A library thought it appropriate to book this 'entertainment' for children and I feel sick

[flashbac]

I thought it was a joke, a photoshop job, a hoax even but it's not.

WTF

A children's entertainer in a library with this costume?

twitter.com/StandingforXX/status/1414247886242598912?s=19

What the hell is this?

How were children legally subjected to this? It goes beyond inappropriate, it’s obscene. This is graphic sexual exposure directed at children and the individual involved is clearly a sick pervert. If he wished to ‘perform’ like this, should only have been able to so in a SOHO sex club, never ever have been given the green light in a library with children/ general public.

I’d like to know what action the police are taking and the LA should be shamed for allowing it (yes libraries can be operated by some volunteers but the council still has direct and governing responsibility)

I thought it was OK - they might have been reading Vincent the vain (my personal fav). I didn't notice the dick at the front though. That changed my mind. Appalling

@NewallKnowall

I am so disappointed to read all about this.

My local library has had Drag Story Times for a while and they're so enthusiastically advertised and welcomed by fellow mums that I doubted myself complaining, especially as I can't really articulate what my issue is. This just another step down the line for me into making me feel libraries are no longer somewhere safe and reliable for my DC and me.

I may be late to help you out with this, but this might help crystallise your discomfort with it, even though it's in the USA. www.womenarehuman.com/former-ceo-of-org-sponsoring-drag-queen-story-hour-arrested-for-sex-abuse-images-of-children/

@DankGraveGhouls - your story is horrifying and exactly explains why this sort of stuff must STOP! Normalisation of this is wrong. I'm so sorry you went through that.

😳

"Oh God yes I remember this. It was revolting. The dice game where the idea was to discuss such things as anus/fingers/penis/mouth.
And who could explain if anus/anus was the result what sex act would cover it.

Oh and bukake (that I had to Google then wished i hadnt) and the totes uncontroversial 11 year old girl hooked on porn. Right !"

Does the above not prove that educating children about these things is all to do with the adults in question "wanting" the children to know about it and absolutely nothing to do with the children needing let alone wanting to know about it.

It wasn't so long ago, when my DC were primary age, if you had turned up at school or library and seen that you would call 999.

This is how fucked we now are.

littlbrowndog
What the hell is queering the library for children

Lambeth Libraries are doing this too. Someone on Twitter has pointed out that some LGBT find the word 'queer' offensive.

Whatevers going on I hope voices are raised to just stop giving a free pass to men wanting to indoctrinate children with sexual knowledge for their own gain, and mould children into feeling sexual activities between adults and children is entirely normal.

I glanced at the pictures and originally thought it was just a naked monkey butt - which seemed fairly harmless, and most kids would find funny.

Then I looked properly. That's just not OK at all. And I would describe myself as very relaxed about nudity - but that costume is deeply inappropriate for children't entertainment.

Both the local council and the local MP have put out strongly worded statements about how inappropriate it is, which was good to see. Apparently the libraries are run and overseen by an independent contractor, so it wasn't the council's decision to book this act. Also, the contractor who booked them has agreed the act was inappropriate - but the MP makes the point that the contractor allowed the act to continue and even shared images of it all over social media, and it took the leader of the council to step in to get the event stopped.

There's going to be an enquiry now about how this was allowed to happen.

Wait, WTF? There are actually apologists for this on this thread?

Dildo masqueraded in front of little kids, hence normalising said masquerading of mock-ups of male genitalia and, by stealth, putting children's safety at risk.

And you're splitting hairs over whether or not it's erect?

Either the patriarchy has a seriously good number on you, or you benefit from it by virtue of the male privilege which is the reason women and children are at risk from it in the first place.

F.U.B.A.R.

WTF did I just read???

The CEO of a company which did “drag story” had loads of pictures and videos of child abuse???

And in Scotland some drag Queen called “Flowjob” was asked to read to children??? Those pictures 🤮.

This honestly makes me want to vomit. Paedophiles setting up companies and getting into children’s story time at libraries, dildo monkeys running around and men with erections in full sight approaching little girls whilst claiming that they are women.

I just want to hug my children, these people need to be stopped.

For me the most interesting part is that this troupe has photos of a near-identical costume with and without the penis and buttocks apparatus.

They chose to use the genital and rectum and nipple bits. For a children's event.

They'd worn similar costumes at Brighton Pride multiple years in a row, for all those claiming this isn't LGBT-related.

The number of women who rush to defend men who commit safeguarding violations, making excuses for them and finding any possible reason an action could be legitimate, always disturbs me. This is how kids get abused even when their mothers are around. The woman thinks "I don't want to be so cruel as to think he might be up to no good," and excuses the inexcusable.

