Jacksonville Library Cancels Storybook Pride Prom

[Adam White]

I support gay rights, and I support government recognition of those rights and unions. As someone who lived in New York City for 14 years, including 8 of those years in Chelsea, I was around gay culture quite a bit.  I never quite understood why drag queens and transgendered persons became such prominent symbols of gay rights and culture.  Having said that, I've been to a couple drag shows (was never a huge fan), and did see the artistry in them, but the shows I saw I always considered to be adult-themed.  I don't like the idea of buckling to this "activist mommy" character, because I think her agenda is more nefarious than just creating a more child-appropriate pride event, but I also don't understand why the Library had to include the drag queen in their plans.  Being gay, and the implied dysmorphia of the drag queen and transgendered agenda are two very different things.  Transsexuality and dysmorphia are fairly heavy topics for children...not sure if this is the right forum.  I really don't have answers on this, just questioning...

Given the social media outrage culture we are currently in, I first want to say that you bring up a FAIR question that should be discussed and debated and it saddens me how many who have similar concerns are quickly labeled as secret homophobes or ignorant.

I personally couldn't care less if a drag queen reads stories to a bunch of gay kids. But that said, I cannot stand drag and drag queens. I appreciate that it is supposedly part of "gay culture" or whatever, but not liking drag doesn't make you a homophone any more than hating Morris dancing makes you an Anglophobe.

On a side note, is this the first post-Dare drag queen story? (I realise there's more to this story than just drag queens, but the amount of drag queen-related content has taken a dive since Stephen left MJ).

Lol, quite probably. And I haven't seen a single shirtless Tebow.

[sandyshoes]

Regarding the drag-queen story hour, and other CHILD-friendly gay events...my whole thing is why are CHILDREN being exposed to these very ADULT matters when they should only be concerned with enjoying their childhood - why are they being forced to think about sex at all at their tender age?  No one in my generation got the 'talk' until puberty hit.  I don't think it's ok to rob children of their innocent, carefree existence.  Yes, there are many things, some evil things (child porn) that rob children of their childhood, but please don't add to those things.  Wait until 'the talk' and to make things even easier for them, let them bring up the subject.  Don't put it out there and give them the impression they have to make a choice.  If  things happen, they should happen naturally, not because they felt encouraged one way or another.  But please - just LET THEM HAVE THEIR CHILDHOOD.  They'll never get it back.  Thanks for listening, hope I made sense.

[Tacachale]

Regarding the drag-queen story hour, and other CHILD-friendly gay events...my whole thing is why are CHILDREN being exposed to these very ADULT matters when they should only be concerned with enjoying their childhood - why are they being forced to think about sex at all at their tender age?  No one in my generation got the 'talk' until puberty hit.  I don't think it's ok to rob children of their innocent, carefree existence.  Yes, there are many things, some evil things (child porn) that rob children of their childhood, but please don't add to those things.  Wait until 'the talk' and to make things even easier for them, let them bring up the subject.  Don't put it out there and give them the impression they have to make a choice.  If  things happen, they should happen naturally, not because they felt encouraged one way or another.  But please - just LET THEM HAVE THEIR CHILDHOOD.  They'll never get it back.  Thanks for listening, hope I made sense.

To reiterate, this event was not a drag queen story hour, nor was it for young children. Attendees were age 14-18.

I did attend a drag queen story hour at the UNF library, featuring BeBe Deluxe. It was geared for college students but a number of attendees did bring small children. It talked about trans and non-binary folks but nothing that I saw was sexual or otherwise inappropriate for kids, from BeBe's costume to the language used. It was mostly little vignettes about being respectful to everyone, not asking invasive questions and being yourself.

[JeffreyS]

Tim Rogers now says he didn't have all the information and wishes he hadn't canceled. However he is going with  what's done is done, que sera sera.

[JeffreyS]

He was asked several times today why he didn't contact JSO if he had security concerns.

