Protesters are bloodied and arrested at NYC Drag Story Hour
By: Matt Lavietes (NBC News)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Link copied March 20, 2023, 4:24 PM UTC By Matt Lavietes
A man was arrested and another was left bloodied as dozens of people protested a Drag Story Hour event in New York City on Sunday, according to videos shared on social media and in local news reports. At least some of the protesters appeared to be affiliated with the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group.
The protest took place outside the LGBTQ Community Center in Manhattan's West Village neighborhood, where New York Attorney General Letitia James was hosting a Drag Story Hour event, with drag performers reading children's books to kids and their families. Drag has deep historical ties to the LGBTQ community, and the center is just a short walk away from the iconic Stonewall Inn, arguably the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ rights movement.
Protesters and supporters face off at NYC Drag Story Hour
March 20, 202301:15
A video posted on Twitter by a journalist affiliated with the local media site FreedomNews.tv shows a protester wearing a gold Anonymous mask being apprehended by police. A police spokesperson confirmed in an email that the masked man, Robert Porco, 53, of Fishkill, New York, "was arrested and was charged with Assault," saying "he approached a victim and struck him in the face." The victim suffered a "physical injury to his face" and "swelling to his nose" but was not hospitalized, the spokesperson said.
A man in a gold Anonymous mask is detained Sunday at a protest against Drag Story Hour in New York. Stephanie Keith / Getty Images
In a separate video shared by the same Twitter account, a different protester walks away from the event with his face bloodied.
"I came here to help, not get the s--- beat out of me," he said, accompanied by a fellow protester in a Proud Boys sweatshirt and surrounded by a swath of local media.
Counterprotesters could be heard in the background shouting: "Go back to Long Island" and "F--- the Proud Boys."
Supporters of Drag Story Hour at a counterprotest Sunday in New York. Stephanie Keith / Getty Images
Representatives for James and Drag Story Hour's New York City chapter did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
James said in a statement Sunday that the recent rise in anti-LGBTQ protests and legislation has left her "devastated and disappointed."
"Hate has no home in New York, and I will always fight to ensure our LGBTQ+ siblings' rights are upheld and defended," she said.
Drag — once an underground art form — has become a political flashpoint in recent months.
So far this year, legislators in at least 16 states have proposed measures that would restrict drag performances, according to an NBC News analysis. The majority of the bills would limit drag in the presence of children.
Supporters argue that such legislation is needed to protect children from sexualized entertainment, while critics say it broadly paints all drag as overtly sexual and unfairly targets the LGBTQ community.
Members of the Proud Boys are escorted away by police after they protested Drag Story Hour in New York on Sunday.Stephanie Keith / Getty Images
This month, Tennessee became the first state to enact such legislation, banning the art form in public or at locations where it can be seen by minors. Performers who violate the law more than once can be charged with a felony and sent to prison for up to six years.
The debate over whether drag is appropriate for children has, as it did Sunday, prompted violence in recent months.
There were at least 141 incidents of protests and threats targeting drag events last year, according to the LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD. In response to such incidents, several of the country's top drag queens have said they have increased security at their events, some by hiring armed guards.
"My two young daughters have been going to Drag Queen Story Hour for years with their two dads. They like it for the simple reason that it's fun and interesting — there's nothing more complicated than that," New York state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who is gay, said in a statement Sunday. "Those who are attempting to use Drag Queen Story Hour to stir up controversy and vitriol directed at the LGBTQ community and specifically drag artists should be ashamed of themselves."
Matt Lavietes
Matt Lavietes is a reporter for NBC Out.
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>boom<
Just let the kids have fun. It's apparent it doesn't harm them
Right on. The next steps are to take the little kiddos to strip shows, then later when they bored with that, live sex shows....it's all sooooo wholesome and normal.
How moronic, and it was voted up, twice!
Why don't you just tell your kids they can't go?
Little kids can't 'slide' or escalate to strip shows or live sex shows, Greg because there are proper age requirements. Which should tell you something about Drag Queen Story Hour held in libraries of all places! Of course, bigotry always looks for words and narratives to make gross something meant for good. Attack the 'queens' because they don't have sufficient political cover.
Yeah...try parenting for a change
“…try parenting…”
….rather disingenuous for those whom rail against a school, a library, or vacuously, the federal government daring to interfere in their child’s education while simultaneously ceding their responsibility.
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Might as well romanticize beasteality while we're trying to break free of social norms
You and select others are the only ones bringing up these things. What pray tell is a donkey show?
It is something indecent.
Since he brought it up I was hoping that he would explain exactly what that is and why he felt the need to bring it up in the first place.
[✘]
M'Kay
You still haven't answered the question or what your role was in these shows.
keeping the donkey erect would be my guess...
nobody cares about trumpster dating rituals...
I thought incels were afraid of women and didn't date?
Incels hate women because women won't "date" them.
it's a good thing you didn't put names to those pictures, the boss frowns on doxxing the trumpsters here...
I am firmly against "doxxing" those assholes.
what about pulling them behind your car on a skateboard at 80mph? /s
That would be quite a "drag show".
Dick Santis is working on outlawing it in Florida and now they're working on it in Texaas.
They're working on it here in Arkansas. I think they may have done it already
Dick Santis had the liquor license removed from where a drag show was held in December. He had undercover agents there who reported there was no lewd or sexual content whatsoever. It was an 18 and older show with a guardian required for those under 18 yet nothing offensive was portrayed so it is pure evil and spite that Dick Santis did this.
