For 26 years I worked full time as an educator in my native Oklahoma. I served as a teacher, an instructional coach, an assistant principal and, most recently, as an elementary school principal. It was also 26 years ago that I began my journey as an entertainer, working as a female impersonator on the weekends. During all the time I was working at both those jobs, I was supported by both sides: gay and straight. This past year, though, when I was hired to be an elementary school principal, the hate directed at me began.
A right-wing news site published a story about my dual careers as an educator and drag performer. Libs of TikTok promoted the story and Ryan Walters, who serves as the superintendent of education in Oklahoma, joined the fray.
In August, a right-wing news site published a story about my dual careers as an educator and drag performer. The social media account Libs of TikTok promoted the story and Ryan Walters, who serves as the superintendent of education in Oklahoma, joined the fray. Walters appeared in multiple videos criticizing me as a person and saying I should be stripped of the position. He said he wanted me fired for being a drag queen. Ironically, Walters had signed my teaching certificate in April, and I had passed all the background checks and fingerprinting required by law. I was the same person then, as I am now.
I received death threats, bomb threats. Stories about me were all over the media. Why? Because others didn’t find my drag performance career acceptable. For the whole 26 years, I’ve been the same person. I have performed on the weekends and also made a difference in the lives of many students, families and teachers. It was once I was promoted to principal that the hate started. I chose to resign this month and walk away from a position I worked so hard to get.
My career in drag began as a single night of performing to raise money for HIV awareness. When I began, “drag queens” could be seen only at gay clubs across…
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