A group of pastors tried to shut down a 21+ drag event. It backfired spectacularly.
Author: John Russell
Efforts by a group of clergy members to shut down a drag show in Upstate New York have failed spectacularly, leading to an outpouring of support for the 21+ event.
In the letter, Lindsay argued that the adults-only show would open the door to drag story hour events in the community, which he characterized as “inappropriate for children.”
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“We acknowledge the right of the organizers to hold this event and for people to attend, but we believe that its overall impact would be detrimental to our community,” Lindsay wrote. “While the scheduled event is for those 21 and over, we are also aware of the emergence of ‘drag queen story hours’ for children that have been taking place across the country. One of our concerns is that the attempt to normalize drag queen events such as the one scheduled for October 1st is a precursor to prepare the community for further drag queen events, including drag queen story hours.”
Lindsay noted that members of the Rochester Drag Me to Brunch cast, which includes RuPaul’s Drag Race alums Mrs. Kasha Davis and Darienne Lake, have participated in drag queen story hour events.
“Clearly, there are sexual overtones and implicit sexual content in most drag performances,” Lindsay claimed. “While that content is not emphasized in the story hour setting, it remains a significant part of the drag world. Just as most in the community would not endorse ‘adult film star story hours’, or ‘exotic dancer story hours’, even if those individuals were not directly promoting the industry that they represent, common sense tells us that such events would be inappropriate for children.”
Lindsay’s letter was also posted on Facebook, where the overwhelming majority of comments were in support of the Drag Me to Brunch event.
“Love and acceptance is a virtue, practice it! You don’t want to see drag performers, don’t buy a ticket!” one comment read. “This is a 21+ event… so where’s the problem?”
“It’s entertainment people! I’m paying more attention to which pastors didn’t sign it than did! Good for them,” another user wrote.
“Keep me posted on when a story hour can happen too – I’d love to bring my kids,” another comment read.
“I hope they sell out and continue to do shows!” one user wrote.
And sell out they did. WHAM reports that the event sold out within days of the letter being posted.
“It brought the attention to the surface,” said Mrs. Kasha Davis.
“There are a lot of people who were like, “I didn’t even know this was going on until I saw this whole post, so thanks for letting us know,’” said Darienne Lake. “So, oops, you played yourself.”
In a statement, the event’s organizer said: “My intention was to provide a morning full of food, fun, and laughs with friends. I had no idea this would cause such an uproar within our community in this day and time. I am new to the Church world and my Pastor teaches that we love all people no matter the differences.”
While Lindsay still hopes that the brunch show will be canceled, he seems resigned to failure. “It just felt like we needed to address it,” he said. “If that creates more attention and more people want to come, maybe because they disagree with our point of view, that’s what’s going to happen. We can’t change that.”
Actual Story on LGBTQ Nation
Author: John Russell
