Children being read stories by Drag Queens on World Book Day

upsideup
That's right - being a woman is nothing to do with make up, high heels and glittery dresses. But not if you look at the portrayal of womanhood that these drag queens present to 4 year olds.
And I still can't see any difference between their parodies and the Black and white minstrels ? Can you explain the difference and why the latter is unacceptable but drag queens are OK? Cos I'm really confused.

AssassinatedBeauty

Because thats all drag is, its just a slang term for dressing up as a character of the opposite sex. Over time it has developed into its own art and proffesion, and the term drag queen is just another slang term used to descibe people who do it. In a pantomine anyone who dresses up as character of the opposite sex can be seen as being dressed in 'drag', it doesnt have to be sexual.

I honestly don't know how our schools can be this naive.

Men, dressed as hyper sexualised women, with names like beaver and popping cherry, teaching little kids that if they feel uncomfortable around the opposite sex in a confined space, they'd better be careful they aren't committing a hate crime.

Miss Beaver - one of the drag queens involved in the ‘Drag Queen Story Time’ project

Do you think this will be a reference to the character of a beaver in a children's story or do you think it will refer to something else?

Yes it's the same group.

Men in women’s clothes are teaching kids as young as two — including one who dressed as Alice in Wonderland — at seven Gov­ernment-funded nurseries to stop them committing hate crimes in later life.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.thesun.co.uk/news/4896260/drag-queens-nursery-schools-teach-kids-transgender-issues/amp/

shedalight

But is it not that being a woman actually has nothing to do with wearing a dress and loads of makeup? That it is only 'dressing up', an art for preformance?

So why the references to drag queens if they aren't, and are simply drama students dressing as various different characters? What is "drag" about it?

It is the same drag queen act that was in the papers a few weeks back? Going into nursery schools?

Where one of them had a friend called 'Poppin' Cherry'? A euphemism for breaking a virgin's hymen.

Because if so, the act was aimed at three and four-year-olds and they said, explicitly, they were educating the children on what constitutes a hate crime.

Why do kids need to be taught about 'misogyny' by...... drag queens? Just... Why? Are they getting in some feminist story tellers to do a session with the kids too? Or would that be too dull?

This just screams 'try hard' to me, it's just unnecessary. Kids don't need to be taught about drag.

My friend is one of these storytellers. They are tame. They volunteer in libraries and read stories. I think the children see them as panto characters. They are drama students. I think it’s harmless really.

upsideup
The Black and White minstrels used to be hugely popular in the 1960s and 70s - on mainstream tv on Saturday nights etc. Gradually, people came to understand that white people dressing up as parodies of black people was offensive and insulting and gradually it died out - quite rightly.
I think that men dressing up as grotesque parodies of women is also offensive and insulting and wish that it would also die out. Sadly for me, some people, like this headteacher celebrate and promote it. It's not a 'hill I'm going to die on' but I do disagree with you and I don't think that young children should see this type of representation of women presented to them as 'normal'.

I'm with assassinated beauty

People should be free to wear what the hell they like and my kids are being taught that.

But ondont sure what the article would refer to them as drag queens if it was just people dressed up as book characters which anyone who has seen a panto would not bat an eye at seeing men and women dressed up as anything and everything.

But drag queens are different are adult entertainers and that kinda stereotype nonsense the kids can do without.

Why do it of its not all about the lgbt stuff. Which the trans makes a mockery of given its roots in homophobia.

My kids know about men marrying men and women marrying women.

The T has no place in schools.

The head is taking the piss

I think sexism is the biggest crisis facing us today. They don't even mention it.

If it's about the HT being turned on, as suggested by another, then I would remove my child from the school, sounds creepy.

You seem fairly judgemental.

I'm not particularly keen on performance that relies on a negative misogynistic stereotyping of women. Why should I be? That's got nothing to do with how tolerant I am of people generally.

Nobody is outraged. People are questioning whether it's appropriate for primary aged children on World Book Day.

AssassinatedBeauty

You dont seem very tolerant? Maybe if you had more experiance interacting with drag queens from a young age like I was and my children are you would be? I think the fact that there wouldnt be a thread on mumsnet being outraged at a window cleaner talking to children but there is for drag queens perfectly shows why it is more neccesary.

How does men dressed up as hypersexualised stereotyped parodies of women help reduce misogyny and increase tolerance?

It would be so much more interesting and relevant to have a variety of real people of all different kinds coming in to read stories.

Drag queens are usually extreme representations of women, as someone said upthread - a pantomime dame approach. Personally I don't like them - but would never suggest banning them.
But are they appropriate to come in and read to children as a group? Men dressed up as grotesque parodies of women?
There must be thousands of different 'trades' - people who could be invited in to read to children - window cleaners, taxi drivers, cooks, nurses, police officers, musicians, SAHMs, senior citizens, gymnasts etc etc.
But none of these groups are 'edgy'. They may be completely appropriate and represent only good things in society, but they don't "turn on" this headteacher in the same way that drag queens do. So they won't get a look in.

My grandmother used to,adore Danny La Rue. I, oddly, grew up unscathed by watching him perform. Is it really a big deal?

Frankly I took my kids to a pantomime at Alton Towers last Christmas, and will not do it again - the 'comedy' from the Dame was indeed inappropriate and sexist, there's no way I want my kids thinking it acceptable.

Drag queens - well, as long as they're on good behaviour I don't actually mind I think - just like I don't mind when the dressup box comes out and all the kids put on fairy costumes. Drag queens are totally up front about being men dressed up as fantastic creations.

Drag queens are adult performers who dress up in hypersexualised stereotyped versions of "woman face". Dressing up as a female character is not drag. So you're saying that these performers are not going to be doing a drag queen show? So why are they being referred to as a drag queen story team?

I dont think you quite understand the concept of dressing up in 'drag' or being a 'drag queen'. Of course it can be a sexualised and adult preformance but the drag queens have been hired for world book day to read books to children not to preform a strip tease and and make sex jokes.
Just like a dancer could put on an adult or sexual preformance they could also come into schools to give a child dance class without it being sexual or adult.
In a pantomine the male characters playing female roles are dressed up in 'drag' and its not sexualised or adult.
My son will essentially be dressed up in 'drag' for world book day and it will not sexualised or adult.

There comming in for world book day, they are going to be dressed up a book characters, much like a pantomine where those characters are also dressed up in 'drag'.