It's some holier than thou phony small c christian in Texas who is prohibiting a drag show on his campus.
gee, you'd think that gov. sarah would steer clear of any gender confusion issues...
her last necklace had a big copper bell...
cross dressers and their supporters beating up on trump's incel militia members is pretty funny...
yup! they've got more balls than all of these boys
[✘]
I meant to say bigger balls . . .
have you forgotten how I deal with trollish commentary...
[✘]
"I was just there to help!" He helped me out with my first chuckle of the day.
I did like the gold mask. It would look good hanging on my rec-room wall.
with his face still stuck to it...
That could prove to be odiferous and unsanitary after awhile.
meh, power wash it. he's a republican, he's got a face to spare ...
I did some research and actually found an old video of a guy dressed in drag interacting with a child molester...
fortunately, the child molester is dead now...
Ah, the Great Ones! Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! They are all loved then and now!
Q: "Where the Hell is Eureka?"
A: Eureka is the county seat of Humboldt County, California. It's "ground zero" for California weed.
I understand that many longtime growers are being crushed out of business between the state regs and big business.
Exactly.
Met Robin, Jonathon, Rodney, etc... in a comedy/rock club I worked once.
Can't keep your eyes on the club when you can't take your eyes off the stage.
were you tossing drunks and hecklers?
... goobers and rednecks?
Rodney loved hecklers.
he could shut them down with rapid fire one liners.
Most standup comedians love to destroy hecklers.
I was with some friends at a comedy club one night many years ago. We were sitting at a table right below the stage and two of the guys were heckling the comedians bad. The comedians that night were mostly amateurs. Finally, a professional level comedian came on stage and the first thing he said was "Oh, look. There's the degenerate table" as he pointed at us. One of my friends immediately responded with "If I want any shit out of you, I'll squeeze your head!" The pro stopped in shock, looked like he was going to get in to something, thought for a few seconds and calmly said "That's pretty good. Did you think that one up yourself?" He knew he'd been outdone.
I was at a club decades ago and all the hecklers instantly got the bum's rush out the door.
which was cool, since I had paid to see the comedian, not some drunken dumb ass...
What's a comedy club without some heckling?
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it wasn't exactly what you'd call quality heckling, most of the club couldn't hear the dipshit.
Oh. Well, we only want quality heckling.
[✘]
Violence breeds violence.
Like this guy. What did he think was going to happen? We all know the Proud Boys don't protest peacefully. And what did he mean by help? Did he think he was going to bully a drag queen and not get the shit kicked out of him?
Don't come between a lady and her heels
The Proud Boys were literally founded on getting into street fights with liberal protesters. It's not so fun when they libs fight back.
“Don't come between a lady and her heels…”
If we could all just understand and accept and embrace one another, especially when a fellow citizen’s freedom of choice has no bearing on another’s.
Disagree with their choice? So be it. And then just let it be.
You know, all that constitutional stuff so often cited but all too often misapplied.
Unless, of course, this is merely another idiotic, problematic pronoun projection.
That high heel to the head ''woke'' that dumbass up.
Men invented high heels so women can't run very fast...but they forgot that those spikes can do damage
I bet some Kinky Boots could do some real damage! Loved that movie.
Fear breeds violence.
magatards getting the shit kicked out of them is pure comedy.
Yes, it's "slapstick" (like the fucking three stooges; only dumber).
trump's asexual army shouldn't be so quick to disqualify any potential sex partners...
domestic terrorists need love too...
... uh, no, not the DC jail kind...
How is reading to kids sexual?
It is not...
When it's done at a drag show. Or a burlesque show in Vegas. Or a strip club. Or when daddy reads the bedtime story while mommy is blowing him.
There are certain things that are inappropriate for children.
When I was a kid, it was perfectly fine for Flip Wilson to dress as a woman and entertain families on national TV in prime time. Suddenly, 40 years later, that’s not ok? Are you telling me it would have been sexual if he had been reading “Cat in the Hat?”
What do you think happens at these readings? Some queen is reading is “Goodnight Moon” with his dick out?
If you want to say you think it’s weird, that’s fine. People are entitled to their opinion. But let’s not lie and call it “sexual” when it’s not.
io n. But let’s not lie and call it “sexual” when it’s not
Of course it is. It's not about teaching kids to read, or be tolerant. It's about deconstructing traditional sexual roles and mores. Drag pedagogy has all sorts of motives behind it that aren't publicized on the fawning thirty second clips your local news plays.
So, Tyler Perry is OK with his female roles/movies?
If you know of anyone sexualizing children you must call the police immediately because that is illegal everywhere. If you are talking to the popular Drag Queen Story Hour programs held at public libraries, then you are talking out your behind!
Are these your fantasies here?
Where do these things happen????????????????
Sure. It's been a font of comedy for years. Men dress up as women and the audience is in on the joke and laughs.
More than that, no one has really cared about, and certainly not persecuted, drag for decades. It's only when it started being used as a trojan horse to get messages that parents otherwise wouldn't approve of in front of kids that people started objecting. Very few, if any, care about what adults do in drag clubs etc..
Why wouldn't he be???????????????????????????????
I mean, what the fuck?
Its amusing seeing what the leaders of the Drag Queen Story Hour describe as their purpose is in the literature, and also admit they have saccharine talking points they give useful idiots to disseminate. To their credit, they are quite open about it, knowing many of their supporters simply won't pay attention and will parrot the pablum they feed them.
So... Your kids aren't smart enough to be "in on the joke"? Mine certainly were.
