Shows featuring drag queens reading to young children have proven increasingly popular – but they are also attracting angry protests. How have we reached a place where these joyful events are seen as a threat to infants?
In February 2020, I took my three-year-old daughter to a local pub for an event that sounded intriguing. It was called Drag Queen Story Hour. I thought it may be right up her street – glitter, stories, wigs – and offer her the chance to learn something about difference and respect along the way. I also liked the idea of doing something different, although the main appeal was free child entertainment and the fact that my partner and I could have a roast and a pint of Guinness while we watched.
As predicted, the kids in attendance went absolutely wild: screaming and dancing during the interactive bits, rushing to get their pictures taken afterwards with Aida H Dee, a fabulous character whom my daughter insisted was a “dragon queen”. Two years on, she still does a good impression of the funny voices Aida H Dee would adopt for the characters.
