Hello,
I was dismayed to see that you are supporting and hosting a drag queen in the library. In an era where we are meant to be progressively breaking down stereotypes - this damaging and offensive parody of women is out-dated and unacceptable.
Blackface/brownface/yellowface is rightly condemned. Many people feel the same about "womenface" or men dressing up in women's clothing purely to demonstrate sexist stereotypes for a laugh. It is equivalent to cultural appropriation or the way in which white people have mocked black people, Asian people, Indigenous people, and pretty much every other race/ethnicity that isn’t theirs, under the guise of “performance” or “satire.” Why is it funny or entertaining for men to mock women via drag?
This is not about transgender or LBTQ rights.
Drag queens are not women, nor do they purport to be women. The very definition of a drag queen is a man parodying a woman.
It is a man turning women into extreme, cartoonish caricatures that are to be mocked. There is a reason women don’t do this to men — and that is society doesn’t see men or masculinity as something amusing or to be joked about.
I am fully behind libraries supporting gay/lesbian rights etc but to host a drag event is a regressive, offensive act.
Drag does not belong in 2022 and a public library is not the place for men to ridicule, mock, and appropriate femininity. I hope you will reconsider the message about women that you want to send to the local children. We can do better than to promote sexist stereotypes and ridicule of women in the name of entertainment.
Kind regards