Drag queen story hour in Idaho?

Good people come in all shapes, colors, sizes and sexes. Rich or poor, sexy man, sexy woman or androgynous. Can we not just be happy someone wants to read for storytime and give them the space to be kind and good? Sure…they bear supervision….but so does ANY person in trusted with our childrens lives. .
 

RadishRose said:
I just want to know one thing- Why? What is the Point?

If nice men wish to create a Story Time for children, go do it.

WHY ARE THEY INSISTING ON DO SO IN DRAG?

Does anyone know what the point is? TIA.
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I assume it's to teach tolerance and equality. But that isn't the message toddler's and elementary school kids are gonna get. They're literally not built for it. They're gonna see "a man who wants to be a mommy"....at best. It's ludicrous and not helpful at all.
 

What’s the worst thing that could happen? The kids hear a not so great story? I doubt that there would be much emphasis on the fact that the person reading the story is a man dressed in womenswear. What if a woman wanted to read a story to children and decided to dress as Larry The Cable Guy? Would that be somehow less objectionable? It’s an hour out of the child’s day or life and it’s not an instruction session detailing how to become a drag queen. It’s a story time! Men are excluded enough from children's activities. I don’t see why this seems to rankle so many. What if a drag queen wanted to put on a puppet show for children? Why such a fuss about what clothes someone wears or that they call themself a drag queen? Is it fear? 🫣
 
I just read thru this thread

It appears some of us are experiencing aftereffects of overdosing on Halloween candy

As far as drag queens?
Not in my wheelhouse

A drag queen having story time for toddlers?
To misquote wunna my heroes;
It is the content of their character, not the color of their outfit

....or something like that

OK, serious
To quote another;
'That's messed up'
Yeah, I'm old school
This new, acceptable stuff I just can't accept

Like the I'm a cat thing

Or..... 'it's my right to my opinion'

We seem intent on losing our skills of communication

Example;

'Hey, while you're at the store, here's a couple bucks, get me a loaf of bread'
'OK'
(an hour later)
'Here's your loaf of bread'
'Uh, that's a package of baloney'
'Well, to me, it's a loaf of bread'

Pizza anyone?

pzza.jpg
 
Farrah Nuff said:
What’s the worst thing that could happen? The kids hear a not so great story? I doubt that there would be much emphasis on the fact that the person reading the story is a man dressed in womenswear. What if a woman wanted to read a story to children and decided to dress as Larry The Cable Guy? Would that be somehow less objectionable? It’s an hour out of the child’s day or life and it’s not an instruction session detailing how to become a drag queen. It’s a story time! Men are excluded enough from children's activities. I don’t see why this seems to rankle so many. What if a drag queen wanted to put on a puppet show for children? Why such a fuss about what clothes someone wears or that they call themself a drag queen? Is it fear? 🫣
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Why? What is the Point?
 
Maybe the only point is wanting to entertain the children. Why is it necessary that there be any other point? Drag queens are entertainers, after all. And maybe it’s about freedom of choice. One can choose to wear what they like or feel comfortable in, at least I think so, in America.

Freedom of choice is the thing, to me. You may not agree with their choice of clothing but would it be better if a nudist hosted a story hour for children at the library? Some women wear pants and baseball caps, while some men wear cosmetics and dresses. Why is one so acceptable and the other not as much? And what will the story be? Much ado about nothing, in my personal opinion.
 
I think the point is, the teachers want the children to ask questions so that a conversation, which is bound to be over the kids heads, is to ensue. These are children and they will grow to come into contact with this aberration in due time. Also, going for the shock value.

Just let kids be kids. They'll have to contend with all this as adults. No point pushing it.
 
chic said:
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Except you don't have to. It's a free-enough country where you can choose to read books to your kids yourself, and even educate them at home. Fortunately.

A close friend of mine lived in Idaho for a few years until just recently. One of the reasons he left is because it's a "conservative state." That's what he told me, anyway. If it is, I suppose that library's story-time audience will dwindle quicker than a minnow can swim a lap in a dipper.
 
Shalimar said:
I think it is important for children to have the opportunity to be exposed to other than the so called norm. Exposure to diversity promotes tolerance. I have known many drag queens throughout my career, not unusual given the amount of prejudice they encounter. They are not weird, perverse, fringe, only vying for

attention, but merely people trying to live their lives in a society which often not only shuns
them, but actively seeks to harm and even kill them. If having reading hour with children

promotes understanding then let’s go for it. Perhaps the next generation of drag queens will be less marginalised. It is also important to note, the majority of paedophiles are white, straight males. Where is the concern around them reading to children? Also, individuals are born with their sex.ual preference, it is not communicable. One can’t catch “gay.”
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You have such a good heart and good spirit Shalimar!
 
So here’s the thing. Reading to kids is a good thing. However, drag queens are always, ALWAYS over-the-top in their dress, hair, makeup, and mannerisms. They are often a bit (or a lot) bawdy. Their target audience should be adults, not children. I am not suggesting they are molesters. If they want to read to kids, it isn’t necessary to dress as a caricature. And that, I think, is the point.
 
CarolfromTX said:
So here’s the thing. Reading to kids is a good thing. However, drag queens are always, ALWAYS over-the-top in their dress, hair, makeup, and mannerisms. They are often a bit (or a lot) bawdy. Their target audience should be adults, not children. I am not suggesting they are molesters. If they want to read to kids, it isn’t necessary to dress as a caricature. And that, I think, is the point.
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Always is a pretty strong word, or so I think. What proof do you have of this "over the top" behavior?

Today they're reading stories to children. What's next? Heaven forbid that they vote, especially for issues that fund libraries!

