Drag Story Hour is just what it sounds like: local drag queens reading stories to children.
Drag Story Hour (DSH) was created by Michelle Tea and RADAR Productions, under the leadership of Juli Delgado Lopera and Virgie Tovar, in San Francisco in 2015. It started out as drag queens reading stories to children in libraries and grew into a global phenomenon!
DSH now offers literary and creative programming for kids and teens of all ages led by drag queens, kings, and creatures all over the world. DSH is a global network of local organizations, each of which is independently managed and funded.
Drag Story Hour captures the imagination and play of the gender fluidity in 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, and where dress-up is real.
Here’s what one librarian had to say about the program:
“Drag [Queen] Story Hour is a wonderful program that helps to bring acceptance of diversity to our communities. At the most recent DQSH at The Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial Branch Library, the presenter, Black Benatar, read ‘My Princess Boy,’ by Cheryl Kilodavis.
“When she finished reading, she asked the children (about 40 of them), “If you met a Princess Boy, would you make fun of him?” and all the children said, “No!” Then she asked them if they would ask him to play with them, and they all said, “Yes!”
“I had tears in my eyes, it was so beautiful and moving. This program is more important than ever.”
~ Barbara Warden, Children’s Librarian, San Francisco Public Library
Drag Story Hour events are happening all over the world at libraries, schools, bookstores, museums, summer camps, afterschool programs, and other community spaces! Each chapter is independently operated and funded.
Drag is an artistic way of expressing yourself and showing the world who you are or who you want to be. people of all ages should be free to express themselves however they want, free from the constraints of prescribed gender roles. In other words, there’s no such thing as “girl clothes” and “boy clothes,” or “girl toys” and “boy toys.” DSH teaches children that there are many ways to express themselves and their gender, and they are all OK.
DSH helps children develop empathy, learn about gender diversity and difference, and tap into their own creativity. DSH can also be life-changing and ultimately life-saving for LGBTQ kids and teens, kids with LGBTQ parents or family members, and anyone who feels different because of their identity or interests or who may not otherwise see themselves reflected in the broader culture.
DSH teaches children to follow their passions and embrace gender diversity in themselves and others. This helps to curb bullying of LGBTQ kids and kids who may be perceived as different in all kinds of ways.
Learn more about Drag Story Hour at www.dragstoryhour.org.
Drag Story Hour is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization and donations are tax deductible. If you would like to help spread love and glitter to more kids around the world, go to www.dragstoryhour.org/donate.
