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‘Drag Queen Story Hour’ Floods UK with 70 Events, Parents Push Back Calling It a Form of Child ‘Abuse’

'Drag Queen Story Hour' Floods UK with 70 Events, Parents Push Back Calling It a Form of Child 'Abuse'

More and more men are dressing up like women in provocative clothing to read books to young children, and it’s provoking fresh fury from parents and others who disagree with the idea.

Drag Queen Story Hour has been a serious concern in the U.S. for many years, and now those same concerns are growing in the U.K. as well.

The storytime events have taken place in libraries, schools, and bookstores over the past few years, as those involved try to convince impressionable kids that the LGBTQ lifestyle is normal and exciting.

In the U.K., many opposing Drag Queen Story Hour are speaking out by urging local councils and libraries to reject the events as distasteful and inappropriate. 

Family Education Trust is encouraging parents to get involved and find out if their local library is allowing a Drag Queen Story Hour. The group even provided a letter template for them to fill out, outlining their opposition to the events. 

According to the group’s website, the drag queens have nearly 70 activities planned in 20 different areas across the U.K. this summer.

Safe Schools Alliance UK (SSAUK) is another group that opposes drag queen-related events. Teachers and parents are joining forces to speak out against the men who wear gobs of makeup, huge wigs, and vulgar outfits.

“Drag queens entering children’s environments is already an abuse of power,” the group said, adding that it’s being “pushed as the new, inclusive thing to do” so children will develop a deeper love for reading. 

SSAUK continues, “Boundaries are imposed by schools to keep children safe from themselves, from each other and from exploitative adults. Drag is a form of adult entertainment, and as such can never be appropriate for the age, developmental stage, or background of pupils.”  

In a statement, Drag Queen Story Hour UK said every performer is checked for a criminal record and receives safety training, according to GBN News.

“Performances are very similar to pantomimes, except they are explicitly literacy-focused and support inclusivity in communities and an interest in reading,” said a spokesperson for the drag queen group.

But CBN News previously reported that some drag queens in the U.S. have been exposed for having criminal records that involve sexually assaulting young children.

Some have also worked as transgender prostitutes and porn actors. 

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Danielle Kang announces she’ll miss events, including KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, due to spinal tumor

Danielle Kang announces she’ll miss events, including KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, due to spinal tumor
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Ramstein rethinks Pride Month events after critics bash ‘Drag Queen Story Time’ for kids

A newly installed welcome sign is on display at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Sept. 2, 2021. (Airman Edgar Grimaldo/Air Force)

Ramstein Air Base in Germany is overhauling its Pride Month festivities after critics, including a Republican senator, complained that a drag queen was picked to read to children.

Ramstein, the largest American air base in Germany and headquarters of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, was slated to host local drag queen Stacey Teed at a 30-minute story time event for kids at an on-base library, according to a since-deleted Facebook event.

“Be sure to wear your brightest and most colorful outfits!” the post read.

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Air Force Brig. Gen. Leah G. Lauderback listens while Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. Raymond delivers remarks during her promotion ceremony to major general at the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia, Sept. 8, 2020. (Eric Dietrich/Air Force)

But the event created a furor. Chief among its opponents was Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who confirmed the Air Force had canceled “Drag Queen Story Time” the same week he wrote to Secretary Frank Kendall demanding the service “immediately cancel this politically divisive event, and take appropriate disciplinary action against all involved in allowing this gross abuse of taxpayer funding to place children in a sexualized environment.”

Rubio also asked Kendall how many events “involving drag queens spending time around children” have been held on American military installations around the world, and what resources have been used to hold them.

“Decisions over children and their bodies should be left to moms and dads serving our nation,” Rubio wrote Thursday. “The last thing parents serving their nation overseas should be worried about, particularly in a theater with heightened geopolitical tensions, is whether their children are being exposed to sexually charged content simply because they visited their local library.”

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The rainbow flag represents the diversity and social movement of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community. (Air Force/Airman 1st Class Monica Roybal)

His opposition comes amid a spike in baseless accusations of LGBTQ people “grooming” or befriending children with the intent to sexually abuse them.

“It’s story time, not RuPaul’s Drag Race,” said Natalie Ricketts, a member of the Ramstein community who created a Change.org petition to reinstate the events. “Stacey Teed isn’t a sexualized name, nor would they wear the same clothes [to the reading that] they would for a show.”

Neither Ramstein’s 86th Airlift Wing nor the Modern Military Association of America, an advocacy group for LGBTQ service members, responded to questions by press time Friday.

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Drag is the centuries-long practice of dressing in exaggerated makeup and clothing of the opposite sex, most commonly used in theater and other stage performances. It’s often on display during Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Pride Month events, held worldwide each June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York that served as a catalyst for the gay rights movement. Pride Month also celebrates the community’s contributions and remembers those killed in hate crimes or by HIV/AIDS.

Military organizations have started hosting Pride events in the decade since the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy banning openly gay service members ended.

This year, Ricketts wrote in the petition, the 86th Mission Support Group commander canceled all Pride events unless they are rebranded without drag queens.

