There are drag kings (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_king) but not in story hours, as far as I know, and of course they are fewer in number. I have seen some funny drag shows for adults, and the story hours I have heard of personally are pretty tame-- the reading of picture books, maybe some jokes-- although I know there are videos on social media where they go beyond that. I don't think those are representative, but even if it is just the former, I am not sure the concept of drag is appropriate for young kids. I doubt they can grasp it (while I think drag can have many meanings, to a child it may well just seem like making fun of women), and I don't think it is necessary to promote "acceptance of drag kings" specifically if a child learns acceptance of difference in general.
My guess is that most of the story hours are fun for the families that attend and they may well use them as a discussion starting point with their kids, but for me I have some hills worth dying on, like not removing books from the collection, and I don't think DQSH is one of them.
For the record, I'm not even a Pixar fan, as I find those movies somewhat crass, but I think the "money tucking" situations are primarily happening in clubs. That raises another question though-- whether there is any reason to have a drag queen giving a storytime if all the "drag" elements are removed (perhaps there is a little sassy humor left in).
In my county we overturned a policy forbidding displays of LGBT books in public libraries. This was hard won and involved working to get a LGBT county commissioner elected. That took a few years. Talk about a long game. The LGBT commissioner was reasonable and positive about the community's need to be inclusive. He spoke with sincerity and compassion about the need for the county's children to have access to LGBT books. A few years later the ban was overturned by the county commission. we now have Pride parades.
However, Drag Queen Story hours have brought the zombie of book bans back to life. The most cruel anti-DQSH comment I heard was that DQSHs are supported by a lot of overweight librarians trying to be edgy without concern for the impact these events will have on children who don't get the irony. I think if DQSH was called "Dress Up Story Hour " it might not have created such push-back. However, DQSH has given people a very strange point of conflict.
How do drag queen get ups worn by men "let off steam" for *women*?
One of the great ironies of drag queen story hours is that if parents dropped their kid off for the first day of kindergarten and the teacher was a woman wearing pancake makeup, fake eyelashes, in a tight dress, stilettos, and her cleavage pushed up to her collarbone, they'd be very alarmed both by the overt sexuality of the get-up and by the fact that you can't actually care for small active kids while dressed like that.
It's only considered charming and cute and liberating on... men. huh. So what is that actually teaching children about freedom and the sexes?
The same old misogynist trash, that's what. I don't think libraries should *ban* drag queen story hour. But I do think librarians should realize when they put these one they are offering the left version of Rulon Jeffs' "Keep Sweet" ideology: something intended to really propagandize boys and girls about who matters and who is a hilarious public joke.
I think there are several different ways to interpret drag-- homage to women, a mockery of women, or mocking female stereotypes. The last interpretation is the one that allows for women to let some steam off. At the same time I wouldn't label a feminist group a "hate group" for having a more critical interpretation. I don't think any of these more in-depth conversations have occurred in the library world regarding DQSH.
Comparing an event where children are active participants dressing up as a tiger or a plumber or a ballet dancer and playing out their imagined identities (yes Please, More of this!) is not even remotely the same as sitting passively while a grown man grotesquely parodies womanhood. What messages can a 4 year old actually understand? Perhaps all the children are learning is who to laugh at and who gets to decide who is real or pretend? The notion that Drag is harmless family friendly fun ignores the Fact that it has been a revolutionary tool of resistance for Gay Men for decades, it ignores the Fact that it is steeped in the deep sexism that pervades most societies including those that like to see themselves as progressive. It is a critique of masculine expectation in a sexist world, a glamorous middle finger to the bullies who police men's behaviour, consequently it is packed with nuance, social critique, and is pro sex and pro sexual and personal liberty. It is ADULT entertainment by and for Gay Men and has almost nothing to do with actual women, except to use female stereotypes as the tropes that they are. Gay men are not magically free of culturally entrenched misogyny, none of us are. Kathleen's interpretation mirrors my own, there are many ways North American 'Progressives' instruct women of 'Their Place' drag has sadly become one of them.
I realize drag is a caricaturization of women. And an appropriation of female bodies and female culture. If I can’t blackface, you can’t drag. That is fair.
