A storytelling show for children hosted by a drag queen and scheduled to take place on Saturday was cancelled after “hateful and intimidatory behaviour…led to the performer feeling unsafe.”
Local drag queen – Miss Peaches – was due to appear as part of the ‘Transcendent’ season at Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) in Dundee, which took place from Thursday 1 to Sunday 4 December.
However, Saturday’s Drag Queen Storytime, for children aged between two and 10, did not go ahead after “abusive and threatening messages” were reported to police.
The statement released on Saturday by the DCA indicated: “We are appalled that she (Miss Peaches) and members of our team have received abusive and threatening messages this week…”
They added: “We refuse to be intimidated by hate speech and abusive behaviour and hope very much to reschedule this event soon.”
The apology, issued publicly to ticketholders, also stated the DCA will make a donation to LGBT Youth Scotland to recognise struggles faced by those who are LGBT and face prejudice “on a daily basis”.
‘Same rights must be extended to parents’
So what are we to make of all this?
Well, the DCA, as a registered charity, has a right to hold whatever events it and its trustees see fit.
If they want to put on shows for children and charge a fee for them then that is their prerogative and those performing should be able to do so with adequate protections afforded by law.
I also think most citizens would consider hateful and intimidatory behaviour to be unacceptable and, if allegations were investigated and found to be accurate, I am sure they would also support using the full extent of the law to quash it.
Equally – if indeed we are talking about equality here – these same rights must also be extended to parents and members of the public who wish to explicitly reject and even robustly object to such events taking place especially when they are the ones to whom such events are marketed.
Many parents consider drag queens to be adult entertainers and Miss Peaches’ social media output certainly gives this impression.
Parents and guardians are the jury in these instances and can exert a right to stay away, as most appeared to do judging by the ticket sales.
The DCA marketed Drag Queen Storytime as “a fantastic, fun experience for children and families” and the ‘Transcendent’ season as “an exploration of the ways that people exceed and push past perceived gender and sexual norms”.
This language was also used in the social media promotional material for this event.
‘Explicit social media profile’
Quite how such an exploration is considered appropriate for children between two and 10 years old, I personally struggle to fathom.
Furthermore, the advert on the DCA social media page linked to Miss Peaches’ explicit social media profile.
The first time I wrote about a related subject was in 2020 when Paisley and Renfrewshire South MP, Mhairi Black, accompanied a drag queen called ‘Flowjob’ to Glencoats Primary School in Paisley.
There was widespread outrage and the then Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, John Swinney, said parents raised “understandable concerns”.
Historically, these events have been held in libraries and public spaces and are voluntary options for parents to educate their children on LGBT inclusion.
The first in Dundee took place in July 2018.
Separately, Police Scotland released its own statement.
It said: “Officers received a report of threatening messages being made online in relation to a planned show at Dundee Contemporary Arts gallery.”
They added: “Following inquiries, no criminality was established.”
While charities can do as they see fit, parents will make up their own minds but I don’t think this kind of material should be in schools.
Conversation