- Title: Drag Queen Story Hour teaches children about gender fluidity
- Date: 2nd August 2018
- Summary: MIZ JADE RAISING HAND AND ASKING AUDIENCE IF ANYONE FELT LIKE THEY'VE NEVER FIT IN (SOUNDBITE) (English) DRAG QUEEN, MIZ JADE, SAYING: "It's OK to be who you are and it's important to always make sure that everyone feels welcome and included and safe." VARIOUS OF MIZ JADE READING TO AUDIENCE PAN FROM BABY ON BLUE RUG TO MIZ JADE (SOUNDBITE) (English) DRAG QUEEN, MIZ JADE, READING FROM "THE DRAGTIVITY BOOK" CREATED BY MOR ERLICH, SAYING: "Drag is when you become your favorite made up character. A drag queen is a character you create to express your feminine side or any other side of yourself you would like to explore. Keep that in mind." (SOUNDBITE) (English) DRAG QUEEN, MIZ JADE, SAYING: "My favorite part of the Drag Queen Story Hour is asking the kids questions about what they learned about the book and how easy it is for them to kind of see like, oh, there's a problem and here's a solution and the solution is actually just to be nice and respectful and sweet and welcoming and inviting and I think that's lacking in the world around us today." BANNER READING (English): 'DRAG QUEEN STORY HOUR' TO MIZ JADE READING BOOK TO CHILDREN AND PARENTS 7-YEAR-OLD RAINER SPEIGHT LISTENING TO MIZ JADE READING ZOOM OUT FROM DRAG QUEEN STORY HOUR CO-FOUNDER JONATHAN HAMILT TO MIZ JADE, CREATOR OF "THE DRAGTIVITY BOOK," MOR ERLICH, AND SPEIGHT (SOUNDBITE) (English) REPORTER ASKING: "So what was your favorite part about Drag Queen Story Hour and why?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) 7-YEAR-OLD RAINER SPEIGHT, SAYING: "(Shrugs). The stories?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) REPORTER ASKING: "And what about Miz Jade?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) 7-YEAR-OLD RAINER SPEIGHT, SAYING: "Miz Jade was cool." MIZ JADE READING BOOK TO CHILDREN (SOUNDBITE) (English) DRAG QUEEN, MIZ JADE, READING FROM BOOK "NEITHER" BY AIRLIE ANDERSON, SAYING: "Well this isn't Somewhere Else. This is the Land of All and everyone fits in." (SOUNDBITE) (English) 7-YEAR-OLD RAINER SPEIGHT, ON WHAT SHE LEARNED FROM DRAG QUEEN STORY HOUR, SAYING: "It's like, everyone should be together." FRONT COVER OF "THE DRAGTIVITY BOOK" CREATED BY MOR ERLICH SPEIGHT SHRUGGING AND LOOKING DOWN AT BOOK SPEIGHT FLIPPING THROUGH BOOK (SOUNDBITE) (English) CREATOR OF "THE DRAGTIVITY BOOK," MOR ERLICH, SAYING: "Kids and parents have a lot of questions about drag and about gender presentation. And we just decided to make it easier for everyone and make an activity book that you can also read like a story." ERLICH HOLDING POSTER READING (English): 'FIND YOUR DRAG NAME!' (SOUNDBITE) (English) CREATOR OF "THE DRAGTIVITY BOOK," MOR ERLICH, SAYING: "I struggled a lot with gender when I was little. I was born female, assigned female at birth. And I transitioned and now I live as male, I present male. And I really wished that this content was available for me when I was little. I didn't know about gender fluidity and about the options that can change your life and make you a full person. So it's just important to have that conversation and everyone can live how they like." BABY ON PARENT'S SHOULDER TO MIZ JADE READING BOOK TO AUDIENCE MIZ JADE SITTING AT TABLE WITH CHILDREN COLORING WIDE OF MIZ JADE AND AUDIENCE APPLAUDING TILT DOWN FROM CEILING OF LIBRARY TO MIZ JADE SPEAKING TO AUDIENCE AT DRAG QUEEN STORY HOUR
- Embargoed: 16th August 2018 17:55
- Keywords: Miz Jade Drag Queen Story Hour gender fluidity reading to children drag queens read to kids
- Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Human Interest / Brights / Odd News,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0048RHTS2H
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Drag Queen Story Hour is a program at libraries across the country where drag queens read to children to educate them about gender fluidity.
"My favorite part of the Drag Queen Story Hour is asking the kids questions about what they learned about the book and how easy it is for them to kind of see like, oh, there's a problem and here's a solution and the solution is actually just to be nice and respectful and sweet and welcoming and inviting and I think that's lacking in the world around us today," said Miz Jade, a drag queen who read for Drag Queen Story Hour at the Brownsville Library in Brooklyn, NY on Wednesday (August 1).
Miz Jade read the following from "The Dragtivity Book," created by Mor Erlich:
"Drag is when you become your favorite made up character," Miz Jade said. "A drag queen is a character you create to express your feminine side or any other side of yourself you would like to explore."
Erlich has an LGBT web series "Sez Me," that began as series for kids and evolved into an educational program for people of all ages and backgrounds.
"I struggled a lot with gender when I was little," he said. "I was born female, assigned female at birth. And I transitioned and now I live as male, I present male. And I really wished that this content was available for me when I was little. I didn't know about gender fluidity and about the options that can change your life and make you a full person. So it's just important to have that conversation and everyone can live how they like."
Drag Queen Story Hour started in San Francisco in 2015 and the program's co-founder Jonathan Hamilt brought it to New York a year later. Drag Queen Story Hour has 30 chapters across the country. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None