Poll of the Day > So no judgment, but are drag shows a thing kids want to watch?

(+) Yeah! (+)

There's so much news now like "drag story time protested by Nazis" or "drag rendition of the wiggles cancelled". And I don't have an issue with these things existing, but it isn't something that would have interested me at all as a child.

But maybe some kids are big fans. Just wondering.

It's weird that this has all blown up. In isolation I would be like 'ehhh, drag's not my thing... whatever', but because of all the outrage I have to defend it

Personally, I don't see how drag enhances reading a book... I mean, it doesn't detract from it either, so, like, why mad?

Yeah all the attacks on drag over the past year are weird as fuck. I'm not personally into it, but just why do people care so much that they get violent over it? And some of the people encouraging it have participated in drag. It's very sus.

I've never been to drag queen story hour, but I imagine kids like costumes and dressing up? I loved going to story time at the library as a kid. My grandma would put the littlest kids in the wagon and we would walk to the library, get to see someone read in a costume or with puppets and make it a fun experience. They even had tubs you could borrow to make your own story time at home with puppets and costumes, the book on tape and the book.

God the library is great. Go support your local library.

While Drag Race obviously isn't a kid's show, it's sparked a certain degree of pop culture interest in drag in the last 4-5 years, some of which has translated into kid-friendly content. That, in turn, has the potential to be leveraged as an incentive to help kids learn by tying learning activities into pop culture.

Basically, drag story time is the approximate modern equivalent to having a local pro wrestler read books to kids in costume in the 90's: It's novel (pun not intended) enough to break up the usual monotony of class, the relevance to pop culture is going to catch the interest of students that might otherwise not be interested in reading, and it gives kids an opportunity to get a better understanding of this element of pop culture that's grabbed their interest (in the case of wrestling, understanding why it's not necessarily safe to piledrive your friends just because Stone Cold said so, in the case of drag, better understanding that little piece of LGBTQ culture). And, of course, the usual suspects lose their minds the moment queer people are allowed to obviously exist, with precisely the expected results.

I'm a straight man from the south who sometimes likes to cross-dress for Halloween. Went as Jessica Rabbit one year to a party and some dude was so offended until my wife, dressed as Wednesday Adams, drunk made out with me. Suddenly my costume was okay because he had confirmation that I was at the very least bi. I can't stand people.

How does making out with a woman while in drag indicate that you're bi

Wait at the beginning of the post you say you're straight too

I saw a couple drag events when I was younger. Like less than 10 years old. I thought it was confusing at first but it was explained to me and I found it interesting after that.

I couldn't say, but they do have other events that they do in drag, like book reading at the library.

I'm any case I can't imagine a child's brain being broken by learning "some people like to wear clothing not traditionally assigned to their physical gender."

Dawg posted...

How does making out with a woman while in drag indicate that you're bi

Wait at the beginning of the post you say you're straight too

"At least bi" meaning "I'm apparently not exclusively gay, as he assumed based on my costume."

Oh like he's saying the person had an ignorant view that only gay men wear drag? I get it

Dawg posted...

How does making out with a woman while in drag indicate that you're bi

Wait at the beginning of the post you say you're straight too

It's what I figure explained his change in demeanor.

"He's dressed as a woman but he's with a woman....hmmm....the dress suggests he may still like men, but he clearly likes women, too. That's not as bad, I guess..."

went to a drag show a few weeks ago for the first time.

also, went to a queer prom where i got my nails done, wore a wig, wore a dress for the first time, and had a blast with a bunch of LGBTQ+ people who were nothing but accepting and me and my wife and our friends all had an amazing time. I don't feel anyone wearing whatever they want and behaving appropriately has any negative effect on children whatsoever.

it's amazing how easy/simple it is when people are like hey just do whatever you want and we're all good/will have fun without any judging/issues with other people being themselves.

Dawg posted...

Oh like he's saying the person had an ignorant view that only gay men wear drag? I get it

Precisely.

famfam posted...

went to a drag show a few weeks ago for the first time.

also, went to a queer prom where i got my nails done, wore a wig, wore a dress for the first time, and had a blast with a bunch of LGBTQ+ people who were nothing but accepting and me and my wife and our friends all had an amazing time. I don't feel anyone wearing whatever they want and behaving appropriately has any negative effect on children whatsoever.

it's amazing how easy/simple it is when people are like hey just do whatever you want and we're all good/will have fun without any judging/issues with other people being themselves.

Indeed. At the end of the day, it's all just good fun. Mutual acceptance is great.

Arvs warning other posters so they dont get moderated cause Arv can see it happening. Regardless of your opinion say you are for it. In Arvs opinions kids want to watch it as they should want to.

