CHESTERFIELD (LifeSiteNews) – A town in Missouri has kept minors from attending a holiday drag show officially promoted as “family friendly,” due to a trend of similar events proving to be anything but.
The New York Post reports that Chesterfield concert venue the Factory, which hosted “A Drag Queen Christmas” Wednesday, announced hours before the show that ticket holders younger than 18 would be turned away, following discussion with Chesterfield Mayor Bob Nation about local ordinances against exposing minors to certain kinds of sexually-charged entertainment.
“In no way is this meant to disrespect or put down the LGBTQ+ community, or in no way is this meant to restrict drag shows,” Nation said. “Those are legal entities, it’s just the content that we were told might occur. We thought we should suggest limiting the age limit, and the promoters readily did that.”
The show, part of a nationwide tour put on by Nina West and other performers on the reality series RuPaul’s Drag Race, drew protests for and against, with critics ranging from those with age-related concerns to the belief that, as one protester said, “putting drag queens with Christmas is like slapping God in the face.”
One protester was arrested, though which side of the debate the individual represented and what exactly he or she did is unknown.
The Washington Times adds that doubts about how “family friendly” these shows really are were vindicated by reporting from journalist Tayler Hansen, who recorded another show of the tour in the same series in Austin, Texas. It “feature[d] nude prosthetic body parts and simulated sex acts,” along with a character called “Screwdolph the Red Nippled Reindeer.”
In recent years, drag has emerged as one of LGBT activists’ favored tools for exposing and acclimating children to the concepts of gender fluidity and sexual experimentation, via “family-friendly” drag shows at brunches and community events, and particularly Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH), a series of events in which crossdressers read books to children, often at public libraries.
DQSH organizers admit that the concept is intended to “captur[e] the imagination and play of the gender fluidity of childhood,” give “kids glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models” in a space where they “are able to see people who defy rigid gender restrictions,” and be molded into “bright lights of change in their communities.”
Many of these events have exposed children to sexually charged performances as well as queens who range from x-rated performers in their day jobs to convicted pedophiles and prostitutes.