A bid to introduce a drag storytelling hour at a West Cumbrian youth club has been cancelled due to an online backlash.
Over The Rainbow CIC planned to run the weekly event at Harrington Youth Club during June to celebrate Pride Month – but was forced to cancel the event as a result of misguided, prejudicial and hateful responses, it said.
Organisers were concerned that the online response would spill over into a physical one, prompting safety concerns.
Chief executive M-Jay Fulton said that the events were intended to be a celebration of diversity and a chance to encourage children to get into reading.
He added that if the events were to have gone ahead, drag performers would have read age-appropriate stories to youngsters aged between four to 11 – in a concept similar to pantomimes.
But after the details of the events were shared in a local Facebook group – both the youth club and CIC were hit with immediate criticism.
M-Jay said: “The decision to cancel the event was made after conversations with the trustees of the Harrington Youth Club following the barrage of online comments and response to the events both last night and this morning.
“Due to people spouting the misconception of drag artists being ‘paedophiles and groomers’ we decided to pull the event as there were concerns that the online presence may overspill into a physical presence at the events, which would be a safety concern for those involved or attending.
“Along with this, the potential knock on effect to other great services, provisions and events that are run from the venue was also of concern and we did not want these provisions to be affected.
“As with anything that involves Pride Month or things from LGBTQ+ culture, we did expect some kickback, as not everyone ‘agrees’ with the importance or need to highlight different cultures.
“The extent of the language and comparisons used in some of the comments we truly believe has been completely disproportionate and some even bordering on absurd.
“I can honestly say we did not expect drag to be compared to paedophilia, grooming or anything of the like.”
The storytelling events were also aiming to celebrate and teach children about themes such as courage, acceptance and being kind to one another.
M-Jay added: “There definitely appeared to be some confusion around drag as an art form. Some people were using it as a side by side comparison of someone who is transgender or comparing it with people who suffer from gender dysphoria – which is completely different.
“Drag has been part of our history as far back as Elizabethan times, with men taking on women’s roles in theatre performances. It’s even embedded in British culture through pantomime dames with characters such as Widow Twankey or the Ugly Sisters.
“Drag in essence is a persona, a character designed to entertain others. As with most art forms there are different versions and drag artists. Dame Edna, Paul O’Grady, and Rupaul show just some of the different ranges and approaches there are to drag.
“Not to mention programmes and movies that incorporate some essence of drag, such as Mrs Brown’s Boys or Mrs Doubtfire, all of which aim to entertain.
“Drag storytelling in essence is no different to hiring an actor or actress to come in and play a role whilst reading a story and engaging children in the joys of reading and embracing imagination.
“It also provides an opportunity to touch on themes such as showing kindness to others, friendship, being true to yourself, courage and acceptance through a wide range of stories, with many of these themes being relatable for people who are in the LGBT+ community.”
While drag is a big part of LGBTQ+ culture – drag is not inherently connected to sexuality, and many drag queens and kings identify as heterosexual.
M-Jay added that as well as aiming to celebrate Pride Month – the events were also aiming to give parents the chance to have conversations with their children about different kinds of people in the world.
He said: “In all honesty the inspiration behind it was purely about celebrating Pride Month with youngsters.
“Pride month is all about raising awareness and acceptance, by allowing a drag artist to be the one reading the stories not only celebrates that art form but can also provide an awareness of the different types of people there are in the world.
“It also allows parents if they wish to open conversations on subjects which many people can find difficult or uncomfortable to talk about.
“The reason we went with the age range four to 11 is that these are children who are in primary school and will still enjoy being read a story or are just learning to read and still find joy in allowing their imagination to flow through storytelling.
“There’s nothing sinister about it, it’s about having fun.”
Over The Rainbow Support CIC is a not-for-profit organisation that specialises in LGBTQ+ related support and advice.
It was relaunched last year after being dissolved due to a lack of staffing and M-Jay said that while the organisation was still finding its feet – it had already launched projects, including weekly LGBTQ+ groups, awareness and sensitivity workshops and more.
Further down the line, M-Jay said the CIC was set to roll out community-based provisions and work with other local organisations.
