It was indoors, masks were a requirement (even for the fully vaccinated), and local police were present — one cop inside and another outside.
A drag queen named Just JP and a drag king named Nuqueer read four books, danced, and sang songs in a room of about 50 people at the Drag Queen Story Hour event at Plymouth Public Library on Tuesday afternoon to promote a pro-LGBT message. Just JP, a man, wore a dress, a hairpiece made out of fake flowers, and makeup. Nuqueer appeared to be a woman with a mustache wearing a blue wig.
Each of the books the drag performers read centered on a homosexuality-affirming or transgender-affirming theme. Each drag performer read two books to the crowd.
The first book they read is called Neither. It is about a creature born in a society of blue bunnies and yellow birds that doesn’t fit the society’s binary system. The main character is a green animal with bird wings and legs, but has rabbit ears.
The About section for the book on Amazon says, “This colorful, simple, and touching story promotes diversity and offers a valuable lesson to the youngest of audiences: it is our differences that unite us.”
The second book, Red: A Crayon’s Story, is about an incorrectly labeled crayon. It was a blue crayon that had a red label and suffers an identity crisis as a result.
The third book is Julian Is A Mermaid. It’s about a boy who dresses up as a mermaid; he doesn’t know what his grandmother will think, but she supports him. Although mermaids do not exist, the definition of a mermaid (according to Merriam-Webster) is “a fabled marine creature with the head and upper body of a woman and the tail of a fish.”
The final book they read is called Be Who You Are. It’s a book that, according to the author’s web site, “encourages kids to be proud of who they are inside.” The book encourages kids to wear what they want, speak their own language, and be proud of where they come from.
When the first presenter finished reading the book, Just JP told the kids to “be proud” and to “Remember pride month is all year-round.”
Just JP and Nuqueer also sang songs. One that Nuqueer sang was “I Can Sing A Rainbow” — used to teach children the colors of the rainbow. However, Nuqueer changed the lyrics for the “second verse” to “lesbian, bi, and gay. Transgender queer, and asexual. There’s so many ways to be.”
The event lasted just over 50 minutes. The drag performers offered to let children and families take pictures with them when it wrapped up.
Here is what the Plymouth Public Library web site says is the purpose of the event:
Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH) is just what it sounds like — drag queens reading stories to children in libraries, schools, and bookstores. DQSH captures the imagination and play of the gender fluidity of childhood and gives kids glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models. In spaces like this, kids are able to see people who defy rigid gender restrictions and imagine a world where people can present as they wish, where dress up is real.
The event stoked controversy and caught the attention of the Massachusetts Republican Party, which posted on Facebook, “Is this really the new normal?” with information on the event a day in advance.
The party also issued a press release on the matter.
“It’s a fair question to ask who benefits from these performances,” MassGOP chairman Jim Lyons said in the press release. “Is it toddlers, kindergartners, and other children, who never asked to be indoctrinated into this, or is it the far-left activists?”
The Plymouth Public Library director could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
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