DRAG QUEEN STORY HOUR

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Drag Queen Story Hour sparks protests in conservative towns

 

NEW ORLEANS — Once upon a time, in 2015, a writer in San Francisco named Michelle Tea got the idea for “Drag Queen Story Hour”: men in full drag reading children’s books to kids and parents in programs aimed at providing “positive and unabashedly queer role models.”

 

Since then, Drag Queen Story Hours have been held at libraries or book stores in big cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and costume-loving New Orleans — where over-the-top hair, makeup and gowns and stories about gender fluidity aren’t exactly new.

 

In some smaller communities, however, the programs have sparked protests from conservative and religious groups.

 

In Lafayette, Louisiana, west of New Orleans, the president of the local public library board resigned amid debate over plans to hold “Drag Queen Story Hour” and Mayor Joel Robideaux has indicated he may seek to cancel the Oct. 6 program.

 

A handful of protesters showed up in the rain outside an August event at a library branch in Columbus, Georgia, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

 

And, on its Facebook page, a group called Common Sense Campaign Tea Party is calling for protests of a planned Sept. 8 event at a public library in Mobile, Alabama. That’s where drag queen Khloe Kash is scheduled to read “Rainbow Fish,” a 1992 story about the value of sharing, and “Stella Brings the Family,” about a little girl fretting over what to do about her school’s upcoming Mother’s Day celebration because she has two fathers.

 

“It’s growing all over the nation, including the South,” Jonathan Hamilt, a New Yorker who provides help in organizing the story hours nationwide, told The Associated Press. He said there are DQSH chapters in 40 states and in other countries.

 

Hamilt performs as his drag alter-ego, Ona Louise, at charity events and at Drag Queen Story Hours. He acknowledges that the story hours draw protests in some cities. But he has also been surprised at the acceptance it has received in some rural areas and conservative states such as Wisconsin and Georgia, where he grew up.

 

“You never know how the community is going to react to the programing,” Hamilt said. “It’s kind of a toss-up.”

 

Critics see something sinister: “The program is designed to purposely target children so as to make sexual perversion acceptable through repeated exposure,” a poster on the Common Sense Campaign Tea Party page wrote. AL.Com reported that opponents at a Mobile County Commission meeting described the programs as a “plan to indoctrinate children.”

 

But, so far, the reading sessions are still on. At a Mobile City Council meeting, according to news accounts, some members expressed sympathy with opponents but also cited First Amendment concerns that made them reluctant to try to block the program. Scott Kinney, executive director of the Mobile Public Library system, said the system’s policy on use of meeting rooms stresses maximum availability to the public, and he noted that library facilities have been used by faith-based groups.

 

In Lafayette, the planned October story hour is being coordinated by members of the Delta Lambda Phi Social Fraternity at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. The national fraternity, founded by gay men in 1986, issued a news release supporting the chapter as the controversy erupted last week.

 

“This program teaches love, diversity and acceptance — powerful and positive messages from which all can benefit,” it said.

[+ Avalon]

Solution seems simple. If some don't like it then stay away but don't spoil it for others. But they should rather be thankful that there are good people who want to do such things helping children.

[samhexum]

Houston library sued by anti-gay activists over Drag Queen Story Hour

 

A crew of anti-gay protesters rallied outside the federal courthouse Friday afternoon, announcing they have sued the Houston Public Library over a city-sponsored Drag Queen Story Hour which they say violates their freedom of religion.

 

Opponents of the story hour have also turned out to protest the library events, which began last summer in Montrose, the city’s historic gay enclave. Similar drag queen events have been hosted around the country with the aim of providing role models for children.

 

The lawsuit was filed Friday by a group who has vocally opposed marriage equality and joined the fight to defeat a proposed Houston ordinance that would have lifted gender restrictions on bathrooms. The group has asked a federal judge to halt the reading event, claiming they are not appropriate for all patrons.

 

The library director and Mayor Sylvester Turner are named as defendants, accused of being recklessly entangled in “LGBT doctrine.” The lawsuit says the storytelling sessions advertised as appropriate for patrons of all ages at the Freed-Montrose Neighborhood branch should not be funded with taxpayer dollars since the library would not host a “man-woman marriage storytelling hour.”

 

The group behind the lawsuit identify themselves as “Christ followers,” taxpayers and card-carrying library patrons. One of those bringing the lawsuit is Tex Christopher, who says he homeschooled his children using library books.

 

Another plaintiff is Chris Sevier, who has filed a number of lawsuits across the country, including one in Houston for the right to marry his laptop. If men can marry men, he has argued, why can’t he marry a computer. The plaintiffs also include an evangelical minister and a woman who says she got into a custody battle with her husband after he left her for a transgender woman.

