Editor's note: Mr.Maclennan writes in response to the BayToday article Soo Pride community ‘outraged’ over call to protest Drag Story Time.
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As many people have seen, drag performers have been on the end of hate both online and in person at events they host.
One must wonder why?
Drag performers have been around for centuries and have been a part of entertainment for as long as many people can remember. We have been entertained by movies that have drag in them like “Mrs. Doubtfire” staring Robin Williams and the classic “Tootsie” starring Dustin Hoffman. These actors were huge in their time of performing in drag, yet today, we see protests and hateful comments online toward drag performers.
Drag is an art, it's not about a sexual desire. It's not about “recruiting” as some have claimed. How one “recruits” to be part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community is beyond me, because if this theory worked wouldn’t everyone be straight? The heterosexuality community does more recruiting than anyone, just read a book, see a movie or watch TV.
Yes, we can argue that there are changes you see in entertainment when it comes to representation, but is there really a proper representation of all communities? I would have to say not yet. One only must walk around their own neighbourhood to realize that the entertainment industry does not look like your community.
Drag Queen Story Time has been a big target by those claiming to be part of the Freedom Convoy Fighters. Are they part of this movement in Canada, one can hope not. The issue for many across Canada seems to be that no one leading the Freedom Convoy came out and spoke against the homophobic rhetoric that we are hearing.
We have never seen anyone at drag perform a protest denouncing the protesters from the Freedom Convoy. I am not debating the Freedom Convoy but just bringing attention to the fact, that I have never seen any leader from the Freedom Fighters speak out against hate and homophobic comments. If one is silent, one becomes complicit in the act, which if anyone claims that they have not seen it, is just ignoring the issue or silently supporting it.
What happens at a drag queen story time? They read books, sing songs and read more books. They read books about family, accept people for who they are, and share that we all look different because we are unique. Then they read books. Did I mention they read books? They do NOT dance around half-nude singing the song “WAP”. Drag performers cater their performance to their audience, because that is what performers do. No different than concerts, movies, TV shows, radio shows, or podcasts.
It's not about drag performers wanting to be around kids, it's about performing for an audience, and if you have never performed in front of a live audience, you have no clue why performers thrive from it. It's about the energy, the interaction with the audience, and sharing what you do.
Does anyone ask a clown why they do show for kids? What about going and seeing Santa Claus? Has anyone ever said to Santa, “You are grooming children!” Did anyone see a protest at a mall against Santa? The fact is Santa spends a lot of time with children, especially young children, but we see no protests, no negative comments, nothing but adults saying, “Go sit on Santa’s lap and let him read you a story.”
What about priests who read stories to children during Sunday school? Does anyone question them and let’s be real, some priests and other organized religion pastors have not had the best record when it comes to being around children. You never see a sign saying they are grooming or calling them names and some of them have a history that shows an issue.
Based on the above paragraph itself, the fact tells anyone with common sense this has nothing to do with drag queen story time, spending time with children, or sharing entertainment, it has to do with the fact that they are performers who are part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. It is called hate. It is called spreading hate. No matter what you claim, it is hate and will always be hate. Hate has no home here or anywhere for that matter. People deserve to be who they are, and love who they love. Period.
What will these protesters at a drag queen story tell us next? Maybe, “Catholic Priests make good babysitters?
The reality is you can not find any history of sexual assault by a drag queen, especially at story time. People will be quick to share video from a drag show from a bar or an adult only event, because it fits their narrative, but none of them ever show a drag queen story time for children. Do you know why? Because they read books. That is it, they read books.
Here is a challenge for the haters, go to a drag queen story time, go inside and watch it and video it live so everyone on your feed can see what they do. I will bet you anything, no one will do it that makes hate comments, because it will show the lies and the hate they are truly spreading. But, hey, go do it and prove me wrong, if you dare.
The bonus in it for me, you might learn to read and write better then you have before and that helps us all.
