Anyone who grew up before the '80s probably found out about drag queens through movies. Times have changed and the drag queen community has grown, and they are generally embraced in different states across America.
It doesn’t mean that they don’t encounter their fair share of ostracization, particularly when it comes to sharing the LGBTQ agenda with the world. That was how it started when a Pennsylvanian library decided to host a drag queen story, but it sparked widespread outrage.
Meet Annie Christ
Spotting a larger than life Elvira-type wig and flawless makeup is Annie Christ, Landsdale’s resident drag queen. Her look borrows inspiration from Elvira: Mistress of the Dark and some aspects of Pee Wee Herman, and in fact, she's been dubbed the Elvira of drag. Annie, who was born Eric Torres, identifies as a straight man and he has joined the world of drag in 2016.
Be The Person You Needed As A Kid
Torres explained that as a straight man, he also struggled to find his place in the world of drag. He explained that he enjoyed hosting drag events and when watching a Ted Talk that offered counseling psychology on success, the last take-home message was meant to encourage everyone to be that person they needed as a kid. For Torres, it meant embodying a persona that could bring positive change within the community in a fun way. When’s he’s dressed up as Annie, he says that he believes that his younger audiences view him as a colorful living cartoon.
The Hostess With The Mostess
Miss Annie regularly hosts open mic nights, themed-trivia, and a monthly movie night. Her movie nights, in particular, are quite the hit with locals of all ages. She explained that she started the movie nights to offer fellow residents something fun to enjoy without having to go into the city. One of the aspects that cut across all her events is the fact that she’s trying to establish an embracing culture as well as acceptance and tolerance within the community. The next project for the 33-year-old performer was to start up reading sessions for kids as a form of therapy about being different and embracing it.
The Drag Queen Story Time Revolution
Annie collaborated with the Drag Queen Story Hour to host a story time event much like the first one that originated in San Francisco in 2015. Since then, the Drag Queen Story Hour has come up with similar events and they boast of chapters in 18 states so far. Besides the U.S., the organization has extended its efforts overseas to Sweden, Japan, and Puerto Rico. The gatherings aim at introducing aspects of different cultures and lifestyles through children’s books in the hope that it changes the lives of gay people. However, for Annie, it would prove to be an uphill battle to host the first of such events in her community.
The Lansdale Library
Annie had the perfect venue in mind, and she booked a room within the Lansdale Public Library for the occasion. The staff carried out the state-mandated background check and reserved a room for February 2, 2019. Similar story times had already been held in the greater Pennsylvania area so Lansdale would be jumping on board. Tom Meyer, the library director, explained that the phone wouldn’t stop ringing, with different people raising concerns about the event. He also said that out of about 50 of the calls that came in, most of them were from out of the area.
Spreading The Word On Social Media
Annie took to her Facebook page to spread the news and a specific page for the event also came up. It sparked mixed reactions from people of various groups. She mostly received a fair share of criticism from religious groups like the Warriors for Christ and the American Family Association who felt that her event promoted 'evil.’ Annie’s name is a play on the word antichrist which doesn’t sit too well with Christian groups. Annie explained that she chose the name out of her love for horror movies and gothic themes. For Annie, bad publicity was still good publicity, helping her with her social media marketing efforts.
Pushback From Religious Groups
The event also drew pushback from the Pennsylvania Pastors Network, and their director, Pastor Gary Dull, said that they were spreading a damaging agenda. They said that Lansdale was taking perversion from nightclubs and taking it into the libraries where children were involved. Referring to her as a foul-mouthed entertainer, the religious group felt that the library was supporting her efforts, and the LGBTQ agenda in general, to become a role model for small children. They also felt like she was attacking Christianity with her name, clothes, as well as accessories that they said had satanic symbols.
Bible Story Hour
One of the things the religious groups raised was that they didn’t see the Lansdale Public Library hosting any Christian-related story times. Meyer confirmed that they have had Bible story times before. Councilman Leon Angelichio issued a statement saying that he was proud to stand behind the library as an organization that offered its public spaces to all groups. Angelichio added that Lansdale joined a group of forward-thinking municipalities in 2018 when they passed an ordinance to create a Human Rights Commission. After consultations with an attorney, they structured the ordinance to protect individuals’ rights to free expression and create a safe environment where marginalized groups would feel accepted.
