Drag queen banned by National Theatre

To be honest I can't really see many shows actually aimed at children and familes

Looking at the link there seems to be many shows aimed at children and families. It even says "plenty of activities for the whole family to enjoy"

This link shows another show in the stage as part of publicity. Shows the stage. In the current climate advertising drags shows without the adult only caveat is irresponsible.

stagedoorapp.com/national-theatre/river-stage-2022?p=16572

To be honest I can't really see many shows actually aimed at children and familes

Adult only show or not, is it ok to suggest children need to open their legs?

No one is defending the joke @DaniRabbity

Drag is about transgressing boundaries. You must know that.

So do you think there are two kinds of drag - one family friendly Ru Paul's drag race version and one darker adult one?

And if so, how is anyone supposed to be able to tell the difference?

You are not the only person standing up against the normalisation of pedophilia

the thread on aibu had certain posters staunchly defending the joke…there isnt one person defending it on this thread

I work in child protection and safeguarding is a major part of my job.

The abuse and gaslighting of CSA survivors on this thread is unreal.

What do you gain from being so extremely rude and aggressive towards women who speak up against the normalisation of paedophilia? What is your agenda?

If you genuinely care about child protection you need to look into safeguarding more, child protection and the wider context of how that 'joke' came to be included.

I personally find your 'parents should be responsible' position abhorrent, as if we did that it would leave the most vulnerable children without protection, but I accept you have your tunnel vision opinion but it's not informed.

Utter nonsense.

I've been personally attacked, had all kinds of nasty false allegations made against me, had my posts really wildly twisted, and been gaslighted.

All because I am a survivor of CSA and a child protection advocate who makes calling out paedophilia my main priority.

People can post whatever the hell they like, I am perfectly entitled to say that I personally consider pro-paedophile comments much more serious and that they should be the focus of the thread, and that I have concerns about the attempts to derail the thread into a generic "drag is bad" as that takes the focus away from the paedophilia element, and can be used to discredit us.

Are you unfamiliar with how forums work? Someone disagreeing with you is not "demanding other posts to their exact specifications."

It's pretty bloody rich to accuse me of that in a thread where people were shouting at me that I should ignore what I personally witnessed, put the opinions of people who weren't even there above my actual ears and eyes, and posted all-caps rambling nonsense about me claiming I'm trying to be the "ARBITER OF ABSOLUTE TRUTH" just for saying "well I was actually there and personally witnessed it."

The insistence that people ignore their own eyes and ears and take their "TRUTH" from internet commentators' ideologies actually reminds me a lot of the TRA arguments.

Glad to see more posters taking it seriously.

That is very unfair!!

I cannot see 1 poster on this thread who hasn't taken this seriously.
You are very rude to anyone who does not post exactly to your demands and specifics.

I won't be engaging with you any further.

Precisely. I said something similar on the other thread on this.

You cannot market drag to children and parents, howling down those who raise warnings about this as prudes & pearl clutchers, and then when all the boundaries have been blurred then go ‘wtf are parents doing taking kids to drag shows for?!’

It can’t work both ways. Drag shows shouldn’t be for kids. At any time.

Well said. The "joke" is utterly vile and abhorrent, and very dangerous.

Glad to see more posters taking it seriously.

What part of these comments do you feel need clarification?

"I find the encroaching culture of sexualising children and normalising pedophilia to be extremely sinister and that it needs to be called out and named for what it is whenever it occurred."

"The NT utterly failed in not doing more to create a firm and clear boundary between the "family friendly" events, and the adult events."

"This speaks to a wider and much more sinister and insidious encroachment of childhood and the innocence of childhood - insidious grooming - that's a broader societal problem. But the NT specifically have to take responsibility for this, and banning this one performer is really the bare minimum."

"Both parents and society in general need to take responsibility (society in general includes the funders and bookers for events like these)."

That 'joke' isn't OK even if you guaranteed that no one under 18 could possibly see or hear it (regardless of the fact that the NT/Southbank have been promoting the entire festival as family-friendly...)

The 'joke' (which isn't funny) is not OK because it's literally, explicitly, straightforwardly saying that adults should rape children. That's why it's not OK.

It doesn't matter one little fuck whether there were children to hear the 'joke' or not. It's not OK to normalise or to RECOMMEND raping children. I can't believe this has to be fucking said.

But you are blaming parents Dani.
You are calling them stupid and saying they should be referred to SS for taking their children to a drag show that is on at a reasonable time 6-7pm with no adult only warning while acknowledging that drag is being marketed towards children.

Ive read your posts, you need to clarify more and throw out insults and accusations less.

No. Both need to take responsibility. Both parents and society in general (society in general includes the funders and bookers for events like these).

You are blaming parents while forgetting that drag is openly marketed at children by our councils, on social media and by activists under the guise of making our children tolerant of those diverse in the community.

I suggest you read my posts, because I have directly and explicitly said exactly this several times. I've made very very clear repeatedly that the NT fucked up badly, and have very explicitly criticised the culture that tries to normalise drag as being child-appropriate when it's not.

And what people are pointing out is, with drag being normalised for children an extra layer of protection is stripped because it blurs the boundaries.

I am one of the people pointing that out!

adults need to take personal responsibility in safeguarding their children.
But safeguarding isn't just down to parental responsibility. Some parents are just crap and can't figure out what is appropriate. Some have nefarious motives and actively seek to break down children's barriers.
This is why we have societal safeguards as well as personal ones. In addition to the official channels, teachers,.police social workers, we have rules and social regulations. That's why kids can't buy alcohol or buy porn, go into 18 movies or nightclubs. You can't rely on perfect parenting.
And what people are pointing out is, with drag being normalised for children an extra layer of protection is stripped because it blurs the boundaries. If an actual primary school head green lights Flo Job as a suitable act for school then this act really isn't much less different.

Why are you defending parents exposing their children to things that are clearly not appropriate for children?

I am not. I am pointing out how the normalising of drag to children has already happened. That is is done under the guise of diversity and equality so a parent who sees a drag show 6-7pm that has no adult content warning would not be stupid to think it was suitable for children as drag shows are being promoted in schools and libraries.

You are blaming parents while forgetting that drag is openly marketed at children by our councils, on social media and by activists under the guise of making our children tolerant of those diverse in the community.

Yes, I completely agree. It's disgusting and so very dangerous.

While drag queens are promoted in schools and libraries, why would anyone think that a drag show there was adult only?

There's serious boundary blurring going on, which is why people are now looking askance at all drag.

Yes the peodophilic joke was disgusting, and it's good they've been banned.
But also drag is an adult entertainment form, completely unsuitable for children no matter how sanitised the content, verging on a fetish in some cases.
And it's also starting to be recognised as misogynistic crap.