\nAurora<\/strong><\/p>\n
Editor\u2019s Note: Upon receipt of this letter, The Auroran reached out to the Aurora Public Library for a response. While they declined to do so, Eva Lasting<\/strong>, the participating Drag Queen storyteller, provided a response, which is printed below:<\/p>\n Yes, a children\u2019s event where a drag queen reads stories and plays dress up and dances with children, while potentially being innocuous and beneficial, may also bring up questions for children. But when you work with children or are a care giver to children you know they always have questions. Recent articles in The Auroran have profiled drag queen involvement in Pride month. Of particular note was \u201cDrag Queen Storytelling Time\u201d at the Aurora Library. This event was very disturbing to me. While portrayed as innocuous and beneficial, I do not believe it is. Rather, it is bound to confuse young children about gender identity. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-letters-opinion"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-5uZ","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-25 06:56:36","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21141\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nTo question, to wonder, to want to explore, discover and seek understanding in the world are all amazing things for a child\u2019s mind as well as for adults. The moment we stop asking questions is the moment we stop growing.
\nAt the beginning of the event, a child asked their parent \u201cwhy is that man wearing a dress?\u201d and I approached and asked the child if they thought I looked silly. The child giggled and said \u201cyes.\u201d I said that I felt silly and asked the child if they liked dressing up in costumes for Halloween. When the child said, \u201cyes,\u201d I said that that is what it\u2019s like to be a drag queen but I get to dress up even on days that aren\u2019t Halloween.
\nI hope that that answer gives some insight to you or to others who may be concerned. Being LGBTQ+ is a part a part of who you are. You can\u2019t change it. Seeing a drag queen may bring up questions for children. But they will be questions about things they can observe like about my wig or my makeup. Seeing a drag queen is not what made me gay. It just doesn\u2019t work that way.
\nAnd although I may never be able to quell your concerns, I am okay with that. But I would like people to consider that while this was a public event, all of the children who attended were there because their parents or care givers decided it was appropriate for them.
\nIf you haven\u2019t, I encourage you to see a drag show. Speak with a drag queen. We are people. We have mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and some even have children of their own that they love very much. We are people who want to be loved just like everyone else. Some of us are religious and believe in God as well.
\nI\u2019m not sure what specific religion you are affiliated with, but I was raised Catholic. When I went to church and went to religious classes I was taught that God wanted me to open my heart. To love my neighbour and to help those that others have cast out. I hope this response gives you a chance to consider that this event, as well as drag performances in general, are about creating a loving and supportive community for everyone.
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