[Snufflee]

Regarding the drag-queen story hour, and other CHILD-friendly gay events...my whole thing is why are CHILDREN being exposed to these very ADULT matters when they should only be concerned with enjoying their childhood - why are they being forced to think about sex at all at their tender age?  No one in my generation got the 'talk' until puberty hit.  I don't think it's ok to rob children of their innocent, carefree existence.  Yes, there are many things, some evil things (child porn) that rob children of their childhood, but please don't add to those things.  Wait until 'the talk' and to make things even easier for them, let them bring up the subject.  Don't put it out there and give them the impression they have to make a choice.  If  things happen, they should happen naturally, not because they felt encouraged one way or another.  But please - just LET THEM HAVE THEIR CHILDHOOD.  They'll never get it back.  Thanks for listening, hope I made sense.

So based on your comments, Children aren't gay until they are exposed to a Drag Queen Story Hour or Child friendly gay events? Let me see.. my oldest daughter is gay and understood she was from a pretty early age.

I am loathe personally attack here but will say your comment is pretty ignorant.

[Des]

Regarding the drag-queen story hour, and other CHILD-friendly gay events...my whole thing is why are CHILDREN being exposed to these very ADULT matters when they should only be concerned with enjoying their childhood - why are they being forced to think about sex at all at their tender age?  No one in my generation got the 'talk' until puberty hit.  I don't think it's ok to rob children of their innocent, carefree existence.  Yes, there are many things, some evil things (child porn) that rob children of their childhood, but please don't add to those things.  Wait until 'the talk' and to make things even easier for them, let them bring up the subject.  Don't put it out there and give them the impression they have to make a choice.  If  things happen, they should happen naturally, not because they felt encouraged one way or another.  But please - just LET THEM HAVE THEIR CHILDHOOD.  They'll never get it back.  Thanks for listening, hope I made sense.

So based on your comments, Children aren't gay until they are exposed to a Drag Queen Story Hour or Child friendly gay events? Let me see.. my oldest daughter is gay and understood she was from a pretty early age.

I am loathe personally attack here but will say your comment is pretty ignorant.

No, he's saying that kids shouldn't have to care about whether they're LGBT, if they're gay they should figure it out themselves as they grow older and that's not something that should be on their mind right now. Children are impressionable and he's trying to make the point that the atmosphere at some of these events is that you need to make a choice now whether you're gay or not, like how child witnesses in court can be led to an answer whether it's true or not.

For the record, I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with what he said, but I think he's being attacked a little bit unfairly.

[Adam White]

Regarding the drag-queen story hour, and other CHILD-friendly gay events...my whole thing is why are CHILDREN being exposed to these very ADULT matters when they should only be concerned with enjoying their childhood - why are they being forced to think about sex at all at their tender age?  No one in my generation got the 'talk' until puberty hit.  I don't think it's ok to rob children of their innocent, carefree existence.  Yes, there are many things, some evil things (child porn) that rob children of their childhood, but please don't add to those things.  Wait until 'the talk' and to make things even easier for them, let them bring up the subject.  Don't put it out there and give them the impression they have to make a choice.  If  things happen, they should happen naturally, not because they felt encouraged one way or another.  But please - just LET THEM HAVE THEIR CHILDHOOD.  They'll never get it back.  Thanks for listening, hope I made sense.

But we read stories to kids all the time where there are Princes and Princesses who live happily ever after, etc. I hate to invoke the word "privilege" but I think you've got a bit of a blind spot there. If you're going to take offence with 'gay' story time, you better take offence with 'straight' story time as well.

[Snufflee]

Regarding the drag-queen story hour, and other CHILD-friendly gay events...my whole thing is why are CHILDREN being exposed to these very ADULT matters when they should only be concerned with enjoying their childhood - why are they being forced to think about sex at all at their tender age?  No one in my generation got the 'talk' until puberty hit.  I don't think it's ok to rob children of their innocent, carefree existence.  Yes, there are many things, some evil things (child porn) that rob children of their childhood, but please don't add to those things.  Wait until 'the talk' and to make things even easier for them, let them bring up the subject.  Don't put it out there and give them the impression they have to make a choice.  If  things happen, they should happen naturally, not because they felt encouraged one way or another.  But please - just LET THEM HAVE THEIR CHILDHOOD.  They'll never get it back.  Thanks for listening, hope I made sense.