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Staff Sgt. Logan Ireland and his wife, Laila, speak to an audience in Polaris Hall about transgender issues during the National Character and Leadership Symposium hosted by the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2018. (Tech. Sgt. Julius Delos Reyes/Air Force)

“The reason for this is because the [public affairs chief] received a lot of angry emails from ‘taxpaying Americans’ … most of which aren’t stationed here,” said Ricketts, whose public LinkedIn profile shows she served as an active duty geospatial intelligence analyst before joining the Air Force Reserve.

“Per the [86th Airlift] Wing … ‘You can do the event but remove the drag queen [and] have someone ‘normal’ reading the stories,’” said Ricketts.

According to the Change.org petition, which had gathered more than 140 digital signatures as of Friday afternoon, the library will only hold Pride story time if a drag queen participates.

Objections centered on the library gathering but allegedly led to a blanket ban from local leadership on any drag-related event. Pride was slated to kick off next week with a karaoke event run by drag queens at the base’s enlisted club, Ricketts said.

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Ricketts disputed the idea that the event would involve anything untoward.

The “Monarchy of RoyalTea,” a drag group in the Kaiserslautern military community that holds performances and events like holiday drag brunches, is losing out on funds it would have received for working at Pride Month activities, she said. Most of the drag queens are enlisted members.

A note anonymously posted to the popular Facebook page “Air Force amn/nco/snco”, which airs airmen’s questions and gripes and shares news articles, said those involved with Ramstein Pride are working with the Air Force’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning Initiative Team; the Modern Military Association of America, an advocacy group for LGBTQ service members; and 86th Force Support Squadron on a solution.

“We are deeply disappointed that discrimination like this continues to be tolerated,” the note said.

Rachel Cohen joined Air Force Times as senior reporter in March 2021. Her work has appeared in Air Force Magazine, Inside Defense, Inside Health Policy, the Frederick News-Post (Md.), the Washington Post, and others.

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Events this week: Mental Health story times and documentaries, Cultural Voices, Teen/Tween Stress, SOLF meeting, Go the Distance, Community Read, NECC 5K, and Gardeners Show & Sale

Events this week: Mental Health story times and documentaries, Cultural Voices, Teen/Tween Stress, SOLF meeting, Go the Distance, Community Read, NECC 5K, and Gardeners Show & Sale

Here are highlights of what’s happening around town this week. Several of the events are tied into the Town’s Mental Health Awareness series.

Monday, May 16, 2022

  • Preschool Story Time – Mental Health Awareness Series (10:30 – 11:15 am) @ Southborough Library Children’s Room: Join Miss Kim for stories and craft based on a weekly theme. No registration required. This session will be part of Mental Health Awareness Month, with appropriately selected stories.
  • Bereavement Group (1:00 – 2: 00 pm) @ Southborough Senior Center: The Bereavement Group is a monthly support group is for ages 50 and older. To sign up to join the group, please call Leslie Chamberlin, R.N. at 508-229-4453.
  • Youth Writing Club (3:30 -4:30 pm) @ zoom: The Southborough Library is hosting this virtual creative writing club for ages 10-18. The zoom sessions are a fun and supportive space to get creative and build skills with peers. For details, see dedicated post.

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

  • Strength Training Class for seniors (8:30 am) @ zoom: Pre-registration required. For details on semi-weekly class, see newsletter.
  • Advanced Tai Chi for seniors (9:45 am) @ zoom: Pre-registration required. For details on semi-weekly class, see newsletter.
  • Preschool Story Time – Mental Health Awareness Series (10:30 – 11:15 am) @ Southborough Library Children’s Room: Join Miss Kim for stories and craft based on a weekly theme. No registration required. This session will be part of Mental Health Awareness Month, with appropriately selected stories.
  • Senior Songsters (11:00 am) @ Southborough Senior Center: Weekly rehearsal for the singing group open to all area seniors regardless of singing ability. For details, see dedicated post.
  • Bridge (12:00 pm) @ Southborough Senior Center: A weekly card group, welcoming new participants. For details, contact the Senior Center at 508-229-4453.
  • Knitting Club (1:00 pm) @ Southborough Senior Center: Knitters, welcoming new members. For details, contact the Senior Center at 508-229-4453.
  • Tuesday Tech Time (4:00 – 5:00 pm) @ Southborough Library Teen Room: Need help with technology? Library staff and teen volunteers will make every effort to assist you. Bring questions about ebooks and electronic resources. This is a drop in event; no registrations necessary. Sessions are limited to no more than 1 hour.
  • Cultural Voices: Sebastian Ebarb (7:00 – 8:00 pm) @ zoom: Southborough Library program featuring a speaker about modern Native American cultural identity. Sponsored by The Friends of the Southborough Library. For details, see dedicated post.

