We wrote to councillor Field and were informed it was to be treated as a complaint. Here is the the first response
Thank you for your recent comments sent to Cllr Field on 21 June and passed to me. This has been logged as a complaint at Stage 1 of our procedure and allocated to me for investigation and response in line with our Complaints Policy.
In summary, my understanding of your complaint is:
Drag queen story time is inappropriate;
There are inappropriate images associated with the performer.
In order to respond to these I would like to give some back ground to the event and to our equality
approach.
Event
Leeds Library Service have always supported diversity and equality of opportunity as these are central to the role of libraries. A programme of events is planned across the year to meet this aim and hosting the drag queen story time was part of this plan.
The organisation Drag Queen Story Hour (www.dragqueenstoryhour.co.uk/) approached the Library Service and provided information both about the story time sessions as well as their experience in delivering the programme for other library services. They have a good reputation and have partnered with several library authorities across the country, including Manchester, Guernsey, Portsmouth and Gloucestershire. They specialise in children’s storytelling; tailoring performances to the audience.
Previous events were made available and were reviewed for suitability and quality by the Library Service. Although Drag Queen performances are often associated as an adult event, as with any other artist who performs for both an adult and junior audience the content of each show is tailored accordingly. The story time is aimed at children and families, it is very different to a club performance and is in no way an adult act; as a result it was agreed to go ahead with the event.
The normal procedures for considering any event were followed. The material and the official Story Hour website had been reviewed and the experiences of other local authorities taken into account. This was a virtual event with no direct unsupervised contact with children and it had already been
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viewed and seen as suitable. There is a safeguarding policy on the website and whilst there was no need for any further checks it was noted that the performer was DBS checked.
In terms of the organisation for the virtual event on 22 June, Drag Queen Story Hour created an event and the library service was added as a co-host. Individuals ticked to say they were attending, and no other information was available to either the creator or the co-host other than what is public information on an individual’s Facebook. It is common to co-host events in this way and it enables the recording to be shared in real time on our libraries page.
Equality perspective
As a local authority, as you know, we have a statutory duty under the Equality Act to
· Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation;
· Advance equality of opportunity;
· Foster good relations
We are proud that we are a diverse and multi cultural city, and all our work will continue to be underpinned by our belief that all people should be treated with respect.
Drag is a historical art/performance form and is not specifically about either gender identity or sexual orientation. Whilst Drag Queens are not specifically covered by the Equality Act, they are rooted in LGBT+ culture and the Equality Act has provision for discrimination by association. As a council we will strive to ensure that we meet our statutory duty and to protect all people from unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and this includes in relation to drag queens.
There is, as you know, an ongoing debate about whether drag queens are misogynistic and whether they are a ‘distorted and sexualised grotesque caricature of women’. It is true that they exaggerate cultural stereotypes of women, as a specific form of entertainment, however they can also be seen as providing an ironic view that makes a statement about society as a whole and how women are depicted. In Leeds we value and recognise that everyone has a right to be who they are, and to express themselves. It is entirely right that we continue to be inclusive and to promote diversity.
Inappropriate images
On the day before the event was due to take place the council was made aware of images from a social media account linked with the performer that were considered to be inappropriate. Given when the concerns were raised, there was very limited time to investigate further and it was decided that the event should be cancelled. This was a family event focusing on picture books and aimed at 7 year olds, and therefore it was particularly important that we ensured that all safeguarding checks had taken place.
As part of my investigation I considered the content and images on the drag queen story time website. In my view they are appropriate for the audience it is aimed at. The images that were highlighted were not on the drag queen story time site but on the performer’s own social media. There is an age restriction on accessing social media which is 13 for Facebook and Instagram and 14 for Twitter, so not accessible to the target audience. As a general principle anyone who is concerned about images or content being inappropriate should raise these with the platform concerned.
I agree that the images highlighted and brought to the attention of the council are inappropriate for a children’s audience, but this is not where they are available. The council has acted wholly appropriately in assessing safeguarding and has followed normal protocol before agreeing to co
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hosting the event. I believe it would be unreasonable to expect Library Services to consider all social media content linked to a performer, and there is no reason why this should have been done in this instance.
I am clear that our normal procedure in relation to safeguarding has been followed and there is nothing to indicate that any child was at risk in any way.
It is clear from the advertising that a drag queen is reading the story and at this stage the parent or responsible adult can make a decision as to whether they consider this event suitable for their child, in the same way as they would do for any event.
Conclusion
Having considered all of the above information I am clear that the normal procedure for engaging a performer has been followed. It is also clear that due consideration has been given to equality and safeguarding, that the event is wholly suitable for children, and is in accordance with our aims to be a welcoming and inclusive city.
You have raised concerns about engaging a drag queen for storytime, but this has been done in accordance with our ambition to be a welcoming and inclusive city. In addition the right checks and balances have been put in place, as they would have been before engaging any performer.
The images you highlighted were not on the storytime website and I believe this is where anyone with concerns about the event would have looked, before making a decision as to whether to sign up for the event. It is not appropriate for the Library Service to consider all social media before making a decision about hosting an event.
Given this is the case I consider it entirely appropriate for the event to go ahead should this be possible given the plans already in place for the year by the Library Service.
I believe that I have addressed the issues you have raised. If you wish to request a review of my decision, you can contact me directly or customer relations on the email address given above, within 28 days of this letter. However, please be aware that consideration will usually only be given to new facts or evidence, or to comments on the above facts or evidence which I have relied on as part of my investigation.
Yours sincerely,