 

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The principal of a Colorado middle school is apologizing for not warning parents before a drag queen spoke to their children during career day Friday.

 

Some Rocky Top Middle School parents told KDVR they are furious that she was invited to speak, alongside a police officer and an architect.

 

“I was pretty appalled. I was pretty surprised. It was a shock because no one was notified,” parent Jen Payer said.

 

Ms. Jessica is a gay man, who was invited by one of her fans, a Rocky Top student, to come to career day. All of the guests talked about their jobs and their connection to literacy.

 

 

“This person is an adult entertainer and is talking to 12-year-old students about something that’s adult [in] nature,” parent Heather Rogers said.

 

KDVR reached out to the Rocky Top principal, Chelsea Behanna, who said this event reflected the diversity of the community.

 

In a letter send home to parents on Monday, she wrote, “Jessica read a chapter from Horrible Harry and she used the text to illustrate the damage bullies can do, the need to always put kindness and acceptance at the forefront, and the shortsightedness of judging a book by its cover.”

 

Ms. Jessica told KDVR she used career day to show kids it’s okay to be different.

 

“I had a couple kids that were like, 'I’m gay in school and I get bullied every week and I don’t know what to do and just talking to you helped me realize that I can still be me and still be happy,'” Jessica said. “I got messages being like, 'thank you so much for coming to my class. I was having a really horrible week and you made my day.'”

 

 

But some parents said they should have been notified so they could make the decision to have their child attend the career day or not.

 

When asked if she would allow her daughter to attend, Payer said, “No. Not for that day.”

 

Principal Behanna said in a letter to parents:

 

“I take responsibility for not notifying families ahead of time and apologize for any stress this has caused you and your child. Moving forward, a prominent step in planning for next year will be to share the guest list for all families prior to the event. Should you feel like any of the sessions are not appropriate for your child, you’ll be welcome to notify us and we’ll make alternate arrangements for your child during that time.”

 

Meanwhile Jessica says the negative feedback from some parents won’t stop her from speaking to kids, no matter the age.

 

“I want to go to more elementary schools, because of this experience at Rocky Top, I’ve already reached out to a couple people about how to develop a Ted Talk,” Jessica said.

 

Jessica uses the stage name “Jessica L’Whor.” She told KDVR she introduced herself as Ms. Jessica during career day because she did not think her last name was appropriate for a school setting.

 

This is the letter that Principal Behanna sent out to parents:

 

October 22nd, 2018

 

Good Afternoon Grizzly Families,

 

Last Friday, Rocky Top hosted our 2nd Annual Rocky Top READS! event, and it was a great success because of so many people! We put out a call to our families and community members and received an overwhelming response. As a result, we welcomed more than 100 guest readers throughout the day on Friday!

 

Our volunteer guest readers spent 20 minutes in different classrooms talking about their career and its connection to literacy, reading to the students and then answering questions. In addition to highlighting the connection between literacy and a successful career, this event reflected the diversity of our community. We had a broad range of careers represented--- emergency responders, elected officials, clergy, research assistants, tradespeople, journalists, professional athletes and even a drag queen!

 

All families in our Grizzly community are receiving this letter because a handful of people have expressed concern over the presence of a drag queen in our middle school. Jessica, the drag queen, began her guest session with an explanation of her career--as did all other guests. She explained that she is a performer who, though a man, portrays a woman for her performances. She detailed her background in the performing arts throughout middle and high school, talked about her dream of being a teacher, then explained how she earned a business degree from Colorado State University. Jessica then read a great chapter from Horrible Harry in Room 2B by Suzy Kline. She used the text to illustrate the damage bullies can do, the need to always put kindness and acceptance at the forefront, and the shortsightedness of judging a book by its cover. Students were completely engaged and asked lots of great questions.

 

I take responsibility for not notifying families ahead of time and apologize for any stress this has caused you and your child. This year we used the same process as last year, sharing the schedule of speakers with staff so they could prepare students and plan for questions, but realize we cannot make it the students’ responsibility to share that information at home. Moving forward, a prominent step in planning for next year will be to share the guest list for all families prior to the event. Should you feel like any of the sessions are not appropriate for your child, you’ll be welcome to notify us and we’ll make alternate arrangements for your child during that time.

 

We’re thankful for the many volunteers who made this year’s Rocky Top READS! event a success. The focus of the event was a celebration of literacy and was reflected in the incredibly positive experiences of staff, students and guests throughout the day.

 

Thank you for your continued support of Rocky Top,

 

Chelsea