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The point is that it is funny. It's a guy but he's dressed like a girl. That's the joke. Young kids don't think about it in a sexual way. It's just for fun.
What some conservatives mean is it not traditional. Paternal features should not don dresses and read books to kids in libraries, so of course some conservatives have to talk about Adult Entertainment expressed in legal adult clubs, crude jokes, and sexual innuendo between consenting adults. Note the operative word: Adult.
It is sad and pathetic that conservatives have to create and persist in drawing mind-pictures ("see the visual") of adults entertaining other adults in adult ways, to denigrate and diminish people who simply want to find ways to help with problem areas in the community/ities we all live in.
Let me be clear:
Some conservatives are PURPOSEFULLY talking about sex out of turn in order to GROUND and FRAME the NARRATIVE AND IMAGES which come easily to mind as perverted, nasty, and lewdness. Thus creating a myth that drag shows (and drag queens) can only be seedy, ratty, affairs unsuitable for decent people and broad daylight.
It’s literally about both of those things, and the proof is that you could see it without me having having to tell you.
Is it? Is someone telling these kids that their parents are behaving improperly by being straight and married? Is someone telling them their traditions are bad?
Where is the sex? I keep reading that there’s something sexual happening, but no one can point to it.
So I can’t figure out what those motives are; no one can tell me; and they don’t make the news. But you think little kids know what those motives are? Really?
You don't care about what drag queens do in front of kids either. You simply don't want drag queens to come out of the clubs and into 'mainstream' acceptance. Well, they're coming out. Be it nicely or raggedy. Better to try to make it nicely, because not even a conservative court will be able to keep them from constitutional freedom of speech.
For example? What message?
And I am pretty sure you point is a talking point someone 'shipped' you using any of a number of available methods. Especially if you think that a boy or girl who is not interested in sex is going to find drag queens 'stimulating.'
Let's be even clearer. Drag is real for some/most of these men. However, the serious side of this form of entertainment changes the black and white 'model' of gender for conservatives. That is, drag taken seriously CONFUSES some conservatives, because it is a form of 'color.' Drag moves the 'lines' of tradition and when done seriously can even erase traditional male and female characteristics.
To be even clearer. These participating draq queens want to help LGBTQ 'youth' come up feeling as healthy about themselves and their LGBTQ choices apart from being detracted by stigmatization, self-loathing, and second-guessing. And, for all intents and purposes, some conservatives know this.
This is why some conservatives are getting after this. They don't want PROUD drag queens living and loving life without 'fear and loathing.' They don't want the world, the country, to change its perception of drag queens not one iota!
As far as some conservatives are concerned there is no such thing as a HEALTHY DRAG QUEEN!
Hey, they forgot "The Birdcage".
WHAT MESSAGE, SEAN? Be clear, SEAN. We're adults here you can be 'expressive,' SEAN. That is, if you really have a point to debate, SEAN!
A truly well done movie, if I may say so. Mrs. Doubtfire is amazing. The Birdcage is exceptional.
Not to mention:
It can be illuminating to peel back the onion, and get into the details of what some of these people think is “traditional.” I find many people don’t have the first clue about their own traditions, the perfectly valid traditions of other people (who also happen to be Americans), or history in general.
For these ignorant people, something is only “not traditional” because it’s outside of their limited experience or understanding.
Plainly, the implication is there. These conservatives want a heterosexual society only. They want a society to their liking; all other societies be damned. They want LGBTQ people - piss poor, dirty, seeking 'love' behind bushes, seedy outhouses, bus stops, 'one-night stands,' and never EVER to receive acceptance in the mainstream. To that end, they hire, literally pay think tanks to come up with talking points they can wallop LGBTQ people ("be afraid, they are coming for your children!") over the head, neck, shoulders, stomachs, butts, and lest we forget: legs!
Let's call it like it is: Some conservatives are homophobes! As a group they will never let LGBTQ people along. And now that they have what they have dreamed about for decades: a perceived conservative court majority, they feel that have bested the liberals at their own game. That is, they have wrestled the courts away (Thanks Donald and Mitch, not in that order) from liberals and can not dismantle and re stigmatize the LGBTQ community with impunity.
Talk about escalation, the trans-community; the drag queen community, are only the start to the 'summer of LGBTQ discontent' that conservatives have planned for their culture wars! Yes! The conservatives are in a for-real culture war and 'shots' are firing away!
BOTTOMLINE: Conservatives as a collective class don't like what the LGBTQ community stands for not one iota! They have been making it 'plain' for decades, . . .centuries now.
Oh the horror! And populist conservatives are the authority on traditional sexual roles and mores?
It's more like populist conservatives need a new boogieman since the last several are now widely accepted. Drag shows are their physical stand in for trans people. They will ultimately lose this fight as they have their other culture battles, because fear isn't a long term governing solution.
They're not performing a drag show in the public library. They're reading children's books. I don't see anything sexual about that. Was there anything sexual about Milton Berle putting a dress on?
Good point. Makes you wonder who has the dirty minds, doesn't it?
Does that mean a summer of fabulousness? Beautiful costumes and make-up techniques I would kill for?
And they see drag shows and drag queens as perverts. . .
And we're the ones who are the 'cancel culture' crowd.
And Monty Python.
I wonder how he got to: 'reading to kids at a drag show' 'or at a burlesque show in Vegas' 'or a strip club' 'or when daddy is reading the bedtime story while mommy is blowing him'
Again, where the fuck does this happen?
