OK the whole drag story time thing

[Qcng]

I've seen posts on this board before basically completely denouncing drag story time, but I've never really gone along with the perspective that it's such an oh so terrible thing. So I don't join in on those threads. As GC as anyone I actually think, dressing up is fine for girls and boys, these people aren't trying to send a message to children that it's big hair and fake lashes that actually make you a woman, (unlike say, someone like Caitlyn Jenner would send that message). They're sending a message that boys can do dress up too, that being gay is ok, and being a man in makeup is ok.

Anyway, I came across an article (posted by a GC feminist who was rather sarcastic and not at all sympathetic) where the drag queen received online abuse after attending a school for drag story time. So that's what got me thinking really, I don't think anyone should be on the receiving end of a torrent of abuse over something like drag.

I know drag itself is for adults, sexually charged, drugs involved etc and I am completely against "Desmond" and "Lactasia" (sp?) I would never in a million years want children to be encouraged to do drag or be in that scene at all under the age of 18.
Drag story time isn't encouraging that though surely? Like having a clown do tricks in a school, they aren't there saying "you should all start learning to juggle and paint your face now".

In the school setting the drag queens are literally just reading a story, usually with a positive LGB message. They aren't making crude jokes and won't use their same stage name (EG "Flow Job" is just "Flow" and "Popping Cherry" is just "Cherry" etc etc)

Am I being unreasonable in thinking that DQ story time isn't actually that bad, and in fact does send children a positive message particularly to the gender non confirming/LGB/those with LGB family members?

I’d imagine there’s a long list of positive LGBT role models to inspire children to read before you get to a drag queen.

There’s an actress I follow on social media who is a “scream queen”. In interviews she seems utterly lovely and charming. She rescues abused dogs and regimes them, raising money for neglected animals in the process. She honestly seems delightful. She’s caring, kind to animals, passionate about kindness and has been very successful for decades in her field of work. But if you look her up online you will immediately find naked pictures, sexualised images, images of her in demon make up, with realistic animatronic monsters etc.
So lovely as she seems I think there would be many more appropriate people who could come into schools. Just as there is with drag acts.

The children aren't being twerked at or anything

Errr

www.theblaze.com/news/drag-queen-shows-children-how-to-twerk-during-story-hour

www.lifesitenews.com/news/drag-queen-in-skin-colored-leggings-flashes-kids-at-minnesota-story-hour

So OP would you say every Drag Queen is suitable for reading stories in schools or is there a line you would draw? What would be a red flag? I would be interested to hear on what grounds you would say a particular Drag Queen wasn't suitable or would you let anyone in?

(As far as I remember irregular visitors to schools don't need CBS checks if they are not alone with children, is this still right? So Drag Queens ST wouldn't need any official screening?)

The children aren't being twerked at or anything

They are though, there was a video of an older drag queen going "this is how you twerk" and then demonstrating to the kids.

Children's authors such as Phillip Pullman and Michael Murpurgo rightly won the right not to be DBS to read their own work to children.

It would be appalling if this was being used as a loophole.

After seeing this, possibly along with the many valid reasons above, that some children find it frightening & uncomfortable

twitter.com/mattwalshblog/status/1233355261622063104?s=21

That little girl is not happy

Kids are so adept online these days.
Do you not think they will google drag queens etc after? They will then witness the adult variety of entertainment.
It’s blurring boundaries, it actually just grooming.
Who benefits? Why risk the exposure? Why risk the possibility that kids will enter this adult realm online?

Because ‘Kids like glitter’?

Ridiculous

I read to different classes of children all of the time and read to them wearing a blouse from Sainsbury's and my Clark's brogues. They all listen from the second I start because I'm really good at it. If it's 'The Highway Rat' there will be gasps.

Just last week I was talking to a little girl who told me that girls can't be doctors and another that had never seen a black child in a picture book and came over after I had read the story and silently looked at every page of the book. There is still a lot of very basic prejudice that needs to be addressed.

I think the OP should have a look at the videos of Drag Queens twerking for primary children and then come back and tell us what she thinks.

Either DQST is not what she thought it was and she’ll modify her view accordingly or she’ll find a way to accommodate this new knowledge to so that DQST remains fine and dandy and there’s nothing to complain about you silly women.

mrs

You’re right - DBS checks are for visitors who spend time alone with children.

But schools must still engage their critical faculties when inviting visitors into schools and thinking about the messages they are giving to the children.

When DS’s school said they would be inviting the Society for Protection of Unborn Children in to give a talk to Yr9 RE students, I met with the head to explain to him what the organisation is like and the bias in their messages. They rescinded the invitation.