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

  • Walking Group for Seniors (8:30 am) @ Southborough cemetery, 11 Cordaville Road: Free walking group organized by the Southborough Senior Center, see newsletter. Walkers generally go for an hour, but continue for as long as you wish. The location is a loop, so feel free to join late.
  • Young Scientists STEM Beginnings (10:30 – 11:30 am) @ Southborough Library Children’s Room: A free in-person series for children, ages 3-6 to learn STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) concepts through hands-on activities, story time and simple experiments. The program through the Southborough Library is sponsored by the YMCA Family & Community Partnership.
  • For Parents – Managing Teen and Tween Stress (12:00 – 1:00 pm) @ zoom: Parents are invited by Southborough Youth & Family Services to this “discussion on reframing your child’s emotions and behavior and how to respond and support them while maintaining healthy boundaries.” For details, see related posts.
  • SOLF Annual Meeting with Naturalist Presentation (6:00 pm) @ Community House, 28 Main Street: The public is invited to attend Southborough Open Land Foundation’s annual meeting. It includes a presentation by wildlife author Peter Alden. For details, see dedicated post.
  • Southborough Rotary Club – Mental Health Awareness Series (7:00 pm) @ Southborough Library: This meeting of the Rotary Club (open to the public) will feature Southborough Youth & Family Services’ Director Sarah Cassell to speak about the department’s mission and services. This event is part of the Town’s series for Mental Health Awareness month. For details, see related posts.

Thursday, May 19, 2022

  • Strength Training Class for seniors (8:30 am) @ Southborough Senior Center: Pre-registration required. For details on semi-weekly class, see newsletter.
  • Advanced Tai Chi for seniors (9:45 am) @ zoom: Pre-registration required. For details on semi-weekly class, see newsletter.
  • Mah Jongg (10:00 am) @ Southborough Senior Center: The weekly program would love new players to join. Feel free to stop by to watch or talk to one of the players to see if you would be interested. For details, contact the Senior Center at 508-229-4453.
  • Baby/Toddler Storytime – Mental Health Awareness Series (11:00 – 11:45 am) @ Southborough Library Children’s Room: This story time is for children age 0-2 years and their parents or caregivers. Each session will include puppets, stories, and music. No registration required. This session will be part of Mental Health Awareness Month, with appropriately selected stories.
  • Chair Yoga for seniors (12:30 pm) @ Southborough Senior Center: Pre-registration required. For details on weekly class, see newsletter.
  • NSPAC’s “Go the Distance” Awards Night (6:00 – 7:30 pm) @ Algonquin Regional High School: The Northborough/Southborough Special Education Parent Advisory Council (NSPAC) will host its 12th annual “Go the Distance” Appreciation Awards evening. For details, see dedicated post.
  • Community Read Discussion (7:00 pm) @ zoom: A virtual community discussion of Brené Brown’s book “Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone”.This event is part of the Town’s series for Mental Health Awareness month. For details, see related posts.
  • Genealogy Club (7:00 – 8:30 pm) @ Southborough Library, main floor: This is an informal group meeting where you can learn and share tips about resources for researching family history. Group meetings are free and open to the public. Bring your laptop, log into Ancestry.com at the library, and join in.

Friday, May 20, 2022

  • Canasta (10:00 am) @ Southborough Senior Center: A weekly card group. For details, contact the Senior Center at 508-229-4453.
  • Dull Men’s Club (10:00 am) @ zoom: Casual social club for senior men. New members are always welcome to drop in. For details, see dedicated post.
  • Outdoor Pre-K Yoga (10:30 – 11:15 am) @ Southborough Library Lawn: Yoga program for 3-6 year olds (and siblings and caregivers). Registration is required. For details, see dedicated post.
  • Decompression Session (3:30 – 4:30 pm) @ Southborough Library Teen Room: 12 – 18 year olds are invited to destress. Stop by the teen room for a chill atmosphere with a therapy dog and other activities. For details, see dedicated post.

Saturday, May 21, 2022

  • Southborough Gardeners Flower Show & Plant Sale (8:00 am – 1:00 pm) @ Southborough Gardeners Flower Show & Plant Sale: The Gardeners celebrate 50 years, with a special exhibit – “A feast for the eyes with over 30 arrangements” made by members of the club. The special arrangements will be raffled off to attendees at the end of the event. Admission is free. At the event, the group will also be selling “locally grown perennials and annuals. For details, see dedicated post.
  • NECC 5K for Autism (8:30 am – 2:30 pm) @ Neary School campus, 53 Parkerville Road: New England Center for Children’s 16th Annual Walk/Run for Autism. Registration is free this year. For details on the fundraiser for autism research and education, see dedicated post.
  • Community Watch: Resilience (12:00 – 1:00 pm) @ Southborough Library upper level: Screening of documentary “Resilience: the Biology of Stress & the Science of Hope”. This event is part of the Town’s series for Mental Health Awareness month. A short discussion of the film will follow the screening. For details, see related posts.
  • Community Watch: Paper Tigers (1:00 – 3:00 pm) @ Southborough Library upper level: Screening of documentary “Paper Tigers: One High School’s Unlikely Success Story”. This event is part of the Town’s series for Mental Health Awareness month. A short discussion of the film will follow the screening. For details, see related posts.

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