A story time event for children – featuring ‘sing-alongs and dancing’ and led by two drag performers – was held at a library in Belfast.
This – of all things – is what drew a crowd of protesters on the steps of the Holywood Arches Library on Friday, leading to the queens being escorted away in police cars.
Footage circulating on social media shows the rally, with a woman behind the camera heard shouting, ‘Shame on both of you, leave the kids alone, seriously.’
As tensions escalated, the ticketed event was abandoned and Lady Portia Di’Monte, also known as the ‘North Ireland’s First Lady of Drag’, and Miss Dora Belle were taken away ‘to ensure that there would be no breach of the peace.’
Lady Portia had read storybooks to the children, including family favourites such as Dear Zoo, while Miss Dora Belle narrated them using British Sign Language (BSL).
Drag artist Crystal argued that there is a ‘real, clear misunderstanding’ and that cancelling such events because of ‘fringe protesters’ sets a ‘terrible’ precedent.
The RuPaul’s Drag Race star told Metro: ‘Watching two drag queens getting escorted out by the police is very depressing.
‘It sets a terrible precedent that fringe protesters with believes that do not represent the whole of society or even the majority of society are able to – if they are loud enough – get events cancelled and make people unsafe on.
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‘It is very troubling and we need to push back against this kind of narrative.’
Crystal described protests against children’s event led by drag queens as ‘recycled transphobia’ and compared it to mid-20th century rallies against women wearing trousers.
Setting out to break down some preconceptions people may have about storytelling, they explained that -like any art form – drag has a ‘million varieties’, with just a portion of it adult-themed.
They said: ‘It is a gross mischaracterization to say that drag is inherently sexual and always inappropriate for children. That is just not true.
‘And most people in the UK are aware of that because they have taken their children to see panto and they have seen drag queens entertaining children in the past and they understand that it is very possible to have that art form in a family-friendly way.
‘People who say that sound like the people who probably would have been arguing 100 to 150 years ago that women should not be allowed to wear trousers because it is “dangerous and inherently sexual”.
‘If we look back, it sounds completely ridiculous. It is the same rhetoric, just recycled.
‘Unfortunately, this kind of language has become more tolerated in recent years.’
Crystal, who has also performed at similar events, described them as ‘any storytelling event that you would have for children, just that the books have a broader theme of inclusivity, self-love, and acceptance.’
They added: ‘Children sit around, open up their storybooks and you read to them. You might do some interactive games, ask them questions, things like that, but it is very kid-focused and it is very safe.
‘It is nothing that you would not see in any school done by an “normal” teacher.’
Yet, this was not everyone’s opinion.
The DUP’s Gordon Lyons said the event, hosted by the EastSide Partnership, ‘was not appropriate for children’ and had ‘compromised the perception of our public libraries as a welcoming and inclusive space for all’.
He added: ‘I have directed my officials to liaise with Libraries NI to ensure that policy is faithfully implemented.’
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) confirmed that two people were escorted away from the library, but that at this stage, no offences were determined to have taken place.
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