An Instagram post reportedly shared by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) encourages people to support a drag story hour event that will take place on Dec. 29 at the Jackson Heights Library in Queens.
Journalist Andy Ngo shared a screenshot of the post, which included slides urging people to “defend Drag Story Hour.” The post, originally shared by the Rolling Library, further encouraged users to “help protect queer spaces and expression under threat from the far right.”
Congresswoman AOC has shared a far-left flyer on Instagram for comrades to come to a direct action to “protect” a children’s drag queen event in Queens. A number of these drag events have been protested by BIPOC New Yorkers concerned about what they say is sexual propaganda. pic.twitter.com/2O5oMVb6Fm
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) December 27, 2022
The post asks people to wear masks to the event and instructs them to come with “rainbow swag” and bring non-amplified noise makers as well as musical instruments.
“Congresswoman AOC has shared a far-left flyer on Instagram for comrades to come to a direct action to “protect” a children’s drag queen event in Queens. A number of these drag events have been protested by BIPOC New Yorkers concerned about what they say is inappropriate propaganda,” Ngo wrote alongside the screenshot.
Another slide on The Rolling Library’s post stated that “a group of violent, loud bigots” is planning to cause disruptions to the Drag Story Hour scheduled for Thursday.
“Queer community members and allies will be there to show the fascists they are not welcome, but that kids and drag queens are,” the post reads, further encouraging people to come together to “show NYC’s unwavering support for Drag Story Hour and for queer and trans people, and make a safe, encouraging, and joyful welcome for kids and their grownups as they enter the library.”
Leftist group United Against Racism and Fascism NYC also showed support for the movement by tweeting the post on its Twitter account. Sharing the two slides of The Rolling Library’s advertisement, the account emphasized the movement’s aim – “DEFEND DRAG STORY IN NYC!”
Drag Story Hour are children’s events in which drag queens read books to children and engage them in other activities geared at instilling “gender fluidity” in them. While the event has become a cultural flashpoint and is marketed as harmless by Democrats, critics fear it is inappropriate and carries a dangerous message for children.
It is believed that the drag queen communicates the deconstruction of gender. Some have also argued that the event promotes the subversion of family life. These fears are, however, ignored by leftists who have wholeheartedly embraced and stuck to the concept.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) has expressed support for the event saying in a statement earlier in the year that “drag storytellers, and the libraries and schools that support them, are advancing a love of diversity, personal expression, and literacy that is core to what our city embraces.”
Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), in a tweet sometime in June, referred to her assistance at a Drag Queen Story Hour as an “honor.” Ocasio-Cortez herself has once called a group of drag queens “patriots.”
