Drag Queen Storytime at my local library (photo attached)

[Carla786]

I had a lovely trip to my local library yesterday. Spent a long time there choosing books, basically the whole time there was a very noisy toddler event going on in the next room. I didn't mind, they host a lot of stuff for various people & that's good.

As I left, I looked at the posters of various things they were advertising. I saw one for 'Mama G', clearly a drag queen, which I photographed for identification purposes. I thought this nonsense of drag story hours might be quietening down, but clearly not at my library. I'd never seen them advertise anything like that before 🤦‍♀️

Checking the photo when I got home, I saw the event had taken place that day, while I was choosing my books. I wasn't listening particularly hard, but from what I heard it sounded more like a 'panto dame' style event than anything sexualised. It still seems odd and inadvisable though. If a drag Queen wants to do panto style entertainment for kids too, he should have a separate line in that, rather than mixing it up. 'Drag queen shows ' are by nature sexual and adult, so 'drag queen' shows blur boundaries whatever the content/intention.

Imagine seeing 'Anna Abortion' and 'Miss Carriage' as drag names, and deciding that the one with hate is the one CALLING IT OUT!

Yes, the ‘arguments’ that DQs are totally not misogynistic and are perfect entertainment for children (while hand waving all the actual issues, names, inappropriate performances, inappropriate physical contact, repeated safeguarding failures, extremely dodgy mates, indoctrination etc) are getting ever tenuous and desperate. It just amazes me that some are so determined that these men should be put in front of children.

Why?? Not one of the supporters have put forward any concrete benefits for children.

How many kids have discovered a love for reading thanks to sitting in front of a man in a dress and outlandish make up for example?

It’s not like they even read the decent children’s books (which I think many assume), the point seems to be exclusively ’LGBTQ’ books which seem universally dire in quality.

I was thinking the same

Do you have children by any chance?

Tbf I don't think most drag queens have grim names like that, as I posted upthread. A comparison could be rap where a lot is horribly misogynistic but a lot is quite different

But none of that makes any difference. Drag queens should not be reading to kids. Whatever their names are!!!

I can't see how panto dames and carry on films (mentioned previously) aren't sexualised - that's the bit in the panto that IS pervy and full of innuendo and carry on films - women as objects always (except for hatty jacques)

My memory of this kind of stuff is mild innuendo, generally older women hinting at their sexual desires which go unreciprocated.

A million miles away (to my mind) from 'Anna Abortion' and 'Miss Carriage'.

I doubt many people would think a rap gig was suitable for a pre-schooler though.

Yes, I agree that drag should NOT be for storytime.

Otoh some strange people here seem to think kids twerking is not worrying, so who knows..!

I was replying directly to a user's comments suggesting we view any drag acts who entertain kids as 'seeking access to children', 'targeting' them for nefarious purposes etc.

'Womanface' is a separate issue.

At no point have I said that drag queens should be exempt from any form of scrutiny. Don't put words in my mouth.

Anyone working with children should be open to scrutiny and judged as an individual - not on the prejudices of people who've decided that an entire cohort are misogynistic child predators.

We had a rapper at my nephew's birthday party. He made up raps using the kids names, toys etc. Had Granny joining in.

If he'd have started dropping Big Pun or Eminem verses, it'd have been a different story 😅

Drag queens should not be reading to kids. Whatever their names are!!!

What about clowns? Or entertainers in general? Plenty have acts tailored to children/families, and more mature content for adults.

If a drag act turns up to read to children calling themselves Dixie Normous, dressed for a night out in the gay village, swearing, using innuendo, or performing in any way inappropriately for a young audience, then that is clearly unacceptable and whoever organized it must have been lobotomized for thinking it was a good idea.

But if they turn up dressed suitability, calling themselves something inoffensive, performing in an age appropriate way using age appropriate material, I don't see how it's in any way different to any other 'in-character' children's entertainer. I haven't seen a single convincing argument in this this thread or anywhere else that's made me think otherwise.

It's ok not to like drag or find the concept of it inherently mysoginistic, but an individual's feelings don't mean that every drag act is at best unsuitable to work with children or at worst a sexual predator using their profession to get access to them.

Well said 👏

Maybe it would help to flip the question round.

WHY should these men be reading to children?

Given the inherent risks posed by the proximity of the nature of drag to adult entertainment and the frequent crossover of the DQs being adult performers (sometimes with VERY adult social media), and the fact that we know there are a number of convictions of DQs as sex offenders, and we have photographic evidence of inappropriate boundaries with children , given all that - what are the benefits to children that outweigh it all?

Is there a performing profession that could provide members to rad to children if that is necessary that isn’t as close to adult entertainment? Do we need performers to read to children at all? Surely the performer aspect detracts from the joys of sitting down quietly with a book and sets up a kids’ association with reading as expecting to be passively entertained?

On this whole thread, the people arguing in favour of DQST don’t seem to be remotely bothered about the needs of the children.

