Missouri Legislator: Ban Drag Queens From Reading to Children
Across the country, drag queens are reading stories to children in public libraries. According to what I have read, children and their parents are amused by these performances. That is, except for Bible thumping parents who think it is immoral for men to dress as women but okay for men to dress as other fictional characters.
Enter a legislator from rural Missouri who thinks this is harmful to children. He has introduced a bill to prohibit men dressed as women from performing in front of children.
This reaction from the religious right is quite common. When I was a Mayor another member of the City Commission introduced an ordinance prohibiting performances of any kind that "simulated the sex act." Just what that referred to was never determined. About that time the musical, Cabaret was being presented at NDSU. I watched the main character on stage moving his pelvis as in simulating sex. No one ever complained about Cabaret. I suppose it has been performed by other groups since then. What sets off people in the religious right is drag shows--the moral bells go off.
Now I have to admit this religious angst is not exclusive to drag queens. A couple of decades ago Rev. Jerry Falwell accused public television of parading a gay Teletubby on children's programs. Teletubbies were nonverbal characters that told simple stories as mimes. One named Tinkywinky annoyed Falwell who thought it was gay. The accusation was so ridiculous the entire world laughed and Falwell dropped the subject.
A couple of years ago our granddaughter appeared in the play Juni B. Jones. The play was aimed at children's audiences. A man played both the male classroom teacher and the lunch lady. I enjoyed watching the grade school kids whisper to each other and laugh when he came on as lunch lady.
Nothing makes the religious right more angry nor makes children and adults smile more than men dresses as women. It was done in the Bible and perhaps since the very first entertainment by humans.
The time has come to lighten up.
Find your wife's best or worst outfits, dab on some make-up, strap on those pumps and show us how a man does this.
ReplyDeleteIt is good society discourages this type of behavior.
You might find a better audience at the local assisted care / memory care / rest home where dozens of people live out their last years alone, afraid and in need of love.
Matt "A good society discourages this type of behavior."
ReplyDeleteIn my view, a good society encourages people of many kinds to be whomever they are, gays, trans, cross dressers, atheists and Christians.
You forgot rapists, murderers, molesters, thieves, exhibitionists, ...
DeleteA good society discourages this type of behavior.
Matt--"You forgot rapists, murderers, molesters, thieves, exhititionists..A good society discourages this type of behavior."
ReplyDeleteYour earlier post said a good society discourages men dressing as women. You added rapists, murderers....etc. We can conclude then, you consider men in drag reading stories to children in a public library a crime on the level of rapists and murderers.
I have learned that you play a game of *concluding* what you want, regardless of the truth.
DeleteYou stated, "... a good society encourages people of many kinds to be whomever they are, ...". I gave examples of people of many kinds of people being who they are. It is you who then must conclude that having rapists, murders, molesters, thieves and exhibitionists as story-tellers to children in a public library to be good for society.
I said nothing about crime equivalency.
Again, when will you dress as Mrs. Lindgren and read to children at the public library?
There is a saying; "learning begins at home." Another is; "As the head of the household should teach their children."; It is the responsibility of parents to aid their children to discern what is right or wrong, or questionable, and to prepare them for experiences away from home. Sadly, many parents don't have the skills, time or awareness of what is all out there. Even more sadly some don't take the time to know what there is out there, and talk it out with their children, in a non-hateful manner. All of life is a learning process, and there is always a new challenge to understand, while not having to agree on certain things. You can't protect children from such things, but to make them aware of disagreeable agendas, and how to help them grow and discern through such experiences and exhibitions. It is also the right and responsibility to speak out against exposure to the topic at hand, drugs, not being honest, etc. if you think it may influence your children negatively.
DeleteMatt--"I said nothing about equivalency. "
DeleteIf you do not consider them equivalent that is good news. One always has to check such things with anti abortion zealots. They will be quick a claim an abortion is equivalent to murder--even that someone like me who advocates abortion rights is a "murderer". That was on signs carried in front of my house. It is good you don't treat as equivalent reading stories to children in drag is equivalent to rape.