Is a sit-down conversation with young children and drag performers in a classroom another step to “normalize” what was once considered an alternative lifestyle?
Or is it just indictive of how progressive things are now in 2023?
It depends on who you talk to. If it’s the prime minister, you will find support for those in the drag world. If it’s certain pastors, you may find protest.
Meanwhile the CBC says it has not received significant backlash about its “Queens and kids in class: An honest conversation about drag, gender and dress-up” news story.
Certainly not from within Canada where there has been little coverage. But there has been more reaction in the United States.
“Thus far, we’ve received only a few complaints to Audience Relations,” CBC spokesperson Chuck Thompson tells the Toronto Sun.
Where there has been commentary on the video, which shows drag queen performers talking to what appears to be children in a school classroom, is on social media.
“Please @elonmusk categorize @CBC as state funded media because that’s what it is and it deserves to DIE,” tweeted Dr. Jordan Peterson.
The CBC also has a show on CBC Gem entitled Drag Kids, which features four child drag performers.
Libs of TikTok tweeted “taxpayer funded Canadian TV put out this segment normalizing drag for kids” to which People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier tweeted to “defund CBC.”
Fox News also got into it with the headline “Canada news story introducing ‘nervous’ young children to drag performers receive backlash” with the subheadline “critics said the taxpayer-funded news agency was ‘normalizing’ drag queens for kids.”
Thompson explained “this clip comes out of CBC News in New Brunswick. With their parents’ consent, a group of New Brunswick kids recently sat down for a conversation with two drag performers to learn more about drag.”
One thing noticeable is how uncomfortable and nervous the children seem in these encounters with drag performers who go by the names Barb Wire and Rose Beef.
One of the performers says to two girls “do you think boys can wear makeup” in which one of them says “yes.” The drag actor then asks “do you agree makeup is for everyone” and also gave a girl an extravagant piece of jewelry emulating a long fingernail for one of them to try on. In another clip a young boy asks “where do you buy your drag clothes?”
It’s certainly unusual material for a news program but the past months has seen an increase of drag time story events in local libraries. The events draw protests and even arrests of some demonstrators including an Alberta pastor.
In this case the encounter, rather than having the drag performers read to children, they have the children asking the drag queens questions.
It raises questions for society as well. While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared on a Canada’s Drag Race television show and has taken pictures with performers at Pride parades, those were adults events. The current trend, as highlighted in this CBC offering, is to take drag performers and put them in libraries and schools with kids.
Post a Comment