By Guy Page
A Drag Queen Story Hour is scheduled to be held during school hours at an Addison County elementary school Friday, April 10. The event is sponsored and financially supported by the school PTO.
During a Drag Queen Story Hour, biological males who identify and dress as women read books to children, often in a public library setting at which attendance is the decision of the parents. The movement began in 2015 in San Francisco, according to a link provided in the school minutes. A 2022 article in City Journal explains the cultural tug of war occurring over DQSH:
“Drag Queen Story Hour—in which performers in drag read books to kids in libraries, schools, and bookstores—has become a cultural flashpoint. The political Right has denounced these performances as sexual transgressions against children, while the political Left has defended them as an expression of LGBTQ pride. The intellectual debate has even spilled into real-world conflict: right-wing militants affiliated with the Proud Boys and the Three Percenters have staged protests against drag events for children, while their counterparts in the left-wing Antifa movement have responded with offers to serve as a protection force for the drag queens.
“Families with children find themselves caught in the middle. Drag Queen Story Hour pitches itself as a family-friendly event to promote reading, tolerance, and inclusion. “In spaces like this,” the organization’s website reads, “kids are able to see people who defy rigid gender restrictions and imagine a world where everyone can be their authentic selves.” But many parents, even if reluctant to say it publicly, have an instinctual distrust of adult men in women’s clothing dancing and exploring sexual themes with their children.”
The DQSH is part of an “identity unit” DEI week at Beeman Elementary School in New Haven. The minutes of the March 4 meeting of the local school board describe the April 10-15 Identity Unit activities:
● Friday April 10 – Sweethearts & Heroes – Inclusion – K-2, 3-5 (k-3, 3-6 assembly and breakout groups in the morning)
● Friday April 10 – Drag Queen Story Hour (1:00p)
● Monday April 13 – Duncan Tonatiuh
● Tuesday April 14 – Changing Perspectives
● Wednesday April 15 – A2VT (1:30p)
The Identity Unit also features a visit by the Vermont hip-hop group A2VT, and a reading by Duncan Tonatiuh, author of children’s books with Mexican and Mexican immigrant themes. $1000 in funds have been pledged to pay Tonatiuh for his visit, the minutes say. Sweethearts and Heroes was founded by a mixed martial artist and a wounded Army veteran to instill emotional intelligence in young people.
It is unclear from the minutes whether student attendance is required, or the extent of the parental opt-out from DQSH. The unit takes place during regularly-scheduled school days. The minutes provide the link to Dragstoryhour.org but does not specify the readers, nor how much/whether they will be paid.
According to the Vermont Family Alliance, a community member wrote to Superintendent Patrick Reen requesting he withdraw the program but received no response. Several community members planned to attend the Mount Abe Unified School District school board meeting in the library this week to express disapproval.