‘For the first time ever, I worry about doing drag gigs’

But some drag queens are feeling concerned over their safety in the wake of protests and social media attacks.

“For the first time ever, I do feel worried about doing some gigs,” says former Drag Race UK contestant Crystal. “I worry about protests and who's going to be filming me, and who's going to be trying to twist what I'm doing for an agenda.”

In the US state of Tennessee, lawmakers are trying to enact a law banning “male or female impersonators who provide entertainment” with adult content within 300 metres of public schools, parks or places of worship.

Central to the debate are drag storytelling events, in which drag queens read stories to children. Such events have been subject to protests in both the US and UK. Some argue that these shows contain no content unsuitable for children. Others consider drag performances as suitable only for adults.

What are Drag Queen Story Hours?

“Drag Story Hour looks exactly like any other [event] you would see at a library,” says Jonathan Hamlit, Drag Story Hour’s executive director in the US. “But the reader may look a little more fabulous than your average librarian.”

The US-based Drag Story Hour favours books in which “all the characters feel empowered and accepted”.

Popular books at the drag storytelling events include Todd Parr’s The Family Book, which celebrates families of all types, and Tyler Feder’s Bodies Are Cool, which publisher Penguin calls “a cheerful love-your-body picture book for preschoolers”.

Drag Story Hour has a curriculum committee that chooses appropriate books. “We want to keep it positive and fun. And have all the characters feel empowered and accepted.”

Drag Queen Story Hour UK is run by Sab Samuels, who performs as Aida H Dee and uses they/them pronouns out of drag. Their shows take inspiration from pantomime, a medium in which regularly features men playing larger-than-life “pantomime dames.”

For some, however, the very presence of men dressed as women make these events unsuitable for children. At a protest against the Drag Queen Story Hour UK event at London’s Tate Britain art gallery, a woman told the BBC: “We have concerns because we feel that the costume [drag queen] Aida H Dee wears is sexually inappropriate.

"We're here because we feel that drag queens are great but for people who are over 18. We feel like they are not suitable for anyone who is under 18."

Drag Race UK contestants have taken to social media to share their views. Among those addressing the issue is series four runner up Cheddar Gorgeous, who tweeted: “I think drag is a versatile set form that can be tailored to different audiences. It isn't so different from clowning or Disney princesses.” Series one winner The Vivienne wrote: “Our [the LGBT] community is under attack….again….This time it’s drag…This is madness.”

This difference of opinion has led to clashes between supporters of these events and protests.

Jonathan says these protests are becoming increasingly violent in the US. “People are bringing weapons and yelling homophobic and transphobic slurs at children,” he says. “They’re threatening violence and storming events.”

In October 2022, a protest in the US state of Oregon included protestors carrying semi-automatic rifles and smoke bombs. In March at a protest in Ohio, a man was arrested after drawing a pepper spray gun.

“The hardest part about doing a drag show used to be making sure my [wig] hairline was correct,” Jonathan says. “Now, it’s having a safety plan in case there’s an active shooter.”

‘You get called a groomer or a paedo online constantly’

This level of violence has not been seen in the UK, but there have also been protests around drag storytelling events. “Last summer we had over 60 events [in the UK],” says Sab. “Only one of them didn't have any aggressive people outside shouting at me.”

Sab also says they have received death threats for their work, claiming to know their full name and address and threatening serious violence if they go near a child again.

Drag queens who have come to the defence of storytelling events have also received abuse online. “Once you dip your toe into that world,” says Crystal, “you get called a groomer or a paedo online constantly.”

The abuse takes its toll, Sab adds. “I definitely have moments where I just crawl into a ball,” they say. But they will not let the protestors stop the shows, and plans to take their storytelling show to the Edinburgh Festival later this year.

For them, drag has always been an act of defiance. They created their drag character after a homophobic attack left them with a dislocated shoulder. “I was thrown down the stairs,” they say, “and the person who did it to me said, ‘This is what happens when you act like a girl.’

“Then I entered a drag queen competition to say, ‘No, this is what happens when I act like a girl.’”

Jonathan also says he will not let the protests stop him. He says that though there have been violent protests, “our support is way greater than the hate.

“It motivates me to keep doing Story Hour for the next generation,” he adds.

Originally published Thursday 20 April 2023.