Dr. Tuffy Love Andrews Uses Drag to Resist Homophobic Attacks

By Sarah Daponde, Publications Intern

Dr. Tuffy Love Andrews’ journey as a drag queen began as a form of resistance against homophobic attacks.

Not only is she a sociology professor at Southeastern Louisiana University, she said, “I’m a scholar, I’m a showgirl, and I’m a menace to higher education"

Xavier Guadalupe-Diaz, criminology and sociology professor, introduced Andrews. He said, “Drag also offers a powerful vehicle for resistance, activism, community building, and critical reflection.”

On the Southeastern campus, which is located along the Bible Belt, she regularly witnessed a church group called the Consuming Fire Fellowship congregate on the quad to spread their beliefs.

“You had men holding these giant signs, who were shouting sermons as you walked through the quad … and if they perceive you to be queer, they’ll call you all sorts of other slurs,” Andrews added.

She said this began a continuous cycle for her - this group would come to campus, harass students, students would show up crying to her office, and she would have to find a way to continue on with class.

She said she used drag as a vehicle to organize the community and fight back against those who “try to limit some forms of free speech while also promoting other forms of speech.”

Once she looked at these preachers through a sociological lens, she created the term “Bible Drag” to describe what she saw.

She realized their identity was a social construct and they were performing just as drag queens do, through costumes, performances, and props.

Viewing confrontational evangelism as “Bible Drag” helps her to see them from a new perspective that allows her to “take a little bit of their fire away from them,” Andrews added.

 

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