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Original poster

Obscene costumed volunteers handing out summer reading at Redbridge library

524 replies

WombOfOnesOwn · 11/07/2021 19:02

A library had a man in a rainbow monkey costume, with a dildo penis and a fake exposed butt, handing out summer reading books.

Look at this obscene sex clown mocking and terrorising local Muslim women:

twitter.com/HasAhmed_/status/1413931013340807172/photo/2

The library is, of course, apologizing about it now:

twitter.com/RedbridgeLibs/status/1413975910433366020

But during the event, they thought it was pretty funny:

twitter.com/turtillachip/status/1414255270038016009

What is happening? Why should parents going to the library's summer reading program worry that THIS is what they'll see? The website for this troupe of "performers" clearly shows this monkey performer with his fake penises inch from children's faces. There has been no vetting. No safeguarding.

And there'll just be an apology, another "isolated incident." Of course, the local Muslim women and girls know exactly what this library thinks of them now, and what may happen to them if they choose to even walk nearby. Do we think they're going to want to go in?

OP posts:
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rathertakenaback · 11/07/2021 23:13

I work in a library and this just sickens me. We haven't had drag queen story time, thank god, but it has been suggested by one of our woke librarians.
I never tweet about work matters, and even though I'll probably be disciplined for doing so, I tweeted about this today and said that I would resign than ever have to be part of anything like this.
I used to take my DC to story time, and have run sessions myself. This, however, is just obscene. If it had happened at a session where my child was, I'd have called the police. Though this being West Yorkshire, I'd probably be charged with hate crime.

Thelnebriati · 11/07/2021 23:13

The archived web page uses the phrase ''Love is not love if not accompanied by a bit of madness.''

The penis is on the monkey halfway down the page.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 11/07/2021 23:14

As being LGBT nope

You're excluding furrows from the LGBT community? That's not very inclusive...

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 11/07/2021 23:14

Furries, not furrows Blush

dyslek · 11/07/2021 23:14

There seem to be weird sexual undertones to almost all ofthis companies visual and written produce.
Denying it does not help anyone. I actually dont think the individuals involved (probably?) are persuing the P agenda but I do think cultural approval of all things sexual, even with children is erroding safeguarding accross the board, and that is bad for everyone.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 11/07/2021 23:18

. A lot of the work is in a traditional carnival style and actually rather lovely.

Obviously someone has taken an extremely dubious and offensive decision over the Redbridge library visit.

It's bizarre. They have worked with the library before on a day of the dead theme. It looks amazing, mask making and great costumes and face-paint. Nary a penis in sight. Which begs the question how did they get it so horrendously wrong this time? It's almost like a completely different company was involved.

PurgatoryOfPotholes · 11/07/2021 23:22

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

Apart from anything else, this is a borough where nearly a quarter of residents are Muslim. Didn't it occur to anybody in the library service to consider whether this performance would be be culturally sensitive and inclusive of all ethnic groups and all religious groups?
It never occurs to anyone.

People chant "diversity and inclusion" until they are blue in the face, but the mantra does not include people from minority faiths and/or ethnic minorities. They will merrily exclude children from less permissive families, and congratulate themselves on how accepting they are.

It is sickening.

chickenyhead · 11/07/2021 23:26

Children should be excluded from exposure to this whatever their faith.

I don't do religion and I respect your choice to, but NO Children should be exposed to this. It isnt permissive, it is abusive.

But the council certainly SHOULD have considered the Muslim and other minorities additional safeguards out of decency and respect.

Datun · 11/07/2021 23:27

It's almost like a completely different company was involved.

That's always a possibility. Especially if the two separate parts are so different from one another.

househousehousefox · 11/07/2021 23:28

Those poor children. When I was a child I remember feeling uncomfortable when walking past and summers posters. Not knowing where to look, feeling embarrassed and not knowing why. How can this be allowed?
Same with the drag queen thing.
Fine for adults to enjoy but children? its grooming and I'm getting more and more worried for my daughter and sons.

Resisterance · 11/07/2021 23:29

I worked for Mandiga Arts years back. It runs carnival arts but obviously given everything that's happened recently they won't have had any work so will have been looking for new opportunities to bring in an income.

The company was set up and run by a gay guy but this was much before the gender debate. He's a challenging chap but more in a perfectionist way than any kind of pushing an agenda way so I was shocked and disgusted to see this.

I wonder if they actually hired rather than owned the costumes and also didn't realise themselves, but either way it shouldn't have been worn, and the event should not have gone ahead.

Any librarians also who kept schtum should also feel really ashamed of themselves.. as should the person wearing it the costume. There is absolutely no way that it is acceptable to don a costume like that so there's multiple failures here.

Whichever failure it was, it's grooming and paedophilia through the back door and it is not OK.

TurquoiseBaubles · 11/07/2021 23:31

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

LowlandLucky · 11/07/2021 23:31

The world has gone chuffin mad. What is wrong with people ?

Datun · 11/07/2021 23:32

Well, it seems to be focused rather a lot on genitalia, according to some photos on Instagram.

If anyone wants to check it out, a post at 22.27 today has the pics.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4292052-Article-about-WiSpa-incident-title-edited-by-MNHQ?msgid=108999263#108999263

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 11/07/2021 23:33

I wonder if they actually hired rather than owned the costumes and also didn't realise themselves

This is one of their acts, and they have worn this costume around children before.

archive.li/qbyk8

Peoniesandpeaches · 11/07/2021 23:33

@ItsAllGoingToBeFine

As being LGBT nope

You're excluding furrows from the LGBT community? That's not very inclusive...