Petitions & Protests
The American Pastors Network, a national Christian group, circulated a petition asking their members to contact the library to raise their opposition against the event. They also called out to like-minded people to launch a protest outside the Library on the day that the event was scheduled. American Pastors Network head Sam Rohrer had in the past been an advocate for political issues - like when he argued for national borders saying they contributed to a “divine plan.” Rohrer said that the migrants fleeing Central America due to poverty were rebelling against God’s will. Pastor Dull added that the story hour would only exacerbate vices like substance dependence leading to depression and ultimately suicide.
The War On Social Media
Besides the stream of calls, the Lansdale Public Library received a long list of emails and their Facebook page got flooded with criticism from the story-hour opposers. Some shared that there was no value in preaching to a male child to wear a dress under the veil of story time. On the other hand, there was also an overwhelming response in support of the event. In turn, a peaceful counter-protest dubbed the Wall of Love was scheduled to happen on the day of the story hour. The Lansdale police planned to be present during the day of the protests saying that their priority was the safety of the children who would be attending the event.
The Show Must Go On
The Lansdale Public Library through Tom Meyer shared that the event would proceed as scheduled. They cited their personal “Bill of Rights,” stating that without prejudice, anyone is free to make use of an available meeting room. Meyer also explained that one of their missions is to celebrate cultural diversity and at the same time, he supported the demonstrators’ right of speech. Annie had explained that even before the protests, the event had 130 RSVPs and by the actual day, they had 500 people who were interested in attending the event. As Meyer had intimated for their well-being, they had to turn away people once they hit the 64-person capacity of the booked room.
The Scheduled Fun Activities
Annie definitely had the attention of her young audience with her long eyelashes, larger-than-life wig in a purple hue, lip painted in blue, and a red polka dot outfit. They waited patiently for the book-reading to start. Annie had organized to read two publications for the occasion, and one of them was Sparkle Boy. It talked about a young boy interested in wearing a shiny skirt, much like his sister’s. The schedule also included coloring activities, and to keep the kids nourished, they were provided snacks like veggie straws, pretzels, and juice boxes.
Valuable Teachable Life Lessons
During an interview, Torres recalled that he was living with depression as a child because he was bullied a lot and now as an adult, he felt like it’s his responsibility to teach kids the value of embracing their differences. In life and at school, people may be mean to you because you are different but what you should do is be really nice to them, he adds. As Miss Annie, she also urged the young audience to have open communication with their mom and dad or talk to the people they trust the most about their differences.
Embracing The Freedom To Be Different
The Drag Queen Story Hour wrote on their website that the stories chosen for the occasion were sweet and heartwarming with the message of acceptance. The biggest piece of counseling they wanted to offer their audiences was the value of respecting individual differences. They also wanted any member of their audiences who felt different in any way to embrace their freedom of being who they wanted to be. They finished off by saying that gender expression was something worth celebrating and everyone should enjoy sparkly things if it pleased them.
Supporters & Protestors Face Off
Outside the library, the protests were in full swing with supporters and protestors faced off. The Wall of Love had been put together by the Rise Up Doylestown, SAGA Community Center, and the Montgomery County LGBT Business Council in support of the event. It was even more heartwarming to see children as part of the support team chanting “stop the hate.” Thirteen-year-old Ella Brinen was amongst the supporters alongside her parents and she held a sign reading “Love thy neighbor.” The protestors, on the other hand, held assortments of religious-based signs. Pete Robinson, a protestor, said that he didn’t think that the story-hour should push multi-gender messages to children so quickly.
An Outpour Of Support
The outpour of love and support was hard to miss with those in attendance holding up signs that read “Love is Love is Love” and “God Thinks Drag Queens Are Fabulous.” The Lansdale Mayor, Garry Herbert, explained that the public library functions as a space for all kinds of learning. Herbert added that despite the disagreements, the education derived from the session would possibly lead to open dialogue within the community to address issues about diversity. He supported the event taking place from the get-go as long as it aligned with the library’s official Bill of Rights.
Law Enforcement Maintains The Peace
Protestors and supporters kept it civil by simply holding their signs up and chanting their respective messages. However, 16 Lansdale police officers were present to keep the two opposing groups separate and make sure that everything proceeded peacefully. They were already at the scene when the event itself and protests kicked off at 10:30 a.m that Saturday morning. Michael Trail, the Police Chief, explained that as law enforcement, they respected the protestors’ right of free speech and they would work to offer safety for all. He made a stern warning prior to the event that they would not tolerate assaultive or destructive behavior which would, without question, lead to an arrest.
