Drag queen story hour for children is becoming a controversial event in some areas, drawing criticism and protesters.
Well-known Rochester drag queen artist Mrs. Kasha Davis hosts a story time with children, "You may remember me from RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 7," said Mrs. Kasha Davis. “I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania and my given name is Ed Popil. And as a little boy, girl, gal, girl, boy, fella, I was so excited to see my mother get all dressed up in fabulocity."
A confident adult and performer now, Ed Popil says he faced challenges as a child.
"From family and from the community and just from the world,” said Mrs. Kasha Davis. “I felt I had just no place and I felt that the part of me that was the feminine aspect, the person that liked fancy things, was meant to be kept suppressed and not to be celebrated or to be recognized.”
A move to Rochester with a welcoming gay community and finding a love for drag – with stage name Mrs. Kasha Davis — Popil now identifies as a gay man.
“My pronouns are he/him, and I get dressed as Mrs. Kasha Davis and I perform theatrically in drag. She/her are my pronouns in drag," said Mrs. Kasha Davis.
Night club and cabaret performances are on the backburner now as Mrs. Kasha Davis focuses on her drag story hour.
"So what happens at a story hour at Imagination Station is, the kids come in, we have a series of books, these different books that we read to the kids are about being themselves, being their authentic self," said Mrs. Kasha Davis. “What we are expressing when we are doing our story hour is that word: Kindness. Treat yourself with kindness and if you happen to see somebody else different in the world, treat them with kindness.”
But there are people who oppose drag queen story time.
“They’re saying that, ‘you have an agenda, Mrs. Kasha Davis, you have an agenda.’ Yes, we do: if you happen to see someone different, treat them with kindness," said Mrs. Kasha Davis, who prefers talking about her message of spreading kindness, but does call out the opposition, stating, “What we’re dealing with here is a level of hate that we’re utilizing, this, 'drag performers are grooming children, are doing these negative things to children' — that’s simply not happening.”
The performer says drag queens are not a danger to children.
“I’ve been asked, ‘are you afraid to dress in drag to be in public?’ Not any more afraid than a child is to go to school on a Tuesday. That’s the reality of this country and I think we can all do better," said Mrs. Kasha Davis.
For the drag community involved in reading to children, the criticism is another blow.
"What frustrates me is there’s the focus of posters calling drag queens names, pedophiles, etc, and children are going to learn from their parents and adults,” said Mrs. Kasha Davis. “So while they're posting these posters in communities, are the kids in the back seat, in the car seat? Who’s grooming who? We’re teaching kids to be hateful.”
She says her message is the opposite and will stick to kindness and humor.
“Drag is not a crime,” said Mrs. Kasha Davis. “Some of my fashion choices are criminal, but that’s a whole other story.”
However, some groups are saying the readings do more harm than good. To see Part II of our story on drag queen story hour, click here.