The UK’s badly misnamed “Free Speech Union” wants drag queens to be forbidden from reading children’s books to children in libraries and schools. In a recent post on LinkedIn, of all places, the group warns that drag queens are “trojan horses” for “radical gender theory,” which they somehow infect young children with while reading them “Little Bunny Foo Foo.”
Specifically in relation to education we want to see an enforcement mechanism created to ensure children aren’t being politically indoctrinated in schools. The radical, politically charged academic theory underpinning the pedagogic technique known as ‘Drag Queen Story Hour’ perfectly illustrates why that mechanism is now so urgently needed.
An “enforcement mechanism” is a somewhat Orwellian synonym for “a ban.”
So what do these ostensible free speechers think is wrong with costumed adults reading books to kids? Well, some of these dastardly drag queens also do shows for adults that are very naughty. And even their toned-down reading appearances are naughty too, in that they are secretly preaching “radical gender theory” while telling the kids stories about naughty (in a different way) bunnies.
The Free Speech Union turns to a recent book co-written by right-wing propagandist Christopher Rufo that
dives into the murky academic literature on queer theory, transgender ideology and gender identity activism to try and locate the latent theoretical assumptions that underpin movements like Drag Queen Story Hour.
Drawing on this “radical gender ideology” the drag queens somehow convey to youngsters
that sex and gender aren’t features of objective reality, but social constructs that are wielded as instruments of power by [yawn] white men. To facilitate the destruction of this system, radical gender theorists seek to dismantle the notion of biological sex – i.e., the male-female binary – and replace it with “queer alternatives“ and a “world beyond binaries”.
That sounds like a lot of stuff to cover in an hour.
To have drag queens … read stories to children while their parents are off doing other things
The horror!
… may indeed be to engage in literacy-focused pantomime and celebrate hitherto marginalised communities. But in the world according to radical gender theorists, it is also to chip away at the concept of the nuclear family – a western system that, more than any other, helps perpetuate the male-female binary and other forms of patriarchal oppression.
The reference to “pantomime” is telling, because the free speechers are well aware of the British theatrical tradition that involves men and women dressing up — sometimes in the clothing of the opposite sex — and acting silly (and perhaps a bit naughty) on stage.
Seriously, that last link there leads to video of a “panto” that’s a lot more risqué than any drag queen story hour I’ve ever heard of.
But somehow the “free speech” squad has no problem with pantomime dames, just drag queens. I wonder why that is?
This horse with men hiding in it wants to know, too.
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Also more risqué than above half the actual drag performances I’ve seen, in the drag cabaret I used to work at.
Some legal context on panto.
In 1968 an Act was passed that means there can be no censorship of material performed on stage.
https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/private-lives/relationships/collections1/1968-theatre-censorship/1968-theatres-act/
The last time this was tested was 1982. Mary Whitehouse brought a private prosecution over a play. Ultimately the Attorney-General exercised his power to take over any private prosecution, and discontinued the prosecution.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Romans_in_Britain
But that’s why kids get to see things like the example above.
And why this is barely an exaggeration; especially of small scale parish productions.
I think drag queen story hours sound rather fun. My children are grown, but I’d take them to one if they were little.
Oh, and men and boys doing the St Trinian’s thing is considered pretty mainstream here too. Perfectly acceptable school fancy dress.
I never quite got why on the one occasion you don’t have to wear school uniform, you then choose to wear another school uniform. Although I do like the hats.
I’m fine with Drag Queen Story Hour, but I’m sure that little boys mocking little school girl trends as is clearly happening in that picture with the duck faces and the selfie poses is a fabulous idea because… nope… not really seeing the benefit of that one. Also not too keen that delinquent = sexy pose to these chaps apparently (yes, it was a quick google to find out what St. Trinian’s even was). Clarification on the benefit of this tradition needed. From my perspective it really looks like a sanctioned group mock of schoolgirls.