I’m pretty sure the minority who think this is acceptable didn’t look at it properly and just thought it was a bum (like some posters who’ve posted on the thread initially did).

We use our local library a lot. I would be horrified if they had an event for children with such an inappropriate theme. I have been very uncomfortable hearing about events such as Drag Queen Storytime, but anyone objecting to them is labelled bigoted and a prude. Maybe that will change now that we’ve seen this example of where pushing safeguarding boundaries can end up

The story has been picked up by the Evening Standard now. Glad it is being covered by the press.

www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/london-library-redbridge-monkey-costume-children-event-b945272.html

Dank 💐

I’m pretty sure the minority who think this is acceptable didn’t look at it properly and just thought it was a bum (like some posters who’ve posted on the thread initially did).

I wish I shared your optimism

Apparently the libraries are run and overseen by an independent contractor, so it wasn't the council's decision to book this act

@ExhaustedFlamingo while it's true that the contractor who runs the library and booked this act is independent in name, in practice it is pretty closely linked with the council.

In this case, the library is run by a registered charity and non-profit called "Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure" (Vision RCL). Vision Redbridge Culture & Leisure Ltd is one of the UK’s largest culture and leisure trusts with a turnover of £21m.

The current CEO was a Chief Officer in Redbridge Council responsible for setting the trust up in the first place while he was at the council, and it's overseen by a Board of 11 Director Trustees including eight Community representatives and three local councillors.

visionrcl.org.uk/about/

@reesewithoutaspoon

what comes next, let me think

Pole dancing for kids.
Careers advice on sex work as a new and empowering career option.
encouraging young girls to make themselves up as adult women with make up and gelled nails, false eyelashes.
Shops selling 'sexy' clothes to girls as young as 8 or with messages telling them to be cute/diva/sexy/ (as opposed to boys being told to be clever or strong )

Oh never mind that stuff is already happening

Yup. If anyone doubts the career work advice, here's the University of Leicester student sex work toolkit. le.ac.uk/-/media/uol/docs/offices/edi/student-sex-work-toolkit-final-december-2020.pdf

One might have expected research showing that many students are turning to sex work to fund their studies would lead to a vigorous campaign to improve student funding and signpost the students to alternative types of work, or to get the predatory men who 'use' sex workers prosecuted, but no.

This is where the lack of safeguarding has been leading us over the past few years. I for one, although appalled by this event, am pleased to see the issue breaking through to the mainstream at long last. We have to be vigilant and make sure that safeguarding is front and centre so we can protect our children. Otherwise we will have another PIE situation, in fact we're almost there: check out the minor attracted persons (MAPs) that Twitter allows on its platform.

Not just Leicester other Universities have similar policies. Also the Union representing university lecturers also promotes this.

Show kids cocks, let men into changing rooms for women, remove girls breasts we all KNOW why this is happening and it does not benefit women.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g - flipping heck, how on earth has it come to this? I can’t even find the words.

Obviously this company should not have been employed for this event . However, there were another three points when this event could have been stopped in its tracks.
1.Knowing the venue, the company should have known better that to send " Rainbow Dildo Butt Monkey"
2.The actor should have realised the error when they arrived at the venue and saw the costume they were to wear

3The library staff on seeing said costume , should have stopped the event before it began.

Everyone was culpable. Shame on them all.
.

I know, it's shocked me to my core. Sex work isn't empowering, it's abuse. This is where the so called 'sex positive' movement ends up.

[quote Xiaoxiong]Apparently the libraries are run and overseen by an independent contractor, so it wasn't the council's decision to book this act

@ExhaustedFlamingo while it's true that the contractor who runs the library and booked this act is independent in name, in practice it is pretty closely linked with the council.

In this case, the library is run by a registered charity and non-profit called "Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure" (Vision RCL). Vision Redbridge Culture & Leisure Ltd is one of the UK’s largest culture and leisure trusts with a turnover of £21m.

The current CEO was a Chief Officer in Redbridge Council responsible for setting the trust up in the first place while he was at the council, and it's overseen by a Board of 11 Director Trustees including eight Community representatives and three local councillors.

visionrcl.org.uk/about/[/quote]
The gov company info service provides a useful page for every company inc not for profit with a list of current and previous officers. Here’s the list for Vision RCL
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/06032714/officers

@Xiaoxiong Aaah thanks for that info, I didn't really look in any detail tbh. Not a huge surprise that tenders were granted/created based on nepotism.

The leader of the council seemed genuinely horrified and stepped in to stop the event which seems like quite a strong (but justified) action to take. I've therefore got some hope that maybe they weren't fully aware/involved in the day to day running, and didn't give an explicit act the thumbs up.