Wearing of carnival costumes does not make you a furry necessarily that’s really culturally insensitive. Also funnily enough most LGBT people want to claim furries about as much as straight people. I’m sure there are LGBT furries but statistics would say straight people have more of a claim to them.
ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 11/07/2021 23:40

Also funnily enough most LGBT people want to claim furries about as much as straight people

I don't think you are getting the issue. Furries /pup play / BDSM etc are making themselves part of the LGB community. If you go to some prides it's less about LGB (especially the L) and all about (mostly) men displaying their fetishes in public.

The LGB have fought for so long not to be seen as some sort of sexual deviants, but because of the shoehorning in of all the other letters this is being lost.

People will conflate rainbow penis monkey with the LGB because of the rainbow colours and because, as many people have said in twitter, you see this sort of thing at pride all the time. This is really had for LGBs and it is part of the reason why some are trying to distance themselves from all the identity/queer/sexual preferences letters.

Shedbuilder · 11/07/2021 23:47

I think there may be some cultural overtones involved here. There are traditional folk tales involving wise or naughty monkeys in various traditions, and there are some cultures/ traditions where the display of fake genitalia has been considered funny till relatively recently. I'm sure I've seen be-genitalled portrayals of naughty moneys in Indonesia or possibly India. I seem to remember seeing something similar (thought not rainbow-coloured) in Belgium some years ago. We've largely lost traditional bawdy display here but it persists in some unexpected places.

I'm not excusing what happened at Redbridge at all: someone made a terrible, inappropriate decision and everyone involved — the performers, the person who booked them, the librarians, the company that created them — should be investigated. The fact that they've been dressing up like this for years, and not just at Pride, is troubling. A man or woman waving fake genitalia at anyone, in a public place, is deeply disturbing and threatening, no matter how it's dressed up. But I'm going to rein in the temptation to over-connect until we have some more evidence.

rathertakenaback · 11/07/2021 23:50

@Resisterance the library staff who run these events will probably not have been involved in organising it. Managers and development librarians do that. Library staff were probably put on the spot, and had no idea of the content until that fucking monkey started waving his prosthetic dick around. The ones on the ground, actually on the library floor are presented with these events as a fair accompli.
Also, a lot of library staff are in fear of their jobs. 180,000 library staff have lost their jobs in the last decade.
Having said that, if something like that had occurred in my library I would have acted. But I'm old, cranky, terfy and actually give a fuck about child safeguarding.

somethinginoffensive · 11/07/2021 23:50

Apart from anything else, this is a borough where nearly a quarter of residents are Muslim. Didn't it occur to anybody in the library service to consider whether this performance would be be culturally sensitive and inclusive of all ethnic groups and all religious groups?

I actually take great offence at the idea that this is more offensive to Muslims or other religious groups than to atheists like me.

Monkey costumes with plastic penises should be unacceptable in front of children throughout the country.

Fallingirl · 11/07/2021 23:52

So, so far we have:

Guys in wolf costumes sniffing and cruising looking for a master = bdsm furries

Mandinga = duping opponents to not spot their hidden agenda

Mandingo = vast hairy prong

All of it repeatedly displayed at Pride marches

Which of these suggest this has nothing at all to do with the QT and kink end of the alphabet soup?

Which of these suggests this was just a booking for wwf event?

Even if this has nothing at all to do with QT, and this group just happened to be passing, in costumes, when the pride march happened by, several years in a row, is it possible that a man waving a dildo about in front of children was more readily hired by a library, in a culture that loudly defends a man waving a willy about in front of children in a spa?

To claim there is no connection between this library safeguarding failure and the normalisation of men getting their dicks out in front of women and children is disingenuous.

And to claim there is no connection between QT and the normalisation of men getting their dicks out in front of women and children is egregious.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 11/07/2021 23:55

To claim there is no connection between this library safeguarding failure and the normalisation of men getting their dicks out in front of women and children is disingenuous.

And to claim there is no connection between QT and the normalisation of men getting their dicks out in front of women and children is egregious.

Agree^

rathertakenaback · 11/07/2021 23:59

Fait accompli, not fair accompli!

chickenyhead · 11/07/2021 23:59

@Fallingirl

So, so far we have:

Guys in wolf costumes sniffing and cruising looking for a master = bdsm furries

Mandinga = duping opponents to not spot their hidden agenda

Mandingo = vast hairy prong

All of it repeatedly displayed at Pride marches

Which of these suggest this has nothing at all to do with the QT and kink end of the alphabet soup?

Which of these suggests this was just a booking for wwf event?

Even if this has nothing at all to do with QT, and this group just happened to be passing, in costumes, when the pride march happened by, several years in a row, is it possible that a man waving a dildo about in front of children was more readily hired by a library, in a culture that loudly defends a man waving a willy about in front of children in a spa?

To claim there is no connection between this library safeguarding failure and the normalisation of men getting their dicks out in front of women and children is disingenuous.

And to claim there is no connection between QT and the normalisation of men getting their dicks out in front of women and children is egregious.

100% this!

It's a paraphilia, not a sexual orientation

TheNextSteps · 12/07/2021 00:05

It seems like one massive Chris Morris stunt. Noncesense. Please tell me that’s the case?! Please tell me no one is normalising dildos and vibrators as ‘amusing’ props when entertaining children? Or should we be castigating our children for noticing and commenting on huge pink silicone cocks hanging out the crotch of the funny, rainbow-coloured, furry monkey persons?