The last one is the real corker - again, a fantasy of yours maybe????????????????????
I mean, what the fuck?????????????????????
Also, I didn't know children were allowed in strip clubs or that they held reading hours there
????????????????????????????????
It's their self-righteous nature; judgemental ("biddies"). We should ignore them as best we can - confront them - until they stop!
Just say I didn't read the link you included.
So I can’t figure out what those motives are
It's an academic article but I thought you could handle it. If you did read it and that's your takeaway, there's no point in discussing further.
Well, at least you are able to understand what this is about.
Why should parents want their little kids exposed at school to adults who openly admit (for those who can read) that their entire purpose in hosting these readings is to subvert those traditional mores they may favor? Is it that hard to understand why some people don't think its appropriate to start subverting sexual roles among small kids?
you think conservative think tanks have infiltrated the Drag Queen Story Hour group and tricked their leader and other drag thought leaders into writing a journal article lying about their motives?
[take your own advice...]
My time is valuable. If you have a specific argument, and you support it with relevant evidence, I’ll consider it. What I will not do is waste my time reading a whole article and then do the work of trying to find that evidence myself so that I can support your argument for you.
Mine is too. I provided you with an argument and the source material to back it up. Since you just want to ignore all that and spout simple talking points as I said, there's no point in discussing this further.
I will not do is waste my time reading a whole article
Yes, educating yourself and learning more about a topic than you can from a meme is difficult.
You have not made an argument. You have made several wild claims, unsupported by evidence.
It’s as if I went before a judge, made all sorts of accusations, and just shouted “read the law!” I’d get laughed at.
pornhub (i hear)
lol
You have made several wild claims, unsupported by evidence.
I don't think you know what that phrase means.
made all sorts of accusations, and just shouted “read the law!”
What do you imagine you've been doing? Putting aside your projection, an apt comparison would be to someone making an argument, and if questioned by the Judge, say's its laid out in great detail in the accompanying brief.
But feel free to keep using your valuable time to make unsupported declarations that simply ignore what's before you.
.
“Same to you” is an even worse argument.
I haven’t made any. I asked that someone (anyone) identify the alleged sexual content in drag readings. Then I asked you about alleged messages and alleged motivations, and I quote myself:
…
…
…
…
Those are questions, not declarations. It’s easy to tell because they’re all followed with a “?” The first of these questions, I posed generally. The second batch was to Jack. The rest were directed to you. None of them have been answered with supporting evidence by opponents of the drag readings.
The declarations came from you, and I quote:
…
…
I’ll give you a final opportunity to support your claims of sordid, sexual reading events for kids. If you want me to take evidence seriously, I suggest you quote it here and tie it logically to a claim or argument. Don’t just link me to pages of reading and expect me to go on some kind of scavenger hunt.
Ah, no. This 'summer of discontent' will befall the LGBTQ community as conservatives rep up the policy 'step's against drag queens and 'assorted others.'
Some of these fabulous drag queens are over-the-top productions anyway. That is, drag queens can span the spectrum of beauty/glam/couture to clownish, 'mud-puddles of makeup' insincerity. Then, help us, when the 'bearded queens' arrive!
when their minds start to wander, at church on sunday...
Sean, I read your linked article. There is much there to discuss. Where would YOU like to begin?
As a teaser, but by no means and ending to anything, I will start with its conclusion, but you may go where you wish on the link!
Do examine the faces of the adults (parents) in the room, their faces are 'open' though we have no idea what is being song by this drag queen. It is a slice of 'Americana.'
Sean, if you wish, let's get started on your critique and any analysis you may offer about the above or some other session of the article. Do provide a quote when you do!
Drag Queen Story Hour is not an accredited curriculum, if some conservatives do not want to be open to it then simply order your child/ren to stay away from the event/s.The drag queens do not have to tip-toe around the feelings of conservatives who have never supported them and will not do so now either under any set of circumstances.
I have read your link (an opening in my day appeared with no significant distractions) and am prepared to discuss the link with you. Being there are many areas of 'concern' in the link, I suggest you call out anything that distresses you or is of interest.
I see someone recently brought up donkey shows and it makes me wonder who are the perverts here.
Someone just brought up donkey shows. I wonder if they were on the receiving end.
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Setting aside the fairly obvious mountain of things from our childhood that are no longer considered acceptable...
There is a medically documented difference between farce used for comedic effect and a clinically defined sexual fetish.
Personally, I am "open and accepting" on fetishes. Whatever floats their boat. The more fun they have the better. But let's have some common sense about the kids.
I think there is a concerted effort to push the boundaries with regard to what is considered acceptable for children. Which is exceedingly suspicious, BTW. Anyone who has done any training on protecting kids from sexual predators recognizes that as huge red flag. And the fact people are trying to deny that it's sexual raises the suspicion exponentially.
Whether or not it's "weird" or "abnormal" is utterly inconsequential and frankly just a function of basic statistics. Pro basketball players are "weird". Astronauts are "abnormal". That's not the problem.
But let's not lie and call it "not sexual" when it absolutely is. Pretending it's not is a staggering rationalization.
Outstanding question.
You have brought up fetishes which has nothing to do with anything being discussed here.
It's not sexual in any way, shape or form.
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The National Institute of Health actually describes the difference between the use of cross-dressing for theatrical or comedic effects and the sexual fetish (their term).
So what's happening at the library is not what's happening when Tyler Perry plays Madea.
