The U.S. State Department says it stands behind a $20,600 grant to fund a dozen drag shows in Ecuador through an Ecuadorian cultural center.
As the grant's recipient, the country's Centro Ecuatoriano Norteamericano (CEN) cultural center will host 12 drag performances and three workshops. The center will also create a short documentary promoting "diversity and inclusion."
But this week, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, asking for details about the grant. McCaul is the lead Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The grant is for a project that began on Sept. 30 and will run until Aug. 31, 2023.
"This award raises significant questions about the department's grantmaking decisions and the Biden administration's overall views of U.S. foreign policy objectives in the region," McCaul wrote. "It is difficult to imagine how the department determined that funding' drag theater performances' would be a worthwhile use of taxpayer dollars or consistent in any way with the program objectives outlined above."
The state department, however, said the grant "uses the arts to raise awareness about diversity and inclusion."
The center's program promotes "tolerance" and gives people in the LGBT community an opportunity to express themselves "freely and safely."
"LGBTQI+ people across the globe deserve to live in societies free from targeted violence and discrimination," the department's statement to The Christian Post said.
"The program will advance key U.S. values of diversity and the inclusion of LGBTQI+ communities as well as promote the acceptance of communities that are disproportionately affected by violence."
Meanwhile, Grace Melton, a senior associate in the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Life, Religion, and Family at the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, said the grant is a move to "promote radical gender ideology."
"But many countries around the world — particularly among those on the receiving end of American foreign assistance — find those values offensive," she stated. "It's hard to see how funding drag performances further legitimate American foreign policy priorities or improves the lives of Ecuadorians."
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/William Thome
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
