Reading drag queen story hour. Radicals attempt citizen arrest

[Barleymower]

A little perspective about over sexualised drag Queens.
Yes in a drag queen act it is very sexualised (I've never been to one but I have seen Prisilla Queen of the Desert ).
That does not mean that everything the drag queen does is sexualised. Like many occupations you don't always have to see everything and kids are not exposed to everything.
Here is Aida H Dee in full story hour regalia:

Screenshot_20230223_160906_DuckDuckGo.jpg

Everybody should get a grip. It's ok.

[crfriend]

Here is Aida H Dee in full story hour regalia:

Everybody should get a grip. It's ok.

The skin-tight pants, the bulge, and the hyper-aggressive "lean-in" posture? OK?

[Barleymower]

Oh come on. He's allowed to have a penis. In the 70s you couldn"t go anywhere without someones skin tight trousers poking you in the eye.
As for the leaning in? ... words fail me. Actually they don't. If someone leaned in menacing like that to me. I"d laugh.

What if it was a women in a thong? That's OK right?

I'm glad you are joking

[rode_kater]

In the 70s you couldn"t go anywhere without someones skin tight trousers poking you in the eye.

The 70s? Right now there are plenty of jeans being sold for men which subtly or not-so-subtly draw attention to the "package".

If people had a problem with seeing the package, they'd all recommend we wear skirts, because they do hide it pretty well.

[Ozdelights]

If we wish to criticise Drag Queens dress standards then we should be fair apply the same standard to all males and females. There is a lot to discuss there.

[crfriend]

As for the leaning in? ... words fail me. Actually they don't. If someone leaned in menacing like that to me. I"d laugh.

Try looking at that through the eyes of a five-year-old who's perhaps 4 feet tall, if that. That's how I attempted to look at it, and got a bit gobsmacked compared to how I'd interpret it now at a 6'4" still fairly powerful male. Children perceive things differently. Size matters.

What if it was a women in a thong? That's OK right?

No, that'd be just as inappropriate.

Now, I am no reactionary, but I'd rather let children live out their childhoods without very adult themes being thrust at them that they will not comprehend before they actually fully develop into adults. Childhood is an immensely complex world to navigate, and children must largely do it on their own because their parents may have forgotten their childhoods (a short memory, in this regard, can be considered a bit of a good thing) and thus cannot pass along their own advice to the little ones. I suffer from an extraordinary memory where I remember almost everything that has happened to me if I was paying attention at the time [1]., and whilst that's a blessing in some things, it's an abject curse in others.

I also do not know what the text was that the guy was reading. If it was intended to be frightening, then the posture and gestures may have been appropriate; however, otherwise, unlikely.


[1] This played out several years ago when I passed though New York City's Penn Station many years ago with my late ex, and there were things that were hauntingly familiar about the place. I knew that I'd been there as, perhaps, a 5-year-old, when my grandmother took me on a grand journey to see her husband give a talk there. When I was an adult, we stopped in NYP and I alighted stating my reasoning to my late ex- (and the car attendant overheard and got curious) and found myself somewhat perplexed. It looked eerily familiar from our seats, but why not when standing? Am I going crazy? The answer to that last one was, "No", because the next thing I did was to drop into a crouch to simulate a child's perspective on the world -- and the original memories flooded back in. Both my late ex- and the car attendant had no clue about what they just watched happen, so I explained the whole thing, and one could almost see the light-bulbs lighting up. Humans may have long memories; try not to scar them early.

[Myopic Bookworm]

Here is Aida H Dee in full story hour regalia:

Everybody should get a grip. It's ok.

The skin-tight pants, the bulge, and the hyper-aggressive "lean-in" posture? OK?

Yup, it's OK. All sorts of people wear fairly tight pants. In the case of men, if there isn't a bulge, they may have a problem. Thats not a "hyper-aggressive" lean-in, that's the classic storyteller's conspiratorial lean-in (and not very close to the audience). As drag costumes go, that is remarkably tame: I was expecting something hyper-feminine (all massive bosoms, grotesque make-up, and high heels) but that really isn't.

Story time is a time for kids to dress up. And adults. (Oh sorry, are adult men not allowed to dress up, or do anything that might suggest that they are not either sexless automata or evangelical church elders?)

[moonshadow]

If we wish to criticise Drag Queens dress standards then we should be fair apply the same standard to all males and females. There is a lot to discuss there.

I agree, hence my earlier comments.

Of course, almost nothing about men can ever be considered sexual, so they get a free pass.

Ha! I've hung out with enough gals to know.... oh yes, there's plenty about men that's considered sexual.