Now, if they were in different costumes every week... like say dressing as characters from the book they were reading, or as clowns, or as historical characters that became part of a lesson, and sometimes that meant men dressing as women... then yeah, I would agree completely with the whole Milton Berle idea. Great idea. Not a problem.
But that's not what they're doing.
When did Flip Wilson’s brand of comedy become unacceptable and who decided that? It must have still been ok when Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams did it. RuPaul’s Drag Race has been on for 15 seasons, and it’s still going. Tyler Perry? Mulan? Bugs Bunny? When exactly did this become inappropriate?
Who is practicing a sexual fetish in front of kids in schools or libraries?
But as many people have shown here, no boundary is being pushed. This kind of thing has been acceptable for all audiences for generations. It is political conservatives who trying to redefine the boundary.
What makes it sexual? You don’t just get to declare that it’s sexual and that’s the end of the conversation. Anybody pulling out a penis in the library? Anybody being touched in a sexual manner? Why was this not sexual in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and beyond, but now it suddenly is?
Oh FFS. Gee, what a shame they don't come to you for your approval.
My thoughts too - according to certain folks - out of nowhere - these things are unacceptable now according to ?????????
And the thing about fetishes ??????????
It's baffling to me where some folks wind up on these non-issues that they have made issues.
That wouldn’t help. Certain people get up in the morning looking for something to be offended by. If it weren’t the drag aspect, it would be something else.
It didn't say it was. I merely said that "it was OK 40 years ago" is not a justification for something being OK today. Maybe you never saw "All In the Family".
No. It absolutely hasn't and you absolutely know that.
You've already indicated you understand the vast difference between transvestites who read books to children and non-transvestite actors who occasionally cross-dress as part of their performance, because you've already said that these sessions promote tolerance. Tolerance of whom? Are you actually going to try and tell us that Flip Wilson was trying to promote the tolerance of cross-dressers??
If it's been acceptable for generations, why do we need to talk about tolerance?
Oh.... maybe it's because at no time ever has "drag queen story time for little kids" been acceptable... because people had a little common sense.
The immediate question here is whether you are going to be honest enough to admit you know that comparison is bullshit or whether you're simply going to defend the rainbow flag no matter what depth of rationalization it requires.
A call: Music interlude:
I think some folks need to go find some Looney Tunes and watch them again.
I really see Drag Queen Hour as no different than Bugs entertaining us when he crossed dress (and was annoying poor Mr. Fudd)
Yes, as if Ru Paul's Drag Race was not in its fifteenth season...
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The market for "Chicks with dicks" porn is not among gay men. It is almost exclusively made for men who identify as heterosexuals!
An odd subset of ostensibly straight men who dream about and fantasize about having sex with "women" with really big penises...
No. The real question is," Why it would bother someone to the point of creating laws that define the activity as illegal and immoral?" Merely by agreeing with the positing of the question "If they want to read to children, why do they have to be in drag to do it?" one presupposes the answer (They do not and they are trying to indoctrinate our children to be like them, grooming, etc., blah blah blah) and exposes the need to control others in a way that one has absolutely no right to.
So, If a woman is wearing a pantsuit and has a masculine hairstyle, she is technically in drag. Do you have problems with that? Why, or as is more probably the case, why not? Some little fetish thing going on there?
And underlying all of these questions is who gives you the right to tell anyone else what to wear and when they can wear it? The debate here is not about nudity or sex or bestiality, it is purely about the Freedom of Expression.
Don't like dresses? Bully on you. Don't wear one.
this is probably going to throw a major wrench into some scottish rites stuff in the future. cancel the bagpipes in the next parade...
The 2023 47th Infantry Division Reunion Show is CANCELLED!
I would posit that it is not because people had a little common sense, but rather were lazy and wanted their kids to go away and stop asking them why the cashier has bright orange and yellow eyeshadow as well as a five o'clock shadow. And why is that? Because they were dogmatically stultified or intellectually lazy/incapable of forming a cogent response that would satisfy their little "Why?" monsters. Easier just to shut the "strangeness" in the closet along with all the other queers and pretend they don't exist.
"Why, no, little Billy. We don't talk to them. We don't want them on our streets. We don't want them anywhere near you kids because you might catch it. Queerness is communicable, Don'tcha-know! We don't want you thinkin' that it is acceptable to be like that. Oh, they're ok as people, just so long as they stay out of sight."
Kind of gives the lie to all that equality stuff that we try to teach our kids so they grow up fair-minded and just. I see that others here have that problem also.
Probably for the same reason we don't let kids buy whiskey. Some things are not age-appropriate.
The rest of your post relies on the existence of some sort of alternate universe where the concept of age-appropriateness does not exist. There may be one, but we don't live there.
I'm sure you would.
You act like these conditions are mutually exclusive. They aren't.
In any case, we've been passing laws to protect our children from poor parenting since 1647. I don't see why it would surprise or upset anyone now.
Underlying the whole posit of your post is the idea that something is wrong or morally repugnant about cross-dressing. The whole of your argument can be summed up thusly: I don't agree with it. Therefore, it is wrong.
The rest is smoke and mirrors.
Why do you think it is "poor parenting" to take a child to a drag story hour? Because they might like it? What, exactly, do you think transpires at these events? I will tell you what happens: Children and adults are entertained and have fun. Ohhh, the travesty. Children need to be protected from what, exactly? From being entertained? From enjoying themselves. From seeing the grown-ups and children interact in a safe and caring way? My, that is bad.
And to boil it all down to the basics, what, exactly, is wrong with a child seeing a man dressed as a woman?