Ok I have a few issues with drag queen storytime

1. If something is about sex/drugs you don't create a sanitised version of it and tell kids that's all it is. E.g. you wouldn't bring a porn star in to school and tell children "sometimes people like to watch our friend Lola XXX having special cuddles on video". If it's inappropriate for children just keep it away from children. If you want a man in a dress to read to children then fine, that's not the same as bringing in a "drag queen" and teaching kids about drag.

1. Drag is incredibly misogynistic. Drag queens are often referred to as sluts and whores in their act and there's a general piss-taking of older women. I resent being told that these people are there to teach kids about "gender".

1. By bringing in a man in a dress and calling him "she" I wonder how many kids walk away believing that putting on a dress and a truck-load of make up turns you into a woman.

1. By associating this with LGBT I think you also risk massively confusing kids about what being gay actually is. There's every chance little boys could walk away thinking that's what a gay man looks like.

That video is so awkward, with the mum bopping away all excited, "look at me and how right on I am!" while someone gives her child a modified version of a lap dance. I mean, great that the drag queen wasn't writhing in the child's lap, but adding a few cutesy gestures doesn't really cancel out the whole crawling across the floor to her thing.

Savoy

That made me well up, you sound like a fabulous teacher

I like what Kitty Demure says about this.

Children's authors such as Phillip Pullman and Michael Murpurgo rightly won the right not to be DBS to read their own work to children.

Surely, whether the DBS is needed or not depends on whether the person will be alone with children? I don't see why there should be a loophole for writers, any more than there should be one for drag storytellers.

Well there’s a video of a birthday girl (a girl of maybe 5?) getting a personal dance from a drag queen in tire at shorts (butt cheeks hanging out). Child has a puzzled expression on her face probably wondering when a Disney Princess is coming.

Mum (I assume) is bopping around on the sidelines and some of the blokes look on approvingly.

Why get a lap dance for your little girl? Would they have got a female lap dancer for a little boy?

It’s entry level grooming and it has no place in schools.
Thank God it wasn’t an issue when my DC were at primary, but I’d have withdrawn them from anything like that.

literally - great clip. Am definitely going to use that with some of my more woke acquaintances!

Because they look all glittery and colourful and have an extravagant personality.

So actual real women aren't capable of having big personalities or wearing extravagant clothes? They are too dowdy and boring to be able to read a story engagingly to children? A grotesque parody if a woman is better? Ffs.

Any why is a drag queen a positive role model for children?

What do they do? Do drag queens save lives or feed the poor?

Fucking hell that video is hideous.

What qualifications did the DQ in Scotland have to educate children? He talks about violence and drug taking on his social media, his Instagram (very easy to find and with no restrictions or security) is pictures of him using dildos etc.

He then proceeded to put a picture of the children in the class, with faces visible, on there among the explicit pics, without any permission and didn't remove it for at least 3 days despite parents begging him to.

Who are all these (mainly childless) blokes who are suddenly being invited into schools to erode children's boundaries? DQs, Peter Tatchell etc. Your brain must have fallen out to think this is in any way a positive thing.

Drag queens are adult entertainment.

There are so many other ways to teach children about gender non.conformity and diversity etc

But yet again the only people deemed able to fo this are men, even when they turn up dressed like strippers called cherry on top/ poppin cherry/ flow job and will.post pictures of kids next to pics of themselves sucking dildos.

Its grooming.

There used to be a time when schools would bring in police officers or fire fighters or drs to speak to children. Can we go back to that. Imagine great it would be for a black.female cop to show up and a woman mechanic and a man who.is a.professional dancer or a nurse. And children can see themselves represented in the "line up". See that their colour or their sexuality needn't hold them.back.

Wtf does a man In drag teach kids ..if school.brought in.a female.stripper dressed like that their would be outrage

At this point we should probably be relieved that the drag queen had enough sense not to try to sit on the kid's lap, because going on the evidence we have the parents probably wouldn't.

Why do we need to present LGB people to children like they were exhibits in the zoo? I’d imagine most kids have gay people in the family/their friends have some and they aren’t ‘hidden’ in society as they used to be. We see gay characters on tv (when was the Brookside kiss again?) and gay pop stars and actors. This is pretty much about the T - why is this?

We leafleted at a drag queen story time yesterday. It was great. We got shouted at by a ‘diverse’ woman who said DQ didn’t need training they taught themselves how to teach children about diversity and gender fluidity because there are DIVERSE!
The saddest part was the 30something parents walking in with their very small children claiming to be more open minded and accepting than us (religious bigots...whatever). They must have had pause fir thought though. The parents in that dreadful video of the little girl in a chair being danced at look very uncomfortable. Deep down they know it isn’t right.