Drag panic

The drag panic (also called drag queen panic or anti-drag hysteria) is a moral panic that stems from the belief that drag, when exposed to minors, can be harmful, due to its perception as sexual in nature.

The panic, which had been building for a number of years, became more prominent in 2022, arising in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and in other countries in a series of rallies and counter-rallies related to drag queens reading children's books at storytime events to children. Throughout 2022, there were at least 141 incidents of protests and harassment towards drag events in the United States.