Differing Points Of View Converge
Albert Howard, a supporter, and Marilyn Teed, a protestor, were present on the occasion. Howard supported the freedom of being who you wanted to be while Teed thought that in terms of mental health, it wasn’t “normal or natural.” Mayor Garry Herbert expressed that the event was a success and it had brought out the most children he’d seen at the library. Hebert added that the library dedicates its efforts to encourage self-expression and diversity in whatever form. He finished that Lansdale prides itself as being a place that is open to accept different and new ideas.
Drag Queen Story Hour Nationwide Protests
Most other states that host the Drag Queen Story Hour events have faced similar backlash. Drag queen Brittany Lynn faced protests when hosting a similar story-hour at the Please Touch Museum. Lynn also explained that their Houston chapter had faced widespread public condemnations even from politicians and they were also taken to court. They also had an instance where an armed man turned up at the venue of their events and he refused to leave the premises. The situation escalated when news broke that a background check had revealed that one of the story-hour hosts had been convicted for indecent assault. It drove them to ultimately end the particular chapter.
Story Hour With The Five-Horned Demon
Drag queen Xochi Mochi also caused an uproar when she hosted a Drag Queen Story Hour in October 2017 at a Long Beach, California library - which just happened to be Michelle Obama’s neighborhood. Her decision to appear as a five-horned demon didn’t sit all too well with protestors. Mochi was known for her outlandish transformations and that particular look was meant to celebrate Halloween and LGBTQ History Month. Xochi Mochi was actually one of the contestants of the first season of the reality show, RuPaul’s Drag Race. Without knowing that background, it explained why she received outrage for posting the image above on Social Media.
Pushing The LGBTQ Agenda
One Louisiana-based drag queen has been quoted saying that the story time revolution is geared towards grooming the next generation. Dylan Pontiff, who transforms to Santana Pilar Andrews with the help of cosmetics, has made the controversial statement. A video circulated in 2018 showing Pontiff making the admission to the Louisiana-based Lafayette City-Parish Council. Pontiff made even further controversial statements saying that although he had performed in adult shows, he knew how to filter himself to make it all "PG-rated." He expounded that he could put up a performance to entertain adults at a club and switch up his act for a group of students or younger children.
Trouble With Conservative Right-Wing Groups
LGBTQ activist S. Bear Bergman came under fire for making statements similar to Pontiff's, according to the Huffington Post in 2015. Bergman penned a blog post saying in part that he had come to indoctrinate children into his LGBTQ agenda and he wasn’t in the least bit sorry about it. Through his company Flamingo Rampant, Bergman planned to release a six-part children’s book series touching on the themes of gay children, transgender people, and also gay families. Tony Perkins from the Family Research Council even called Bergman and gay people “extremists.” Meanwhile, Tim Brown, of Sons of Liberty Media, described Bergman as a woman who was mentally ill who thought that she was a man!
Drag Kids
The Drag Kids revolution is quickly gaining traction and it’s basically kids being dressed in gender-non-conforming clothing. Amongst the popular Drag kids taking over the scene are ten-year-old Queen Lactatia and eleven-year-old Desmond Napoles. They were both born male but they dress up in drag and they have also raked in earnings by working with advertising companies. Desmond even started up a kids-only online drag to provide a safe and encouraging community for other kids like him. Desmond is also actively involved in the LGBTQ community suicide prevention and anti-bullying campaigns.
Queen Lactatia
Nemis Quinn Mélançon Golden, a Canadian, was another drag kid who adopted the lifestyle at the age of eight. He attended a show in Montreal with his mom and dad in 2017 and contributed to a performance dressed in girls' outfit. That video went viral and heightened his interest in drag. He changed his stage name to Queen Lactatia in 2018 and his fans were called the “Lactaters.” He also went viral for a YouTube video where he declared that whoever wanted to be a drag queen and had unsupportive parents needed new parents. Lactatia modeled for House of Mann, an LGBT clothing company in 2017 and the brand crowned him their cover girl.
Lansdale Inclusion Day
At the end of it all, the first Lansdale Drag Queen Story Hour was a success despite the protests it attracted. Mayor Garry Herbert proclaimed every 2nd of February as the Lansdale Inclusion Day in commemoration of the event and to celebrate the community’s diversity as well as their commitment to the cause. His decision was guided by a petition that the event supporters had launched. With her strong resolve to donate to charity, Torres had also made sure that the event doubled as a food drive and she would continue doing the same thing every Inclusion Day.