Kimura says:

It's ok not to like drag or find the concept of it inherently mysoginistic, but an individual's feelings don't mean that every drag act is at best unsuitable to work with children or at worst a sexual predator using their profession to get access to them.

This is one of those unfortunately common attempts to pretend this is "just a matter of personal taste" rather than an important ethical debate.

Obviously those of us who believe drag queens are inherently misogynistic are going to strongly believe that "every drag act is at best unsuitable to work with children", and it would be irresponsible of us not to maintain this position.

WHY should these men be reading to children?

Why should anyone be reading to children? It's entertainment that any parent can opt in to or out of, not part of the curriculum.

Given the inherent risks posed by the proximity of the nature of drag to adult entertainment and the frequent crossover of the DQs being adult performers (sometimes with VERY adult social media).

I think any act performing for children, who also performs for adults or produces adult content, should keep those things entirely separate.

We fire teachers who have OnlyFans accounts. We don't fire them for doing stand-up comedy. We would fire them if they told x-rated jokes in school.

I think anyone who hires someone to work with children, who has easily discoverable adult content online, is utterly incompetent.

and the fact that we know there are a number of convictions of DQs as sex offenders, and we have photographic evidence of inappropriate boundaries with children , given all that - what are the benefits to children that outweigh it all?

Swap drag acts for literally any other profession with access to kids. Same same. The fact that you can name a literal handful of drag acts that have acted inappropriately around children or are sex offenders doesn't mean that all of them pose an inherent risk. We still send kids to church, an institution that has literal processes in place to protect sex offenders in their thousands, and has done for decades.

Do we need performers to read to children at all? Surely the performer aspect detracts from the joys of sitting down quietly with a book and sets up a kids’ association with reading as expecting to be passively entertained?

Again, we're talking about entertainment here. A bit of fun. They're not going into schools three times a week teaching kids to read. It's not replacing reading in school. You can't honestly believe that going to an occasional performance at a local library, drag or otherwise, is going to fundamentally change a child's association with reading.

On this whole thread, the people arguing in favour of DQST don’t seem to be remotely bothered about the needs of the children.

Is anyone actually arguing in favor? I don't think anyone is claiming that this is something that 'needs' to happen, just that the arguments against it are a bit hysterical and don't really hold any water.

As I've already said, if you don't like drag because you think it's mysoginistic or a bit too close to 'trans', cool, no issue with that. But you can say so without trying to dress it up as a child protection issue, so you can suggest that anyone who disagrees with you isn't thinking of the poor kiddies.

It's entertainment. Kids need entertainment. That's the only 'need' it's attempting to fulfill, and it's one almost insignificantly tiny thing in a sea of other options. Kids need to be exposed to age appropriate content. It's up to you as a parent to vet any and every bit of entertainment or activity you let them participate in.

What other 'needs' is this impacting?

If you think drag is unsuitable for children because it's mysoginistic and you don't think kids should be exposed to misogyny, that's fair enough!

My issue is the idea that we should also suspect any drag act performing for children of being a sex offender looking to 'access' kids.

Well, you’ve read all the issues raised in the thread, the list of dodgy blokes and adult performers who don’t manage to keep enough separation between adult performance for the kids - some can’t even use appropriate names and clearly don’t understand boundaries and are given free rein to flash their underwear or twerk at children by parents who have no idea of safeguarding.

If you’ve read all that and are still arguing in favour, there nothing more I can say.

Some of them (and their supporters) can’t even get an appropriate name for a child’s act, let alone remember boundaries around physical contact and not flashing their underwear at the kids.

Drag performers are unsuitable for children, end of.

spectator.com/article/mhairi-black-s-drag-queen-stunt-has-backfired-spectacularly/

Any man arguing about his right to have access to other people's very young children is rightly suspect.

it happens when you’re a closet homophobe :)

Not true at all.

You're assuming that all panto dames are gay which they are not.

Most drag queens may be gay but most gay men would never try to force the public to allow them to read to very young children in a library just because they're gay.

Why on earth should men in dresses be fast-tracked to do this?
Why on earth do they feel so entitled to do so?

Calling people homophobes for not wanting unrelated males of any sexual persuasion reading to their children in libraries while dressed as a hideous parody of a woman is lazy and childish and puts men's rights above children's.
Not a good look.

Definitely a homophobe but not closeted.

Children are no more forced to be read to by Drag Queens as they are forced to be Performed to by Drag Queens at Panto.

Britain trying to import this particularly aspect of US culture wars is nonsensical given our history of pantomime.

Panto Dames and Drag Queens reading to kids - the exact same goddamn thing.

My local library did something similar a while ago. I emailed them to express my view that "drag" is not appropriate for children and public money should not be wasted on stuff like this when libraries are struggling to stay open. I got no response from them. So i don't use that library any more. I think it's gross tbh, i hate "woman face", it's insulting to women. Libraries should not waste taxpayers money on garbage like that. They wouldn't put on shows featuring white people pretending to be Black, which amounts to the same thing. Misogyny just doesn't ever seem to be considered by these bandwagon jumping wokies.