There are some people just obsessed with pearl-clutching opportunities. I heard some of these ‘Mrs Lovejoys’ actually claiming in a BBC radio interview that the story hours promoted p**do*****a. I can’t help thinking that there is something very disturbing underlying these attitudes, and I can’t get away from wilful defamatory malice being a candidate for what that is.
That loud crack you just heard was my brain breaking from the stress of trying to make sense of the Not-So-Free Speech Union’s arguments.
The type of British drag humor most familiar to Americans is probably Monty Python’s Pepperpots.
One important difference between panto humor and drag queens is that the former are obviously men. With the latter it may be difficult to tell at first glance, and it’s probably not a stretch to suggest that the opposition is rooted in a variety of gay panic. The male opponents aren’t worried that children will be confused about gender – they know it’s all dress up. Instead they’re worried that they might themselves be gay if they find a drag queen attractive.
Some of it is the belief from entitlement that drag queens are engaging in false advertising. The kind of men who think women owe them sex and are angry because the drag queens aren’t delivering on their promise of vagina.
Hey, is that Dan Leno in the main photo?! He was a legend (and a big influence on Stan Laurel’s work)!
I like to go to cartoons to show their eliminationist cherry-picking.
https://animaniacs.fandom.com/wiki/Hidden_Innuendos
Goodnight everybody!
It’s funny how things change. I can remember the days when TERF types (I see that the Free Speech Union are probably different kinds of bigots, but still interesting) would argue that drag acts enforce gender stereotypes rather than blur the line between them.
Pantomime zebra has no time for this BS. Particularly the guy in the back, who is whinging about how his back hurts and the guy in front stinks. I once was in a play where we had two guys in a horse suit. They were brothers a few years apart. No points for guessing who was front and who was back.
I guess they’re fine with panto dames since they don’t try to look good or wear fabulous wigs and gowns. Even the most casual glance shows they’re cis men. Whereas drag queens might give them pants feels and they can’t deal with that.
@Brony: Helloooo Nurse!
I once spent over an hour in line to get to talk to the voices of Yakko, Wakko, and Dot for about a minute each.
@GSS
I fan crushed on a couple of Tress MacNeille’s characters as a kid. I bet that was interesting.
Hey, nuclear families lead to nuclear proliferation.
(This is me undermining sex and gender – I’m making dad jokes and I’m not even a dad.)
Anyway, what’s with the language? It sounds like a university student trying to impress a prof by peppering an essay with random expressions from their course readings.
…Okay, that was me once. But at least I tried to make sense (screen name notwithstanding).
@Dalillama – That reminds me of when I saw a drag show at a bar for the first time. It was at a venue known for more risque stuff (they had a flier for a fetish show another day) and I asked my friend hesitantly if it’d be a sort of stripper thing, because I was embarrassed to watch that with her and her younger sibling. She laughed and said nah. And then I got it into my head that it’d just be a fashion show and I prepared to be bored. But it was a variety show with skits, dancing, original songs, comedy – a lot of fun, even for a perennially confused introvert.
@Brony: It was fabooo. Which I requested Jess Hartnell to say in Wakko’s voice. He did.
They were all very nice.
O! no it isn’t!!!
Oh yes it is!
So…standard conservative shit that has nothing to do with free speech? In fact they’re actually advocating on limits to free speech because the speech in question is politically unacceptable? Wow, they really need to change their name so people know they’re just another conservative think tank.
I think the past 50 years of divorce, fostering, adoption, gay parenting and other changes to the social landscape have done more to damage the concept of the nuclear family (which is fairly young as a concept) than any drag queen story hour. Non-nuclear families already exist, gender non-conforming and trans kids already exist, they should be encouraged to thrive rather than squashed.
I don’t remember this much whining over Boy George, Victor Victoria, and heavy metal bands dressed in women’s clothes. Nor do I remember people whining about Shakespeare plays female leads being men in drag.