Over the last couple of years, I have mentioned my favorite Drag Queen Story Time person, Miss Amie, a few times. I have been in attendance in different locations; the first was the site of an angry protest at the Exeter Library in 2019. Members of two fundamentalist churches (from outside the county) and Miss Amie supporters were screaming and carrying on while families with young children were ducking for cover as they were trying to enter the building. So much for being pro-child, right? I had never seen DQST, and I wanted to decide for myself what it was all about. I wasn’t able to enter the room where the event was happening (it was standing room only), but I did get to look in through a small window. What I saw was happy children and parents singing and dancing to songs about being kind and sharing and other positive messages. The only danger to children in that building were the protestors on either side. Their behavior was shameful.
This past week, Miss Amie was supposed to do a program in Lancaster, PA, but it was canceled due to a bomb threat (which turned out to be a box of coloring books). I have not seen any arrests made, but my limited experience is that the groups most offended by men in women’s clothing are fundamentalist “christians”. When I was introduced to the concept of DQST, I tried to understand what, exactly, was going on here? What is Drag? Is it Bugs Bunny bewitching Elmer Fudd? Is it Dr. Frank N. Furter singing Sweet Transvestite in “Rocky Horror Picture Show”? It is Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in “Some Like it Hot” or Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari in “Bosom Buddies”? Is it me – over 15 years ago – getting all dolled up by my daughter and nieces as they put their dress-up clothes on me for fun? Men who wear kilts? Jesus and His disciples wearing the garb of their day (which was not pants and button-down collars, by the way)? You tell me – what is drag?
More to the point, why does it bother some people to the point of violence and the passing of restrictive laws? Why aren’t these same restrictions being placed on women who wear pants and button-down collars and neckties? What is going on inside of the brains of people filled with hate over the way people dress and their interaction with children? To be clear – No child should be at a strip show of any kind. No child should be present in a bar. But, as far as I can tell, my interaction with my daughter and nieces was no different than Miss Amie’s interaction at DQST, except that her presentation was much better than mine. So – Dear Fundamentalist Christians – if you want to make the world a better place, why don’t you focus on what Jesus said we should do and not on things that Jesus never said a word about? Why don’t you feed the poor and house the homeless and work for the greater good? Stop making things up – stop lying about what Jesus said – and, instead of following hate-mongering preachers and politicians, follow Jesus. His path might be more difficult – you know, loving rather than hating, but it is also more rewarding.
Prayer – God, we all have lots of opinions, some of which we attribute to You. Help us sort out what You want from our own biases and teach us to accept each other’s differences. Amen.
Today’s art is Bugs Bunny in Drag.