Hooray!
check out all these perverts parading around in public wearing skirts and bobbie socks, and they've been doing it in public for 200+ years! /s
Hooray x2. Thomas you get this! You see some conservatives in the presentation of folly. These conservatives are USING kids as a pretext to take control over and attempt to make their understanding of life sacrosanct in education. They pulled the same ploy with classroom discussions of gender, and even as wide of field as abortion. The lie is conservatives are about protecting children and liberals are not! A lie straight out of the pit of "H."
4.2.49 shows how engaged parents and children are doing "Drag Queen Story Hour." It is clear there are no disapproving scowls, because approving adults bring their children to an evidently monitored event. And yet, the 'loudest' mouths not in the room are gnashing their teeth, because they are not being OBEYED and the freedom some others enjoy to be themselves in a carved out setting goes against their wishes.
"To the basics. . . ." Here is the trick to this: The conservatives have been custodians of the nation's traditional experiences. That is, some conservatives are in the summation by William F. Buckley given: 'The job to stand athwart history, yelling, 'Stop.' (Paraphrase.) And claiming that ability as their 'right,' conservatives have ran interference and put up stumbling blocks (shamed, menacing stares, rhetoric, propagandized, violence) against each and every minority striving to be out from under the oppression and repression of the so-called, "moral agents" of this nation.
Finally, the time has come and is now that minorities of all stripes are saying, "We will stand athwart history, yelling, "STOP!" to conservatives." We want and will possess our righteous liberties and freedoms now and for future generations. Away with those who repress their fellow citizens needlessly!
I felt exhilaration just watching the classy 'affair' taking place there. What a magnificently strong tradition! A side note, recently my young nephew (8 years old) was watching a similar Scottish pipes band and he was 'confused' as to why those men were wearing skirts; he, abruptly changed the channel! I missed an opportunity to explain to him what it was about. (I simply did not have the energy to speak about on the occasion.)
Again, it is a beautiful tradition and those Scots represented themselves well. Here! Here! Here! I felt every bit of that ensemble and the pageantry of the moment!
In the late 60s, I was in a busy airport.
Someone on my six said (loudly), "Look at that hair! Can't tell if it's a girl or a boy. HAW, HA...)."
I spun around before he finished the second (mandatory) "HAW!'
I yelled (right in his shocked face) "WHY DON'T YOU SUCK MY DICK AND FIND OUT MOTHERFUCKER!"
Then I noticed his cringing wife and two teenage daughters (who were trying desperately to suppress their laughter).
That is it exactly Thomas! Thanks for the apt summary.
It says right in the seeded article that drag "has deep historical ties to the LGBTQ community, ".
They may not be performing sexual acts but this whole event is all about sexuality and shaping young minds. I personally think it's pretty disturbing to target children with confusing adult topics like this and frankly, I feel like these events are simply put on to push the buttons of people who are trying to protect them from that.
Drag queens can be decent and polite in conversation-get your mind out of the gutter, please. This is becoming trashy because of things some conservatives are adding to discussion!
Never said they couldn't be, I simply said they represent a controversial sexual topic that is not appropriate for a child's event. Especially if you are truly trying to frame this event as a teaching opportunity for children. What are you really trying to teach them?
Such ignorance.
Why is that significant? Why does that make the event sexual, when it has never been considered sexual before? Many activities that might involve kids have deep historical ties to the straight community. For example, making gifts for Mother’s Day. Dance classes. Prom kings and queens. Every Disney movie with a romance. That doesn’t make them sexual.
No. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t say there’s nothing sexual, but it’s about sexuality in a way that’s offensive or dangerous. If you want people to really respect the complaint, you need to point to something real - or let it go.
Right. Because people get up in the morning and make plans just to piss off the uptight people of the world. It should be clear to even the laziest observer that no one is enjoying the hyperactive pearl clutching attention from the Right.
How about that reading is fun? That’s important, yes? How about that they live in community with other people?
And yes, it might also teach kids that there are people in the world who are different from what they have already encountered in their young lives, and that those people are worth knowing. Something wrong with that?
Should we also exclude people of color or non-Christians from reading to kids? What about people with physical disabilities?
How about a woman who works in an office and wears a suit with pants? Is she a pervert, too?
How many kinds of people do you want to shield the kids from?
By the way, all those people I just mentioned also have plenty of sex. But when they read “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” to a roomful of 6 year-olds, no one is thinking about that - except maybe the hand-wringing social conservatives waiting outside.
If a veteran reads to kids, should we see that as advocating for war?
sorry that you're having such a hard time keeping your kids away from these shows.
Perfectly said. Impossible to refute.
It's always been considered a sexual topic, that's why it's controversial. If it wasn't this article wouldn't have been seeded. There is a large section of the country who has a problem with it and for that reason alone, I don't think bringing children into the middle of it is appropriate.
I think we focus on diversity plenty as a society. I guarantee there are plenty of events where non whites and non Christians read to children that don't get this kind of attention, because those people are not sexually controversial in nature. I see you threw the word pervert in there and other people on this thread have eluded to that with my comments on this thread but I am not passing judgment on anyone's lifestyle. As I have stated over and again using children to draw attention to a controversial topic is very lowly behavior and if you are okay with that, fine. Just don't be surprised when there are a lot of people who don't agree very loudly.
And you are being incredibly disingenuous to pretend people don't try to rub their lifestyle or political beliefs in people's face because of some joy they get out of it. It happens a lot and is not exclusive to any one side.
