oppositely, there are the liberals, who campaign for positive change and equality for all. And then, there’s George Takei, who defies classification. But he does encourage everyone to watch Rupaul’s Drag Race, so we can take a wild guess at which label he falls under.
It all came to a head once Donald Trump took over, but America has been divided for decades. Conservatives believe that propaganda and peer pressure are forcing their children into “becoming” gay, transgender, etc. They also feel that shows like Rupaul’s Drag Race preaching for gay visibility and inclusion for the art of drag is two steps back for society, not forward. But as long as Takei is around, those homophobes don’t have much influence.
For a long time, Americans have been at war with one another over the entertainment material their children consume, be it books, shows, films or some other form of media. Takei took a stand on the topic, making a point out of mutual understanding. Ultimately, it all boils down to keeping one’s nose out of other people’s business. There should be no influence had over another person’s children, even if the culprit thinks it beneficial.
Takei is essentially asking to let kids be kids. If they want to watch Drag Race, they should be allowed to watch Drag Race — or any other show for that matter. It shouldn’t be the harmless content itself that deters parents from exposing their children to these platforms for the voices of minorities, only the viewing discretions for foul language and other age-restricted segments. There’s plenty of inappropriate things about Drag Race, but it isn’t the exposure of gay people nor drag queens, it’s more the expletives used by the queens.
In the end, does it really matter what book a kid reads or if they’re keeping up with every season of Drag Race? If they’re not harming anyone, what difference does it make? We can sleep a little easier knowing that George Takei stands with the LGBTQ+ community on this, always acting as a prominent voice in the fight for LGBTQ+ and immigration rights. As a gay man himself, we can always count on Takei to have our backs, even if he has to fight the entire American government.