The last time I visited Tennessee was in 2016. I spent a few days exploring the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I had a grand old time.
But that was before I got my Bob Dylan T-shirt. If I went back to Tennessee today, I’d have to think twice about packing my Bob Dylan T-shirt. I’d be afraid that if I wore it in public, I might get arrested.
My wife gave me my Bob Dylan T-shirt. It’s gray and prominently features a black and white photo of Dylan, circa the 1960s, playing a harmonica. Above the picture it says “Bob Dylan” in pink letters.
One day, Fred was putting the shirt on me. Fred is the senior member of my pit crew, which is what I call the crew of people I’ve hired to do stuff like get me dressed and lift me out of bed and into my wheelchair. And Fred said, “This is a woman’s shirt, you know.” I said, “Why? Just because the letters are pink?” Fred said he could tell it was a woman’s shirt by looking at the sleeves. But even after he put it on me, I didn’t notice any difference except maybe the sleeves were a little shorter.
My wife acknowledged that not only was it indeed a woman’s shirt, but she was well aware of that fact when she purchased it for me. But she said she’d be quite disappointed in me if I didn’t wear it anyway because no one will ever notice and, so what if they do.
I’ve worn the T-shirt many times since then and nobody has said a word about it or looked at me askance. Nobody else seems to have as keen an eye as Fred for the finer details of fashion.
But in Tennessee they seem to be acutely aware of, and sensitive about, that sort of thing. As you may know, earlier this year the Republican-led Tennessee state legislature passed the infamous Senate Bill 3, which prohibits any “adult cabaret performance” from taking place on public property or anywhere where it might be seen by someone who is not an adult. Among those under the law that qualify as adult cabaret performers are male and female impersonators.
I’d fear that if I were to wear my Bob Dylan T-shirt in Tennessee, one of those hair-trigger, anti-drag vigilantes might be offended by the sleeves, determine that I am impersonating a female in public, and report me to the authorities.
And apparently Republican lawmakers aren’t the only Tennesseans who are all uptight about drag. In January, protesters gathered outside a Tennessee donut shop where a drag brunch was taking place that was open only to people aged eighteen and older. The protesters displayed a Nazi flag.
So I’d fear that if I were to wear my Bob Dylan T-shirt in Tennessee, one of those hair-trigger, anti-drag vigilantes might be offended by the sleeves, determine that I am impersonating a female in public, and report me to the authorities.
The law was supposed to go into effect July 1, but a federal judge has enjoined the law for now, calling it an “unconstitutional restriction on the freedom of speech.” So I guess that buys me a little time to wear my Bob Dylan T-shirt in public in the state of Tennessee without risking being detained for attempting to indoctrinate children.