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Drag shows are protected by 1st Amendment, performers tell federal judge
(www.texastribune.org)
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this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2023
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I find the whole concept of drag queen story hour confusing. Drag is this kind of specific performance art that seems like it is custom tailored for stage performance, so doing drag queen story hour seems as random as doing "the cast of the broadway musical cats!" story hour or something like that. What's the idea behind putting drag queens + story hour together at all?
It teaches children about acceptance and that they can be anything they want. Some children find it a calming environment to learn social skills because of dress up
Well, it started with libraries not having people volunteering to read to kids. And then adults who did read to kids wanted to make it fun and engaging for them, so they began dressing up in fantasy outfits and effectively cosplay. And then the gay community heard of it and likely just naturally fell into it. Some gay people grt very very excited about dressing up, doing theatrics, and drag.
Really?? Huh, well there you go. I'll switch my status from 'indifference' to 'supporting.' No one ever took me to the library to have books read to me.
That's really sad. I have treasured memories of going to the library and having one of the librarians read a picture book. I took my daughter to the library for the same reason when she was little.
That's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to libraries these days, by the way. My wife is a library administrator. This town has less than 80,000 people, but the library has three 3D printers 100% free for use, take-home kits of things like a ukulele with an instruction book, an HTC Vive and a PS5 for teens to play with any time they want, and they're building a new branch that includes a room (one person at a time with a lockable door) with a free washer/dryer and a shower!
Support your local library. Go there. Have fun. Buy something at the book sale to throw them a few bucks.
Our library is awesome in that way too. They have 3d printers as well, and they invest a lot in online resources as also. LinkedIn learning, Rosetta stone, O'Reilly's entire learning catalog, and a ton more, all free with a library card. AND they have a lot of good services for the homeless as well. I actually sent my city councilwoman a letter asking to increase funding to the library.
Awesome! That's great of you to do that!
I might just do that.
Great! I hope your library is at least as good as ours.
Ours is arguably too good about being online. I haven’t been there since before COViD, but read library books on my Kindle all the time
Yep. Libraries have ebooks for free. And audiobooks. My wife hasn't paid for either in years. I only have once because there was no other way to get a specific BBC radio drama I wanted.
Some libraries even have streaming movies!
That's pretty interesting! Do you know of any good articles that trace the history going that far back? Seems like it would be a good read.
I find the comparison to clowns quite helpful, as they fill a weirdly similar niche -- in most cases a performance art with clearly defined tropes, based on exaggerated makeup, carefully choreographed routines, while retaining an ability to improvise with a crowd, and of course some people have an irrational fear of them. From that perspective, it makes perfect sense to have them do the reading for kids. The makeup turns them into a cartoon character that kids find exciting; the practice with improv means children, who aren't always the best listeners, can be managed without harshing the vibe; and their general stage experience and presence helps them retain that tough crowd to get them to listen to the story.
I can definitely see it. When I read to my kids when they were little, I’d at least do the voices and sound effects. However I would never do that in front of people I don’t know, let alone an audience. But I can see putting on a persona would help me drop that inhibition. Maybe that persona is represented by a funny hat or vest or glasses or something, or I can see drag being similar
Yeah that's where I fall as well. I'm not inherently opposed to it, it just seems like a wierd thing to exist.
Apparently 10 people think we're ~~transphobic~~ wrong word, uh.. dragphobic? for having this opinion too.
I think both drag performers and Broadway actors have the perfect skill set for reading books to kids. It's like the difference between reading the lyrics to a song and hearing a musician sing it, regardless of whether they're a country singer or an opera singer or a movie music composer. An actor, whether Broadway or not, would know exactly when to pause to create dramatic tension, be able to give characters their own unique voices or personalities, etc. And the fantastical, exaggerated costumes of drag I imagine just make it all the more exciting for the kids.
As for how drag performers reading books to kids started, I have no idea, but somebody else said it started from people volunteering to read books to kids at local libraries, and the LGBT community got into helping out in that way, which led to drag performers doing it. And that makes sense to me. The LGBT community seems to be heavily made up of people who want to support their communities. Probably because they've often had to band together and create their own.
Yeah another commenter explained that to me so it makes sense now.