Just like any other fashion show, I can't imagine there'd be much interest in this with kids.

No. At least I don't think so? I suppose some might be family friendly.

KJ_StErOiDs posted...

Just like any other fashion show, I can't imagine there'd be much interest in this with kids.

Aren't kids fashion shows kind of a big thing? Somewhere in my family photos are a picture of my brother and I in an Oshkosh b'gosh fashion show. We even got into one of their catalogs. My parents weren't trying to turn us into child models or anything. They were just like "oh hey, a kids fashion shoot with free pictures. That's cute and a fun way to spend time with the kids."

Besides that Halloween costumes are fun for kids. My nephew has a costume box and likes to get dressed up. Given the choice he would rather wear a button up shirt and a waist coat than a t shirt with cartoon characters on it.

Little girls are often excited for dance costumes or pageants. I remember as a kid older girls giving make overs in day care to the boys and girls was always a fun game.

adjl posted...

in the case of drag, better understanding that little piece of LGBTQ culture

Since when was drag LGBT? I thought most drag queens were straight men.

MabinogiFan posted...

Since when was drag LGBT? I thought most drag queens were straight men.

I'm sure some are straight but on a comprehensive list of "definitely heterosexual hobbies" I don't think "being a drag queen" would ever make an appearance.

SomeUsername529 posted...

I'm sure some are straight but on a comprehensive list of "definitely heterosexual hobbies" I don't think "being a drag queen" would ever make an appearance.

It's definitely not something most would have an inclination to try, but I honestly have a blast getting all dolled up by my girl and her friends on Halloween. First time I ever got coerced into it was at a live viewing of Rocky Horror. The cast made me get up on stage in the lingerie my then-girlfriend convinced me to dress up in. I get the appeal of doing it at shows. There are some powerful women out there that would be fun to impersonate.

MabinogiFan posted...

Since when was drag LGBT? I thought most drag queens were straight men.

Most drag queens are cis men. There are certainly straight ones out there, probably more now than at any other point in history because it's becoming so acceptable as pop culture and men are generally becoming less afraid of "looking gay," but drag (at least in the sense of drag queens and drag shows) is still definitely dominated by gay men. There's plenty of history of straight men dressing as women for theatrical purposes, but the "drag queens" that have come to typify the modern understanding of the art form largely got their start in the gay community, in part in response to homophobic men trying to be "hypermasculine" to distance themselves from the possibility of being seen as gay.

I haven't actually seen it myself, but my understanding is that the film Paris is Burning is an extremely informative look into the history of modern drag culture and how it relates to New York's LGBTQ community in the 80's. If you're interested in learning more, that would be a good place to start.

I'm not interested in drag shows, and I wasn't interested in them when I was a kid.

Are pantomimes not a thing in US? They've been about for centuries here, and while the current set up is probably just from the last century, they are always aimed at children predominately and has a man in drag play the dame who spouts a lot of raunchy innuendo for the parents.

I personally don't like drag queens, but I don't really see anything wrong with those who do like them. I've never physically attended a drag show and would only consider it if I was being paid for it. I hate makeup and high heels no matter what, and that's pretty much the primary reason why I don't like drag. It has nothing to do with homophobia, although I admit the uncanny valley is a good secondary reason.

I've seen glimpses of drag shows on TV, usually as part of a movie, and I wouldn't call any of them kid friendly. Although I would let a child watch some of those movies with me if they're PG rated, I wouldn't let them attend the type of shows depicted in movies in real life. The reason is simple: they take place in adult only places like gay bars. I've heard of family friendly drag shows, but I've never seen them. The fact that you need to actively be looking for them to find them means they must be quite rare.

On the other hand, I've seen several drag queens invited to talk shows that are definitely family friendly. But those aren't drag shows, they're just drag queens doing normal stuff. They're ugly for me to look at, but they're definitely safe for children. I remember my late senile grandmother frequently asking me "is that a man?" She was so confused. Drag queens are just beginning to become part of mainstream culture, so she wasn't used to casually seeing them in her favorite talk shows. It certainly didn't help that her short term memory was deficient. She died several months ago after spending 8 months living in my house.

There's only one drag queen you could say I'm a fan of. In the Qubec version of Roast Battle, they invited two drag queens on the show. They put them against each other in the first round and I must say one of them totally dominated the other. He was both a fan and judge favorite of the season, but lost in the next round against who would later become champion. I would be shocked to not see him return in the next season. He's fucking hilarious. Obviously, it's not the type of show that is safe for children. It involves contestants dueling by roasting each other. As long as it's funny, there's no limit to what you can say. I actually prefer that he's in drag rather than not because it allows his opponent to make fun of that, which in turn allows the drag queen to counterattack. The latter is actually one of his strengths.