And how many story-times have you facilitated this year? Seems like somebody oughta do more of it!
 
A drag queen is viewed as a type of adult entertainer. The majority of drag culture is filled with adult themes of drugs, s**, violence, and profanity…that’s how many parents see it rightly or wrongly. I fully understand their feeling that drag queening can be too adult for their children.

I'm all for LGBTQ rights & acceptance ( I have fought some of their battles myself )… and I do think it is necessary for children to know what exists outside their own world.. but… this needs to be done in stages, a little knowledge at a time. We live in a confusing age expecially for the young…why make it more difficult for them to understand?

In the UK around Christmas time many theatres put on shows called pantomimes when men dress up sometimes as women and there is a lot of good rollicking fun but that is ..on stage…and kids are usually with their parents. I have even taken our children to watch these shows! Drag queening is another matter. Children will be tolerant and accepting in their own time. They do not need to drag with a drag queen in a school library.
Just the way I personally feel.
 
Shalimar said:
I think it is important for children to have the opportunity to be exposed to other than the so called norm. Exposure to diversity promotes tolerance. I have known many drag queens throughout my career, not unusual given the amount of prejudice they encounter. They are not weird, perverse, fringe, only vying for

attention, but merely people trying to live their lives in a society which often not only shuns
them, but actively seeks to harm and even kill them. If having reading hour with children

promotes understanding then let’s go for it. Perhaps the next generation of drag queens will be less marginalised. It is also important to note, the majority of paedophiles are white, straight males. Where is the concern around them reading to children? Also, individuals are born with their sex.ual preference, it is not communicable. One can’t catch “gay.”
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Shalimar, I personally feel you have missed the point. We are talking about children here and we should treat them with a little more care and understnding. Pushing ideas down their throats is never a good thing. They need to be fed in small doses for "acceptance" to be part of their lives. Surely, you must realise this is the way to go.
 
Jamala said:
A drag queen is viewed as a type of adult entertainer. The majority of drag culture is filled with adult themes of drugs, s**, violence, and profanity…that’s how many parents see it rightly or wrongly. I fully understand their feeling that drag queening can be too adult for their children.

I'm all for LGBTQ rights & acceptance ( I have fought some of their battles myself )… and I do think it is necessary for children to know what exists outside their own world.. but… this needs to be done in stages, a little knowledge at a time. We live in a confusing age expecially for the young…why make it more difficult for them to understand?

In the UK around Christmas time many theatres put on shows called pantomimes when men dress up sometimes as women and there is a lot of good rollicking fun but that is ..on stage…and kids are usually with their parents. I have even taken our children to watch these shows! Drag queening is another matter. Children will be tolerant and accepting in their own time. They do not need to drag with a drag queen in a school library.
Just the way I personally feel.
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The term Drag Queen is being given more emphasis than the term story-time. At least the person who's going to do read the story was open enough to brave the lack of acceptance, that likely was expected, in identifying themself as a performer and not representing themselves as anything but. Would a Drag King be any more acceptable? I think that the kids attending would be more interested in the story than who it was that read it. I remember being read stories as a child but not so much who read them.
 
I've been holding back for a while on this one. However I have a family member who is involved with a group that puts on drag shows. It has been a learning experience for me.

My first exposure to this kind of thing was my first Mardi Gras at the age of about 20. Shortly after getting to the Bourbon Street crowd I saw a group gathering around a stage so I pushed my way to the front. They were doing a "rent a fruit" auction, men in drag were being auctioned off to the crowd, for what purpose I didn't ask. By the end of the day I had seen more drag and drag related people and costumes than I had imagined existed. One I really clearly remember was a group of men on roller skates dressed as pregnant nuns carrying whips... To say I was shocked would have been to put it mildly. I kept going to Mardi Gras and just learned to accept this kind of thing as a part of the spectacle. I certainly would not have wanted to have any of those people reading stories to kids, but what they did on Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street, well live and let live.

That was what formed my thinking on drag queens for a long time.

Fast forward to a few years back and I found a family member who was performing as a drag queen. He is a very nice man, I liked him, and the grandkids really liked him. He got me to go to a show and I was surprised. The drag show he did was family oriented, they preform at a church. All money raised goes to charity. They are dressed as women, but act more like clowns than anything. Also I met some of the other performers, and was surprised to learn that only about half were gay, the other half were mostly married men with families. And the people who attended were also only about half gay, and included families with kids.

So I don't think there would be any harm in one of those men, in the drag, or clown as I like to think, dress reading stories to kids. If you had asked me before this experience I would have been dead set against it. I have not been back, and to be honest it does make me a little uncomfortable, but I know that's my problem, not theirs.

I guess my point is don't judge something unless you really understand it.
 
Have you ever seen how kids like to dress themselves? I think the kids would find it a hoot, and in the end I'm sure they would need parental approval from each parent. And yes, fear is at the core of all bigotry. What we don't understand we fear, which is not an easy thing to overcome, but we should, if we want to progress as a fair, and free society in reality, and not just in lip service.
 
Farrah Nuff said:
Always is a pretty strong word, or so I think. What proof do you have of this "over the top" behavior?

Today they're reading stories to children. What's next? Heaven forbid that they vote, especially for issues that fund libraries!

And how many story-times have you facilitated this year? Seems like somebody oughta do more of it!
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Well, I was a school librarian, as well as a teacher, so I facilitated plenty of story times. And book fairs. And field trips. So….
The drag aspect is unnecessary. Let them read to the kids in their daily attire if it’s so important to them.

Proof that they’re over the top? I think you should show me when they’re NOT over the top. In fact, the whole point of being a drag queen is exaggeration.
 

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