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?

The company is called Mandigarts as in Mandingo the film about the guy with the massive penis? And the library booked them? Holy Fuck! Is this a hoax?

Saw this elsewhere. Truly disgusting. I'd be furious if my child saw this at the library. The company, entertainer and library should be investigated.

Its bonkers. That costume would terrify the shit out of my 4 year old, and that's before he even spotted the penis.

Surely even if the staff had booked something described as "rainbow monkey" etc which sounded quite tame, they clearly should have just cancelled the instant they saw it? Who on earth even finds this funny?

For children

Christ is that the 'actor' mooning at passers by as well?!!

Plus the library spelled "meddlesome" wrong...

The lack of interest by the media in this is also quite worrying. The only articles I can find are RT
www.rt.com/uk/528935-monkey-costume-redbridge-libraries/
a very short article in the Sun and oddly enough a report in a French news site.
Obviously the sexualisation of children by public organisations is not worthy of notice.

@shouldistop

Christ is that the 'actor' mooning at passers by as well?!!

Looks like it. Interesting way to encourage people to use the library.

Is that actor showing his naked butt to Muslim women????

Oh good God this is horrific. PLEASE tell me the Police are taking action. Utterly utterly inappropriate

There are some sick fuckers working for councils, and running councils, it seems.

Do you think some of this is driven by how 'trendy' and 'up to date' the council who run the libraries are/want to be seen as?

I only ask (perhaps naively) because I have several librarian friends, some of whom are actually the manager of their branch, but they're all located in different (several different) county council areas. However, to a one they are horrified by the decisions taken by the two libraries in Exeter and Redbridge. They also wonder who on earth gave it the final go-head in those two libraries, and why it wasn't raised as an issue re safeguarding and general appropriateness for young children.

Surely (maybe being naive again) Exeter and Redbridge libraries would have had a staff meeting of some kind to discuss future visiting 'attractions' to their branches? I wonder that, if they did, any disenters were just metaphorically beaten into submission

If all they have to offer is a fake arse and penis as entertainment they must be pretty shit at their job and unfunny. Appropriate for a stag night, not for children’s entertainment.

@334bu

The lack of interest by the media in this is also quite worrying. The only articles I can find are RT www.rt.com/uk/528935-monkey-costume-redbridge-libraries/ a very short article in the Sun and oddly enough a report in a French news site. Obviously the sexualisation of children by public organisations is not worthy of notice.

I understand the football is a huge news story, but the absence of this in the media is seriously worrying. Have we really reached the point where children being exposed to sexualised content isn't newsworthy. 😲

@tintodeverano2

This is disgusting.

A library should be a safe space, especially for women and children, and things like this will stop them from accessing essential services.

When I was small I loved our local library. The children's section was so thoughtfully set out and the librarians really dedicated to helping children develop a love for books. There was a fish tank with tropical fish in the sitting area and it was one of my favorite things to sit their watching the fish and reading a book, really calming.

This would have scared the shit out of me and put me off libraries for life. I don't know what the see idiots were thinking. There assigning adult attitudes and understanding to children, but most children would be deeply confused, scared and distressed but that kind of performance.

@BlatantlyNameChanged

A children's "character" shouldn't have any genitalia on show, male or female, and it was highly inappropriate. My DC have been taught the PANTS rules by us and also by school, how can that message be delivered to children at the same time as showing them rainbow monkeys with their wang out for everyone to see?

Exactly! Complete safeguarding horror show. It is trying to normalise sexual exposure. When we know in real life, as with the b***d that murdered Sarah Everard that flashing can escalate and should never be treated as a joke. The children have not consented to this (they can't legally, even if it does not make them feel uncomfortable) and I doubt their parents have too in any seriously informed way.

Exaggerated sexual characteristics whether on drag queens or rainbow monkeys do not belong in children's spaces. People who think they do should not be in children's spaces nor be allowed to be in charge of the booking.

@shouldistop

I don't have Twitter, does anyone have links that I can see?

You can still view tweets. You might have to refresh the page a few times, or hit back and then click on the twitter link again.

@EarringsandLipstick

To be fair, as it's not mentioned here, the library has apologised unreservedly. The apology is a pinned tweet on their Twitter account.

Fair enough, in the meantime how many people were disturbed by this, who will ever be made accountable (no one) why did it even get as far as it did. Where the hell did safeguarding go?

What happened, only recently safeguarding was a thing, with regular training in it. Are people now too stupid to realise when safeguarding is being breached in front of their eyes, or do they not care.
Whats the actual point of all this expensive and time consuming training if no one takes the slightest fucking notice.

Sorry, rant not aimed at anyone

I am horrified and disgusted that this was allowed to happen. And it seems that other than saying "sorry" (after joking about it to other libraries) it's all "nothing to see here, move along".

This should be news everywhere. That children and unconsenting adults (as I don't believe anyone would have thought that a summer reading scheme would be launched by a monkey with a dildo, giant nipples and its arse hanging out would ever happen) were subjected to this is abhorrent. Safeguarding? Pah who needs safeguarding? 🤬

Shame on the media for not picking this up, shame on the councils for not sacking the members of staff responsible immediately.

Exactly! Complete safeguarding horror show. It is trying to normalise sexual exposure. When we know in real life, as with the bd that murdered Sarah Everard that flashing can escalate and should never be treated as a joke.*

100% This!

I work in a library. I'm not a volunteer but neither am I a qualified Librarian. There is NO WAY this would have been commissioned or allowed to go ahead in the county where I work. We are promoting the Summer Reading Challenge by providing free craft kits for children to take home each week, with accompanying videos on the Library Facebook page.

If I had seen this, I would have stepped in to stop it, as would all of my colleagues. Not all Libraries allow this kind of thing to happen so please don't be put off using them if you have children.

As a PP said upthread...if I took a dildo to work and waved it around in front of ANY of my customers I'd be sacked. And rightly so!!

Shame on the media for not picking this up, shame on the councils for not sacking the members of staff responsible immediately

Someone complaining got told " I don't take lectures from Johnny come latelys" from one of the council members I think it was ( its in one of the screen shots above )

Although confessing they will look into it the very first reaction was to discredit the person complaining

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.

Despicable.

Jesus Christ what are they thinking?