New Discovery+ show exploits children in drag
May 2, 2022
The streaming service Discovery+ is launching a new show this summer called “Generation Drag.”
According to Deadline, the Tyra Banks-produced show will follow five teenagers and their families as they prepare for “their biggest drag performance at Dragutante, a drag show designed as a platform for LGBTQ+ teens to express themselves.”
A trailer for the series shows the five teen stars, some or all of whom are clearly minors, parading around in heavy makeup, high heels, wigs, and skimpy clothing, to the applause of their friends, family, and adult drag queens. Some of the parents clearly have reservations about letting their kids perform in drag, but feel pressure to support their children and help them feel accepted.
Discovery+ is owned by WarnerMedia Discovery, the same company behind the failed CNN+ experiment. Shows about children struggling with their gender identity are nothing new for WarnerMedia Discovery. They also own TLC, which has been airing the show “I Am Jazz” for seven seasons now. “I Am Jazz” documents 14-year-old transgender girl Jazz Jennings throughout her life, including three gender reassignment surgeries and their resulting complications, as well as her mental health issues.
At least one of the children featured on “Generation Drag” is also transgender, which Discovery+ highlighted at great length in the trailer. Apparently, Discovery+ believes that exploiting children struggling with gender dysphoria is a major selling point for their new show. Perhaps it’s no surprise then that they chose Tyra Banks to executive produce “Generation Drag.” The former model used to host the hit reality show “America’s Next Top Model,” where she was accused of psychologically abusing contestants and subjecting them to dangerous work conditions.
The number of children who identify as transgender has exploded in recent years. Between the years “2016 and 2017, the number of gender surgeries for natal females in the US quadrupled; in the UK, the rates of gender dysphoria for teenage girls are up 4,400 percent over the previous decade.”
Experts such as Abigail Shrier, who has written extensively on this topic, believe that this “transgender craze seducing our daughters” is just that — a craze. It’s a social contagion driven by a mixture of peer pressure and normalization, which preys on a teenager’s natural desire to belong and fit in with friends.
Hundreds of people who go through gender reassignment surgery end up regretting it, but that’s not a statistic you’re likely to hear from Discovery+ because they’re only interested in one side of the conversation. With shows like “Generation Drag,” they’re normalizing and glorifying the condition of gender dysphoria, thus fostering the social contagion.