As the Ohio Legislature moves forward with a bill that would reconsider where and whether drug activity can take place. defender This week, we spoke with a performer who has been bringing the art form to local living rooms for more than a quarter of a century.
Darryl Bohannon, known as Ms. DeMoor, has built something very local and yet quietly historic. It’s a public access show that has aired for decades, weaving together drugs, conversation, and community storytelling in a format that pre-dates the current political backlash.
“I’ve been doing television for 26 years,” Bohannon said. “We celebrated our 25th anniversary last December.”
Bohannon hosts Harper’s Bazaro World Presents The Ms. Doumour Show on Dayton’s public access station DATV. Since 2000, the program has combined interviews, performances, and civic-minded segments into a platform that reflects DeMoor’s view of drag as not just entertainment, but a vehicle for authentic human connection.
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In the 2022 profile, defender described De Mua’s work as an “act of love for the community” that “brings acceptance and homosexuality into the lives of viewers” while creating space for local voices.
That is now under threat.
Ohio House Bill 249, which passed the state House in March and is being considered in the Senate, would redefine what critics call an “adult cabaret performance,” which could effectively include drag acts, and limit such performances to adult-only venues and ban them where minors are present.
The proposal is part of a broader national wave. In recent years, lawmakers in several states have introduced or passed measures targeting drug performances, typically deploying the term “adult cabaret” and framing regulations as child protection. Courts have frequently pushed back, blocked, or limited similar laws on First Amendment grounds.
For Deumor, those battles are no longer far away.
He is scheduled to perform at a suicide prevention fundraiser in Dayton on May 16, which is expected to draw families and young people, just the kind of event this bill could impact. DeMuir said the bill risks causing real harm to the very communities it claims to protect.
“This bill … tells me I’m doing something to prevent suicide,” DeMoor said. “It will encourage it even more.”
She said the scope of the measure could extend far beyond nightlife to community events and public gatherings that have long served as gathering places for LGBTQ+ Ohioans. And she spoke candidly about where she believes that pressure is coming from. Not from neighbors or voters, but from elected officials who are capitalizing on a cultural moment amid heightened tensions over gender expression across the state.
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His views have resonated nationwide. Drag performer and actor Peppermint in another interview defender It said this week that efforts to restrict drugs are part of a deliberate strategy to target transgender people more broadly.
“We knew that starting to talk about drug prohibition might be a red herring in some ways,” Peppermint said.
For Peppermint, drag became an “innocent victim” and a “shortcut” invoked to justify widespread rollbacks of rights that had nothing to do with performance.
Pride events are on the rise in Dayton. But now that she’s 60, DeMoor finds herself thinking about legacy as much as her next show. After years of quiet progress, she said the current climate feels like a retreat, threatening not only her work but the community it was founded to serve.
“I’m worried that someday I’ll have to hand over the keys,” Demour said.
Watch an episode of Ms. DeMoor’s show below.
– YouTube www.youtube.com
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
