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A small silver lining in the Pride Month events targeting children: Some of them have been canceled.
As “Drag Queen Story Hour” events for children pop up across the nation, a handful were canceled after concerned community members spoke out. Apex, North Carolina’s Pride Festival this weekend was one of many slated to hold a Drag Queen Story Hour in its “kid’s zone” until town residents complained.
Mayor Jacques K. Gilbert said the decision was the result of “careful consideration” of community feedback.
“It continues to be my goal to ensure that all voices in our community are represented,” said Gilbert in a statement posted on Facebook. “I have received a variety of feedback regarding the Drag Queen Story Hour at the upcoming Apex Pride Festival. Today I was notified that the Apex Festival Commission has taken the feedback into careful consideration and has decided to remove the Drag Queen Story Hour from the event.”
While the mayor’s statement did not mention threats against the event, he did later disable the post’s comments section after mixed reactions and “hate speech.” Newsweek also reported that Town Council Member Audra Killingsworth commented on the mayor’s post saying complaints had escalated into threats of violence.
“Drag Story Hour is tailored for children ages 3-8,” one commenter told another who believed canceling was a “reasonable decision” for a public venue. “The performers are background checked and the books are children’s books. Research before blindly judging.”
Another event in Jasper, Indiana, was canceled last week for what Dubois County Pride called “safety and security concerns.”
“We regretfully announce that due to safety and security concerns, the family-friendly drag performance planned for Pride in the Park has been cancelled,” the Facebook post says. “This decision was jointly made by the City of Jasper, ONE- Dubois County, and the Dubois County Pride committee.”
Mayor Dean Vonderheide cited a different reason, stating that the cancellation was due to a “miscommunication” with the city’s Public Works Department, according to Courier & Press. He also said there were no specific threats made, just unhappy citizens on Facebook.
“When we were informed of it, we didn’t feel like we were prepared at that time to ensure anything without running it through our departments,” Mayor Vonderheide said. “I don’t know what I don’t know. I don’t claim to be an expert on family-friendly drag shows and I don’t think the public understands what that means either.”
The event had advertised itself as for “all ages” and encouraged attendees to “bring some cash” because “drag is not cheap,” according to Libs of TikTok.
The U.S. Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany also planned to hold a “Drag Queen Story Time” until Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) sent a letter urging Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall to shut it down and discipline the staff involved.
Rubio wrote that it is “completely insane for Ramstein AFB to use on-installation resources” for the event and requested to know how much taxpayer funding had gone into associated costs and how many times similar events had occurred.
“These inappropriate events are extremely divisive at home for good reason; in all cases, they place young children in close proximity with adults who are intentionally and explicitly sexualized,” he said.
Shutting these events down was the right move. Exposing children to drag queens is not “inclusive.” It’s perverted. It makes the sexuality of the reader, not the stories in the books themselves, the focus of the events. That’s not the right way to teach children the value of books. Yet, many more of these events will be held this month. Libs of TikTok posted a massive thread in late May filled with more than 30 examples of these events taking place in public libraries, schools, churches, and other facilities — often taxpayer-funded and aimed at children.
It goes without saying that threats are not a proper response, if there were in fact violent threats made against program organizers. But there are legitimate ways to express disapproval, and it’s more than warranted to use them.
We must not tolerate the sexualization of children. Parents need to pick up the phone and call their schools and libraries hosting drag shows. More politicians need to step in and ask questions about why government funds are being used for such events. As these cancellations show, making your concern known works.