That's not what he said, now was it? Let's review. What he actually said was.... and you know this because you quoted it....
Which is absolutely true and is a point which you have already supported.
Why do they need to be in drag for that?
There just doesn't seem to be any limit on the size of rationalization you will attempt rather than face the basic, common sense idea of "age appropriateness".
They're 5. Nearly everybody they meet is different from what they have already encountered. Is there something wrong with introducing them to the concept of transvestism when most of them have no idea how babies are made yet? Yeah. I think there is.
The same freedom that allows the children of fundamentalist Christians, Muslims and Jews to receive a religious education in their churches, mosques and temples also allows liberal parents to take their children to see Drag Queen Story Hour at a LGTB Community Center or to Pride Parade on Main Street! All you RW morality cranks needs to get back in your lanes, and stay there!
What if some atheist lesbians disrupted a Sunday School?
Because they think children shouldn't be exposed to that?
GTFOOH!
Reading is the best and opens worlds. I'm so glad I gained a love of reading when very young.
I am not trying to teach kids anything. It is not my issue/agenda/problem/dilemma/scope of circumstances. And now it is time for shits and giggles because YOU have not provided one iota that in a crowd of adults attending these 'story hours' that a controversial sexual topic has come up or been mentioned in a press release. How about you get started on explaining what the "h" is sexual about a drag queen holding a book in his/her hand!
Drag queens are NOT responsible for some conservative neuroses or selective bigotry. Drag queens are not supposed to expect their critics to screen every opportunity afforded them to get on with their lives! BTW, when do some conservative parents 'run' their controversial activities by a 'certified board' of drag queens? It simply does not happen. Leave Drag Queen Story Hour alone!
There are adults who are not in drag or performers attending these 'hours' (see 4.2.49) and if/when you do - do not diminish or defame those adults in attendance! It would be a cheap shot if you do, because there is no way in "h" you can possibly know anything about any one there other than they are evidently present and accounted for adults.
Yeah like people and their religion. We got some on here who think they are such Christians and try to rub non-Christians faces in it but they are anything but Christlike
It is only controversial because the populist right needs a boogieman. They lost on minorities, they lost on scapegoating Muslims, they lost on gay marriage marriage, they are losing on Native American treaty rights, now they are picking on trans people and drag shows are the easiest physical target.
Just mussing here... when this all goes to shit on the MAGA populists (and it eventually will) I wonder what the new boogieman will be?
Of course you're passing judgement. It doesn't matter what you think. No one is trying to 'rub anything into your face'
Stop being so uptight - you and your 'large section of the country' (LOL - it's just narrow minded uptight busybodies who are looking for something to be uptight about) - a smaller group that you pretend to represent, thank goodness!
Well, not to go back a few hundred years, but back in Shakspear's day, all his productions were done in drag, and everyone brought the family. Nothing like progress/ sarc.
Shakespeare's plays were written by William Shakespeare.
These enemies of the world today would be more at home in the Shakespearean 'age.' They likely would balk, hem and haw, and proliferate misinformation about the stage performers also. All the while, insisting that a female's place is in the home (unless she is a despised girl/woman (whore/prostitute)) birthing and rearing children with her 'mildly' educated self!
Wasn’t that make believe?
oh please, do explain the differences to us ...
Should be self explanatory. Surprised you don’t know the difference.
women belong in a skirt and heels...
only women belong in a skirt and heels...
that kind of difference? what are you wearing now?
If people recall the movie Shakespeare In Love , at that time women were not allowed to be actors. The Gwyneth Paltrow character Viola De Lesseps yearns to be an actor and in order to do so she has to dress and act like a boy.
So womens parts in the plays were played by men in drag.
By the way, that 'fool' in the article picture reminds me of someone who can be easily manipulated into thinking that LGBTQ people sleep with children. Are even 'giddy' with the idea of sleeping with the kids in all the nooks and crannies of the library 'stalls.' Nevermind the fact that there are not nooks and crannies to speak of and that LGBTQ folks are acceptable to society because they are not pedophiles whom are not acceptable and kept away from close contact with children.
Meanwhile there are real pedophiles loose on the streets targeting our children...many of them upstanding members of the community
... civil, business, and spiritual.
... or running for office, as puritanical republicans...
... mostly all republicans.
This discussion is awesome. Shout out to Tacos!..
Agreed.
There are some comments here that I can't read but from the conversations and the copied/pasted text I get the gist of their comments.
I think it's sad that all you can think about is sex, sex, sex. And kids being exposed to it. OMG! The sky is falling!
I think it's you that have the dirty minds.
... the rwnj's are hard pressed to develop another wedge issue for 2024 that combines fear, sex, and children. especially one that doesn't involve fringe thumper perverts and their churches ...
And liberals would do well to 'best' some conservatives at this (wedge issue) practice with an attentive counter-narrative. Do not surrender this topic to conservatives and do not let them get too far ahead with hearts and minds with propagandist fear and loathing about what drag queens are reading (but not 'saying or doing') in Drag Queen Story Hour.
Liberals should not delude themselves, conservatives-especially MAGA-edition conservatives are engaged in "all-out" political and cultural warfare against them! Conservatives are gravely serious about packing up every liberal policy they can reach and gather up, boxing it up, and dropping that box into a sea of forgetfulness.
in addition to the congressional committee retribution comedies, they're rotating and rerunning their tired wedge issues instead of solving the "end of the US" crime, groceries, and gas price campaigns they ran on, and then voters elected them to their office. looking a lot like it's going to be an 18+ month marathon of crazy for the right, and they are scared to death of one person and what that future holds for them. it should really be fun to watch.
