Protestors call for end of drag queen story events in Oakville public libraries

Two people spoke out against drag queen story hour at Oakville public libraries during a board meeting last night.

The Oakville Public Library hosted a story hour, Drag Queen Storytime with Fay and Fluffy, in June. There don’t appear to be any others scheduled in the coming months.

During a delegation at the Oakville Public Library board on Oct. 19, Liz Galvin and Alicia Bedford of the Oakville Community Association asked to end all drag queen story hours at the libraries until there is a public consultation. They also asked for the removal of certain books.

Although Galvin said there was a unanimous decision to bring the topic to the library board, comments on the group’s Facebook page indicate not everyone supported the presentation.

Galvin said she was denied entry to the story time event in June and told she could watch shows online.

“But I wanted to see what was being presented in our library, paid for with our tax dollars,” Galvin said.

Galvin questions certain books in the library, including The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison for its depiction of the rape of a young girl, and drag queen story hour books by Lil Miss Hot Mess (Harris Kornstein) because they present “overly sexualized behaviour” to children.

Galvin and Bedford oppose drag queen story hours for several reasons.

“Drag queen story hour events discriminate against all other artists — choirs, theatre groups, musicians who must all rent a venue and sell tickets to their performances,” Galvin said. “We don’t agree with taxpayers funding one type of performer and excluding others…”

She added that the June drag queen story hour required the extra cost of police officers due to threats.

Bedford indicated the drag queen story time and certain books promote confusion among young people.

“We do not want events and material in our public libraries that creates sexual confusion in young children and promotes this dangerous ideology to our youth,” Bedford said.

Drag queen story hour is promoting a “radical militant trans-movement,” she said.

At the same time, Bedford said they support tolerance and acceptance of the LGBTQIA+ community.

However, she also said two pride flags at the library is too many.

Galvin suggested an academic paper by Harris Kornstein (Lil Miss Hot Mess) and Harper Keenan, Drag pedagogy: The playful practice of queer imagination in early childhood, is a manifesto promoting an agenda to “subvert the system of heteronormativity.”

The board didn’t ask the presenters any questions and moved ahead with the rest of the agenda.

See the full library board meeting here.