What would you think if toddlers under the age of five were read a book with a clearly defined purpose of “introducing children to the world of drag scene”?
What would you say to children aged 0-5 when told about ‘gender identity’ and ‘sexual identity’?
This is happening in schools and CPEs in Quebec.
I’m not saying it’s good or bad, but I’m just asking the question: is it relevant?
THE NEW NORMAL?
Do you know the book Papa is a Princess? This book, aimed at children from 0 to 5 years old, is summarized by the publisher Boomerang as follows:
“Sometimes something magical happens in my house. With a wave of the fairy godmother’s wand, I surprise my father, who turns into a fairytale princess! A retelling of the Cinderella story filled with magic and glitter to introduce children to the world of drag scene.”
“The Drag Scene”? Really ? Five-year-old toddlers who have no idea about biology, identity, sexuality?
I read the book over the weekend.
It tells the story of a little girl who has two fathers. One of the two dads “paints his eyelids in all the colors of the rainbow”, “paints his lips red and puts on a lush dress with lots of ruffles”.
“His hair is getting longer and all of a sudden he seems ready to go to the prom. I THINK IT IS AWESOME! calls the little girl.
She is “excited” and “bursting with joy” at accompanying her father to a drag queens festival.
“It’s magic! It’s catchy! It’s magic!” she exclaims as the crowd applauds her father.
“I’m very proud of dad. He is the most beautiful and talented princess in the whole show! »
The book ends with this scene where the little girl sees her father remove her makeup: “We call it drag,” he explains, “and that’s my job. I think he’s lucky to be able to be a princess every day! I WANT TO DO THIS LATER.”
As part of the Tournée Lire à tout vent by the organization Communication Jeunesse, author Dana Blue conducted “school interventions” in a CPE in Chambly and in a primary school in St Hubert in the first week of May.
Here is the description of the activity: “Reading the album Daddy is a Princess followed by a drawing activity where students have to draw their drag queen/drag king costume”.
It seems to me that we have gone much further than the simple presence of a drag queen reading stories…
We participate in the trivialization of a lifestyle, the promotion of an ideology. The themes associated with the activity are written in black and white: “gender identity” and “gender identity”.
WE DO NOT HAVE TO AGREE
We can agree or disagree with the fact that drag queens read books in libraries and schools.
However, parents have the right to question the relevance of actively promoting the “drag scene” for children under the age of five.