What I wanna know is why progressives are so hell bent on exposing children to anti social behavior at such a young age. What is society to gain by establishing these kind of role models? When performers do it on TV its to entertain, is there no other way to entertain children without using something so controversial? Why don't we focus on getting them to graduate at least half way literate since this country seem to have such a serious problem with that
Southparkrepublican, that talking point is dead on arrival!
Some conservatives create controversy the same as water flows downhill—matter-of-factly. Drag Queen Story Hour is not an accredited curriculum so it does not take away or negatively affect any accredited curriculum.
As far as being anti-social, some conservatives, have yet to establish Drag Queen Story Hour as being so. Go!
I don't need to be a psychologist to acknowledge that a man, or woman, who goes through great lengths to openly dress like the opposite sex, is exhibiting behavior outside of social norms. I'm not condemning them I just don't understand why there is so much emphasis on getting them in front of impressionable minds.
Of course you're condemning them.
Why because I said theyre not role models? I don't think proud boys are role models either. So now what are you going to say? I'm condemning the proud boys?
You don't know what you're saying.
Aren't you the one who brought up donkey shows? What is a donkey show? How many have you attended? What was your role in these donkey shows? Catcher?
Conservatives should direct their angst and pearl clutching toward pedophiles, sex traffickers and abuse enablers that move in their own circles.
it's just a round about way of blaming the perceived deviants, even in their own families, on others. I've seen this melodrama before in my own family. so we don't talk much politics because I really like to twist the knife.
Yes, you are condeming them. Social norms change. Women used to be in the home now they're in the workplace. At one time women working outside the home was not a social norm. Fathers staying home while mom works was not a social norm
You don't get to define social norm with such restricting parameters
Hear that girls? Pants are bad!!! /s
Seriously though. Just because something is "outside the social norms", as you put it, doesn't make it bad or wrong. It only makes it different. I know "different" makes some people uncomfortable, but that is their problem and not the problem of the rest of us. Accepting there are different people creates a rich, diverse, stronger, more stable society. All indicators show it contributes to better health, less crime, better education and more wealth. It also leaves the rich, white evangelical donor class less influential.
You can have my jean when you can pry them from cold, dead, butt
Really, it should be just
That is society's job to define the norms. And, even if it is not statistically "normal", there is nothing wrong with kids being exposed to men who dress like women, at all. The devil here is the group of people who think that they have the right to limit other people's self-expression simply because they don't like it.
meh, add it to the list of the other 1st amendment facets the alleged defenders of the constitution can't seem to comprehend...
Who has made this controversial?
Isn't reading to children expanding their minds/teaching literacy?
It appears to me that everyone is having fun and that makes learning more fun.
All the bullshit arguments against it are just that - bullshit - quite baffling bullshit to me.
kids that age see a person in an elaborate costume reading to them. it's theater for that age group that have no inclinations or feelings towards sex. what's next, banning all people in costumes performing for kids? do we need the clown and cartoon character gestapo to monitor those activities, only to discover later that some of the gestapo have kiddie porn collections? what about catholic priests, are they next? don't those robes mean they're celibate? isn't that sexual?
all so true and these phony holier than thou types are always the first one caught with their pants down . . . literally
It is some conservatives which are bringing and keeping sexual innuendo, sensuality, and even x-rated consideration and acts in this discussion. 4.2.49 shows no sensuality or hint of sexuality is being conveyed to a room filled with children and adults, and yet leave Drag Queen Story Hour and go 'outside' the safe zone of the library and sex is the 'rage' because of big-mouth conservatives hanging on the perimeter! Doing what they do, spoiling and desperately working to re-stigmatize the LGBTQ community. All done with the ploy of safe-guarding children, whom I remind the commenters may or may not be conservative children at all!
meh, you're preaching to the choir cb. I've been hip to their projectionist bullshit for decades.
Anti-social behavior? According to the closed minded, maybe.
As for performers on TV/Movies...that's what's happening here....they're entertaining
it really doesn't matter what they think anymore. american culture has left them in the dust...
What's anti-social about story time at a library?
Books are cool. Reading is fun. Libraries have books.
It's only controversial because you say it is. What would be the difference if this was a woman in exactly the same dress and makeup? None.
Isn't getting children interested in reading at a young age the first steps in fixing literacy?
So we are supposed to ignore the true problem in this article - threats & violence against things you don't agree with & focus on made up problems with a story hour. Why are we talking about fetishes? Why are we talking about donkey shows? Strip shows? None of that has anything to do with what the article is about. Why condone or ignore threats & violence and ATTACK something you do not understand. You don't like the story hour? Here is a suggestion - DON'T SEND YOUR KIDS TO THAT STORY HOUR. And don't forget to buy your 8 year old that assault rifle.
It's all projection, deflection, and denial on their part and they do their best to try to ruin many a good article like this.
Agreed.
I'm proud of the drag queen.
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I have to guess what you said.
I created the meme. It's NOT intended to be factual, it's just a fucking joke.
I hope the innocent poor boy, oops I mean PROUD BOY can recover (after suffering from a fractured male ego).
after getting boners while watching the drag queens, the proud boys had a hard time running away...
I'm surprised the domestic terrorists known as the proud boys don't get their asses kicked every time they step outside wearing anything that says proud boys now. them and the unamerican insurrectionist oath keepers...
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