Izzy Writes

Anime and cosplay conventions have been staple events for multiple communities across the country, including the queer community, where many have made lasting memories and forged long-lasting friendships.

However, the Anime Iowa convention set to take place at the end of July has come under fire after allegedly uninviting multiple drag performers due to Iowa’s “drag laws” that had been in conversation earlier this year, despite not going into effect.

“My first time attending was the first year we were hired in 2023, then returned in 2024. I loved being there and the attendees’ reception of our act.

Pippin Panic has been in the drag scene for the last three years, but has been a part of the cosplay community for the past decade. He is currently the head of the “Haus of Hades,” a group of neurodivergent, trans, and disabled drag artists.

“On the stage is where I feel like I’m happiest. Making a fun costume and doing a little song and dance is what I’m made for,” Panic said. “After the first couple of months, that passion turned into a determination to make space for more disabled performers and people who didn’t conform to the demands of reality TV and still wanted to be respected.”

Anime Iowa has been around for 27 years and was the first anime convention in the Midwest. This year, the three-day convention will run from July 25 through July 27. Panic and his Haus have worked for Anime Iowa for the past two years and were reinvited by one of the event’s executives to be the Emcee for the convention’s cosplay contest in March of this year. 

In the initial email, the executive mentioned how the state of Iowa was reviewing legislation that would make drag performances, and even cosplay performances, illegal under the proposed House Bill 158, but it had not been passed yet. 

Despite this, less than a month later, the events department retracted their invitation after “discussions with the executive and support staff” in an email on April 6, citing these proposed bills as the reason behind the decision.

“Given these laws and our concerns for your and your crew’s well-being and possible safety, the executive staff has decided to move forward with a different emcee and intermission performance,” the email read.

“Haus of Hades isn’t just a Haus of drag artists; we’re cosplayers just like the congoers,” Haus member Dementia Kills said. “If anything, what we do is no different than a cosplay skit in the competition itself. This is the least ‘drag’ we do.”

While event executives said the “drag laws” ultimately led to their decision, House Bill 158 was never passed in the House. The bill stated that it would be illegal for minors to present at drag shows, with drag artists defined as “performers who exhibit a gender identity that is different than the performer’s assigned at birth through the use of clothing, makeup, accessories, or other gender signifiers.”

“The reaction that the bill existed was a sinking, heavy feeling that we were sliding backward,” Panic said. “Suddenly, being told that my lived experience of performing while dressing outside of my biological sex was morally wrong is just awful. I’ve been in musical theater productions, and I’ve played men. Being fined and jailed for that is just heartwrenching.”

The bill made headlines when it was first introduced in February but was ultimately edited and reintroduced on March 7 as House Bill 891, which instead states minors are prohibited from being present during “obscene performances,” making no specific mention of drag at all. The bill ultimately failed to pass in the House.

This begs the question: Why did the convention decide to uninvite these drag artists in the first place? 

‘What is there to enforce? Though if they felt that way about us, I wonder if they’ll come as attendees, so I am a little worried, but I don’t think anything will happen,” Dementia Kills said.

Despite emailing the convention organizers for further clarification, Panic did not receive an answer; instead, they were told that the guest roster had already been made for this year but that they would be kept in mind for future years. 

“To do further research and slowly realize that the bill had been turned down and negated and no longer applied to anything I have ever done just made me angry,” Panic stated. “Everything I had done for these people was thrown out the window because the con just decided to use legislation as a clear excuse to exclude me even if it didn’t apply.”

The convention organizers have not shared any statement regarding this incident, nor do they have anywhere on their website that says drag performers or trans people should be cautious due to Iowa’s new legislature. 

On the contrary, their harassment policy states that “Harassment of anyone on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, or physical or mental disability is prohibited by law and by the policies of this company.” Additionally, their dress-code policy says that “attendees should not expose their bodies in a way that would be deemed indecent exposure by the city of Coralville and/or the State of Iowa, and to follow all state, local, and federal laws on dress,” but make no mention of banning gender bent cosplays.

“I was honestly heartbroken about the news. Anime Iowa has been like a family getaway for us, and since moving to Utah, I was excited to come back and see my boys and perform together. But that opportunity was lost,” Dementia Kills said.

Panic has since posted to his social media on Saturday about the situation, writing in a Facebook post that “Anime Iowa is not a safe space for the hundreds of queer people that attend.”

“After begging for further communication through multiple channels, I have decided to make this information public to protect other people thinking of joining the cosplay contest, or even attending at all, because the rules have clearly been set for what is and is not allowed,” the post further stated.

AnimeIowa had not responded to Panic’s post; instead, the convention removed it when he posted it in its Facebook group. I have contacted AnimeIowa for comment but have not received a response. 

While the Haus members do not plan to attend this year’s event, Dementia Kills says they are still waiting for an apology.

“I want them to research legislation before making executive decisions that affect people’s lives and their relationships with said people,” Dementia Kills said. “Should we be asked to come back, I would vote yes to go back. But the decision relies on the rest of Haus.”