So based on your comments, Children aren't gay until they are exposed to a Drag Queen Story Hour or Child friendly gay events? Let me see.. my oldest daughter is gay and understood she was from a pretty early age.

I am loathe personally attack here but will say your comment is pretty ignorant.

No, he's saying that kids shouldn't have to care about whether they're LGBT, if they're gay they should figure it out themselves as they grow older and that's not something that should be on their mind right now. Children are impressionable and he's trying to make the point that the atmosphere at some of these events is that you need to make a choice now whether you're gay or not, like how child witnesses in court can be led to an answer whether it's true or not.

For the record, I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with what he said, but I think he's being attacked a little bit unfairly.

The point is though from 14 - 18 which is the age group this was targeted too, children are acutely aware of their sexuality. I have never been to an LGBT Q event that asks for you to "make a choice" either directly or implied. It was meant to be a safe place for teenagers to gather and be themselves without having to hide.

[Tacachale]

Regarding the drag-queen story hour, and other CHILD-friendly gay events...my whole thing is why are CHILDREN being exposed to these very ADULT matters when they should only be concerned with enjoying their childhood - why are they being forced to think about sex at all at their tender age?  No one in my generation got the 'talk' until puberty hit.  I don't think it's ok to rob children of their innocent, carefree existence.  Yes, there are many things, some evil things (child porn) that rob children of their childhood, but please don't add to those things.  Wait until 'the talk' and to make things even easier for them, let them bring up the subject.  Don't put it out there and give them the impression they have to make a choice.  If  things happen, they should happen naturally, not because they felt encouraged one way or another.  But please - just LET THEM HAVE THEIR CHILDHOOD.  They'll never get it back.  Thanks for listening, hope I made sense.

So based on your comments, Children aren't gay until they are exposed to a Drag Queen Story Hour or Child friendly gay events? Let me see.. my oldest daughter is gay and understood she was from a pretty early age.

I am loathe personally attack here but will say your comment is pretty ignorant.

No, he's saying that kids shouldn't have to care about whether they're LGBT, if they're gay they should figure it out themselves as they grow older and that's not something that should be on their mind right now. Children are impressionable and he's trying to make the point that the atmosphere at some of these events is that you need to make a choice now whether you're gay or not, like how child witnesses in court can be led to an answer whether it's true or not.

For the record, I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with what he said, but I think he's being attacked a little bit unfairly.

The point is though from 14 - 18 which is the age group this was targeted too, children are acutely aware of their sexuality. I have never been to an LGBT Q event that asks for you to "make a choice" either directly or implied. It was meant to be a safe place for teenagers to gather and be themselves without having to hide.

I believe Sandyshoes is not a he. I do think Des is summarizing their comment fairly accurately. They're still inaccurate, both in terms of what the Pride Prom event was, and in terms of what messages we give kids. To repeat, Pride Prom wasn't for young children. And I've never seen any LGBTQ event that implies a person, let alone a kid, should have all their preferences and identities in order. In fact, they're usually the exact opposite of that.

As Adam says, we have no qualm about presenting relationships and romance to young kids. It's only when it's LGBTQ relationships and romance that some see them as inappropriate. As if Heather Has Two Mommies could possibly give kids a worse message about relationships than Beauty and the Beast.

Here are some interesting statistics the UNF LGBT Resource Center gave me. A 2017 survey found that 20% of people age 18-34 identified as LGBTQ, the highest for any generation. Additionally, another survey found that 35% of Millennials and 52% of Generation Z identify as something "other than exclusively heterosexual".

[JeffreyS]

Police investigating a suspicious package there now. Park street closed.