A Singapore politician wants to know if ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ live shows are safe for Singaporeans

The ongoing dispute between Singapore and Malaysia over its territorial waters got its day in Parliament yesterday as Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan issued a warning to our northern neighbors that there will be consequences should their vessels continue to violate the city-state’s borders.

Today, however, more pressing issues are to be discussed. Er. Dr. Lee Bee Wah — a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Nee Soon GRC — wants to know if the shows featuring celebrity drag queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race are safe for consumption in Singapore. For real.

Basically, the MP wants answers about how the young’uns here are being kept safe from the raunchy, glamorous and downright sassy content during the live drag queen performances held here. Lee’s probably asking because of late, local fans of the Emmy-winning reality TV series have been treated to frequent visits by its celebrity contestants, including Bianca Del Rio and Sasha Velour. Next month, we’ll even see RuPaul’s Drag Race World Tour making its Singapore stage debut, featuring performances from the show’s season 10 queens. Should be pretty spectacular.

But back to Lee. This is what she intends to ask the Minister for Communications and Information:

• Whether the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) has received objections to the RuPaul’s Drag Race show here.
• The criteria for approving such performances.
• How MCI deals with approval and censorship of performances dealing with LGBT issues.
• How the age restriction for the audience is determined for such shows.

Pretty stern concerns for shows that are more known for risqué, lively comedy than turning children queer — though teaching the acceptance of diversity should be encouraged anyway.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that Lee is taking aim at the shows founded by the most popular drag queen in the world — she has been known to shut down discourse concerning the state of Singapore’s LGBT equality in the past. Just last month, the MP walked out of a meeting with two of her residents after they asked for her views on Section 377A, the archaic law that criminalizes sex between men in Singapore.