Editorial: Clements Cuties

Originally Published: September 22, 2023

Anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and actions are more prevalent thanks to blatant lies spread by conservative politicians, talk media, and just plain poor reporting. As these untruths have permeated the consciousness of Americans, and culture wars have become dominant, I fear we’ve lost the ability to see people for who they are: our fellow humans.

In 2019, St. Mary’s County experienced an uproar over Drag Queens reading books to children. Religious activists created a controversy, spurring support and backlash from opposing sides of the community. The County Commissioners stripped funding from the Library for allowing use of a public meeting room for an event that required security from the Sheriff’s Office due to actions of the religious activists.

Last weekend, the Clements Cuties held their annual Softball Showdown event at Back Road Inn. The Cuties, a charitable organization, raises money for kids with cancer and have been supporting this noble cause for decades. The Cuties are a group of men who dress in Drag to play softball and celebrate afterwards at Back Road Inn. The intention of helping families in need, and making days of sick children a little brighter is one I support, however I do see irony in this County tradition.

The Clements Cuties game was held under a billboard at Back Road Inn proclaiming “Protect Women’s Sports,” a phrase with an anti-transgender undercurrent even as the ballplayers cross-dressed for their big game. Transgender people and Drag Queens receive the most ire from conservatives, who say LGBTQ+ people are attempting to indoctrinate children by confusing them about gender to convince more people to join the LGBTQ+ cause. Seriously?

The term “Drag Queen'' originated as slang for homosexual men who cross-dressed in the clothing of another gender. The Clements Cuties don’t describe themselves as Drag Queens. They are, one assumes, heterosexual cisgender men who cross-dress. No one claims the Cuties are indoctrinating children, even as their foundation specifically raises funds for kids. No one protests the events or demands elected officials take action. Many local businesses, fire department’s, and even SMECO employees participate in this affair. Numerous Commissioners have appeared with the Clements Cuties at their events, posing for pictures and praising their work over the years. But in 2019, some of these same Commissioners spoke against the Drag Queen reading books to kids. So why hasn’t there been an outcry about the Clements Cuties? Oh the irony.

Why is it not okay for a Drag Queen to read a children’s book, but it IS okay for cross-dressing men to play softball at a “family friendly event” under a billboard with an anti-LGBTQ+ message? I can only surmise that those who are against the LGBTQ+ community, but support the Cuties, have one reason–they are discriminatorily anti-LGBTQ+.

The Cuties have raised thousands to help families in our county, and there couldn’t be a more St. Mary’s tradition than helping your neighbor. That tradition is at the heart of who we are, and it should apply across the board.

The unfortunate twist to all this is that some of the same people supporting sick children would exclude other kids from participation based on who they are, not who they were told to be.