There are drag kings (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_king) but not in story hours, as far as I know, and of course they are fewer in number. I have seen some funny drag shows for adults, and the story hours I have heard of personally are pretty tame-- the reading of picture books, maybe some jokes-- although I know there are videos on social media where they go beyond that. I don't think those are representative, but even if it is just the former, I am not sure the concept of drag is appropriate for young kids. I doubt they can grasp it (while I think drag can have many meanings, to a child it may well just seem like making fun of women), and I don't think it is necessary to promote "acceptance of drag kings" specifically if a child learns acceptance of difference in general.
My guess is that most of the story hours are fun for the families that attend and they may well use them as a discussion starting point with their kids, but for me I have some hills worth dying on, like not removing books from the collection, and I don't think DQSH is one of them.
For the record, I'm not even a Pixar fan, as I find those movies somewhat crass, but I think the "money tucking" situations are primarily happening in clubs. That raises another question though-- whether there is any reason to have a drag queen giving a storytime if all the "drag" elements are removed (perhaps there is a little sassy humor left in).
In my county we overturned a policy forbidding displays of LGBT books in public libraries. This was hard won and involved working to get a LGBT county commissioner elected. That took a few years. Talk about a long game. The LGBT commissioner was reasonable and positive about the community's need to be inclusive. He spoke with sincerity and compassion about the need for the county's children to have access to LGBT books. A few years later the ban was overturned by the county commission. we now have Pride parades.
However, Drag Queen Story hours have brought the zombie of book bans back to life. The most cruel anti-DQSH comment I heard was that DQSHs are supported by a lot of overweight librarians trying to be edgy without concern for the impact these events will have on children who don't get the irony. I think if DQSH was called "Dress Up Story Hour " it might not have created such push-back. However, DQSH has given people a very strange point of conflict.
How do drag queen get ups worn by men "let off steam" for *women*?
One of the great ironies of drag queen story hours is that if parents dropped their kid off for the first day of kindergarten and the teacher was a woman wearing pancake makeup, fake eyelashes, in a tight dress, stilettos, and her cleavage pushed up to her collarbone, they'd be very alarmed both by the overt sexuality of the get-up and by the fact that you can't actually care for small active kids while dressed like that.
It's only considered charming and cute and liberating on... men. huh. So what is that actually teaching children about freedom and the sexes?
The same old misogynist trash, that's what. I don't think libraries should *ban* drag queen story hour. But I do think librarians should realize when they put these one they are offering the left version of Rulon Jeffs' "Keep Sweet" ideology: something intended to really propagandize boys and girls about who matters and who is a hilarious public joke.
So, in your mind, drag is more like mockery and less like homage?
is blackface "homage" or mockery?
I think there are several different ways to interpret drag-- homage to women, a mockery of women, or mocking female stereotypes. The last interpretation is the one that allows for women to let some steam off. At the same time I wouldn't label a feminist group a "hate group" for having a more critical interpretation. I don't think any of these more in-depth conversations have occurred in the library world regarding DQSH.
Comparing an event where children are active participants dressing up as a tiger or a plumber or a ballet dancer and playing out their imagined identities (yes Please, More of this!) is not even remotely the same as sitting passively while a grown man grotesquely parodies womanhood. What messages can a 4 year old actually understand? Perhaps all the children are learning is who to laugh at and who gets to decide who is real or pretend? The notion that Drag is harmless family friendly fun ignores the Fact that it has been a revolutionary tool of resistance for Gay Men for decades, it ignores the Fact that it is steeped in the deep sexism that pervades most societies including those that like to see themselves as progressive. It is a critique of masculine expectation in a sexist world, a glamorous middle finger to the bullies who police men's behaviour, consequently it is packed with nuance, social critique, and is pro sex and pro sexual and personal liberty. It is ADULT entertainment by and for Gay Men and has almost nothing to do with actual women, except to use female stereotypes as the tropes that they are. Gay men are not magically free of culturally entrenched misogyny, none of us are. Kathleen's interpretation mirrors my own, there are many ways North American 'Progressives' instruct women of 'Their Place' drag has sadly become one of them.
I realize drag is a caricaturization of women. And an appropriation of female bodies and female culture. If I can’t blackface, you can’t drag. That is fair.