CLEVELAND — For Kyle Burnett, drag is more than just a hobby, discovering the art form after falling into a deep depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Burnett, who is nonbinary, has been living in Ohio for more than a decade and has performed as “Zoey Zegai” for five of those years. 

“It was a tough time … I found drag not only as a way of entertainment, but embracing myself as a queer member of the LGBTQ+ community,” said Burnett, who uses he/they pronouns.

While Burnett has been met with substantial support, he said, he’s noticed a recent shift in societal attitudes toward the LGBTQ+ community over the last year.

“I had my purse and was wearing short shorts because Ohio gets hot in the summertime, and I had a beer bottle thrown at me from outside of someone’s car window,” Burnett said.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 500 anti-LGBTQ bills have been proposed during the 2026 legislative session nationwide.

One of these bills is HB 249, or the “Indecent Exposure Modernization Act,” which would restrict drag performances to adult entertainment venues. The policy also changes the definition of public indecency to include “performers or entertainers who exhibit a gender identity that is different from the performer’s or entertainer’s biological sex using clothing, makeup, prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts, or other physical markers.”

TransOhio Executive Director Dara Adkison said the bill uses broad language and could criminalize gender-diverse expression.

“It’s really making a statute that law enforcement professionals get to enforce their personal ideas about what is and isn’t appropriate gender representation, what is and isn’t performance. You know, is it singing karaoke? Is it being and drag queen? I know, is it a trans person walking down?” said Adkison, who uses they/them pronouns.

While many Ohioans are expressing concerns about the bill targeting transgender people and drag performers, nonprofit Equality Ohio said, the legislation’s impact expands to athletes and countless others.

The bill revises a previous code banning the exposure of “private parts” to now ban the exposure of “private areas,” said Dwayne Steward, Executive Director of Equality Ohio.

“Because the language they use is so vague, it really can apply to anyone, really. The language has been shifted from ‘obscenity’ … someone showing their genitals … to anyone showing their ‘genital area’, which could mean anyone who’s wearing a sports bra, a cheerleader who may be showing their midriff. “

Supporters of HB 249 said the bill is meant to protect children, while others have said this argument reinforces a harmful narrative surrounding drag performances.

“People, immediately when they see drag, they think that it is something that is sexual, something that is trying to indoctrinate children, to expose them to sexual content. And that’s not the case in any capacity,” Olivia Kowslowski.

Kowslowski is born and raised in northeast Ohio, now performing as “Monica Mod.”  

Kowslowski, who started first started performing drag in Jan. 2022.

“I think that my perspective is important because it just shows that the bill is harmful to many people, including people that they were not expecting to be impacted by this,” she said. “… Most people don’t realize that when I’m in drag, I am, I’m a cisgender woman.”

While she’s become well known around her college campus’ drag scene, Kowslowski said, she and other performers are facing additional barriers.

“I have found that finding bookings is much more difficult because many venues are a lot more hesitant to host drag events at their spaces, or even support drag entertainers and their venues. Mainly from HB 249,” she said.

The Democratic Society of America’s Cleveland chapter recently announced it is launching a Gender Freedom Policy Petition that would go against “recent legislation calling to limit and ban drag performances,” calling it, “an injustice to not only the drag scene but also the broader Cleveland community.”

The petitions also includes provisions “that safeguard drag performers” and call for city-backed gender-affirming care services.

HB 249 now remains under review by the Ohio Senate and would require the governor’s signature before going into effect.

While the future remains uncertain, Burnett said, he and others in the drag community are hoping to build wider solidarity across all Ohio populations.

“We’re all just trying to live the same day-to-day life, get groceries, pay bills, drive to-and-from work. But there’s no room for hate,” Burnett said. “There’s no room for violence. We just want to feel like Ohio citizens.”