[Barleymower]

Carl I did look at it through the eyes of a five year old. I have been with each of my children where they passed this age. Each time I asked myself "is this affecting them in a negative way?" If the answer was yes we didn't do it. Really, I see no harm in what Aida H Dee is doing. If I did then I would say "come on let's to this something else" and lead them away.
One really important thing I'm seeing is this: we MIS want the world to accept us as normal men, men who follow their own choices, not that of the herd. If we cannot accept others, how do we expect less informed people to accept us?

[crfriend]

Carl I did look at it through the eyes of a five year old. I have been with each of my children where they passed this age.

I'll qualify my remarks to state that I do not have any children (having sensed the path of humanity some 40 years ago), and was projecting the image into what I recall my childhood mind to be like -- and I would have been spooked by it at the time.

All this means is that I possess yet another "unpopular opinion", and I hold several of those and bear no ill will against anybody for it.

Live and let live.

[TSH]

Of course, almost nothing about men can ever be considered sexual, so they get a free pass.

Have to agree with Andrea on this because it simply isn't true. There's actually quite a few ways a man can be considered sexy, but men are generally expected to be (physically) rough around the edges and hairy — two traits that aren't always considered attractive among women.

This must be resisted and the only way to do that is by people doing it. If you want to break the idea the drag is inherently sexual, then you need something like these events so show that it's possible. Sure, there are going to be people complaining, but that's why they're called "conservatives" (or more accurately "reactionaries").

Just like the only way to get people off the idea that men wearing skirts are gay, is by actually wearing them in normal everyday situations and doing obviously not-gay things.

We first has to erase the idea that "effeminate males=gay males", because men aren't allowed to be more than just masculine. As long as people still have the idea instilled into them that skirts are feminine, and a man portraying himself as such is "gay", skirts are going to remain as they are: exclusive for females, yet hardly worn by females in much of the developed world.

[rode_kater]

Now, I am no reactionary, but I'd rather let children live out their childhoods without very adult themes being thrust at them that they will not comprehend before they actually fully develop into adults.

I have to agree with others here that children don't see the world the same way at all. They don't recognise adult themes (yet) because it's something they have the learn to recognise.

They go to an event like this, see the bold colours, see everyone enjoying themselves, have a great time and get a positive association with everything they see. If they see parents standing around with worried faces and whispering with each other, or have to pass groups of rowdy protesters on the way in then they get negative associations with everything they see. Depending on which association happens more often they either get drag=="cool and funny" or drag=="bad". They watch what everyone else does to determine what is good or bad.

The clearest example I remember of this was watching kids running around a grass field. There's this mound and while running up a kid trips. The kid looks at their parent, who laughs and said "look where you're going". The kid jumps up and continues playing.

Not two minutes later another another kid runs up the mound and trips. The kid looks at their parent, who has a frightened expression on their face and comes running over. The kid bursts out in tears.

The way the parents react is key to how the child will react in the future. For the kid everything is new, they have no judgement. When wearing a skirt kids tend to stare more obviously. Smiling and waving tends to confuse them more . The goal is: man in skirt == positive association.

PS. In the above the first parent was a dad and the second a mum. It's not really relevant to the story, but it indicates how subtle gender norms can be.

[pelmut]

[...]We first has to erase the idea that "effeminate males=gay males",

There are actually three factors at work here:

Male "Gay" i.e. homosexual, which is innate and may not be a visible trait.
Male Effeminate, which is not an innate trait but is a highly visible way of behaving.
Male Feminine, which is innate and mainly associated with transgender (and may be suppressed and not visible).

These three are not only independent, but are often mutually exclusive except in the minds of lazy-thinking (or unthinking) people.

[Myopic Bookworm]

There are actually three factors at work here:

Male "Gay" i.e. homosexual, which is innate and may not be a visible trait.
Male Effeminate, which is not an innate trait but is a highly visible way of behaving.
Male Feminine, which is innate and mainly associated with transgender (and may be suppressed and not visible).

These three are not only independent, but are often mutually exclusive except in the minds of lazy-thinking (or unthinking) people.

Effeminacy in males is often (though not exclusively) a way of making "Gay" visible. But femininity in males is (or should be) associated with being on the normal spectrum of maleness, and may have nothing to do with "transgender" in the sense of undermining sex/gender identity. It is those males who lack or suppress any "feminine" characteristics who end up defining what is regarded as "toxic" masculinity, i.e. undiluted machismo. The toxic fratermity regard those of us who do feminine things (such as reading, cooking, and talking to women like they were human) as "beta cucks".

[Andy_G]

Here is Aida H Dee in full story hour regalia:

Everybody should get a grip. It's ok.

The skin-tight pants, the bulge, and the hyper-aggressive "lean-in" posture? OK?

She is looking enthusiastic, trying to engage the kids and make the story fun. Her outfit is bright colourful, and somewhat tame for a drag act.

Why are folk so upset by this? My kids would love it. They’ve been brought up to be accepting, inclusive and very aware of the issues LGBTQIA+ folks face.