Editing Drag queen (section)

== In education ==
{{globalize|section|US|date=April 2024}}
While drag queens are entertainers, they play a role in educating people on gender roles and stereotyping. Professor Stephen Schacht of [[State University of New York at Plattsburgh|Plattsburgh State University of New York]] began introducing his and his students' experiences of attending a drag show to his gender/sexualities class to challenge his students' ideas of dichotomy. Over time he began inviting students to attend with him. He gathered from his students that after attending the drag show they had a new appreciation for gender and sexuality and often become very vocal about their new experiences in the classroom.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Browse journals by subject |journal=Journal of Homosexuality |volume=46 |issue=3–4 |pages=225–240 |doi=10.1300/J082v46n03_14 |pmid=15132493 |year = 2004|last1 = Schacht|first1 = Steven P.|s2cid=38596592 }}</ref>

=== With children ===
[[Nina West]], ''Drag Race'' season eleven contestant and winner of ''Miss Congeniality'', and producer of ''[[Drag Is Magic]]'', an EP of children's music about the art form, says she hopes to inspire them to "dream big, be kind, and be their perfect selves."<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nina-west-drag-is-magic-video_n_5ce30897e4b075a35a2bd851|title=Nina West Of 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Wants Kids To Feel 'Loved And Seen' With New Video|last=Wong|first=Curtis M.|date=21 May 2019|website=[[HuffPost]]|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190908171245/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nina-west-drag-is-magic-video_n_5ce30897e4b075a35a2bd851|archive-date=8 September 2019|access-date=9 September 2019}}</ref> West feels the art form is "an opportunity for children to get creative and think outside the boxes us silly adults have crafted for them."<ref name=":4" /> [[Marti Gould Cummings]] said something similar when a video of them performing "[[Baby Shark]]" at a drag brunch event went [[Viral video|viral]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/baby-shark-drag-queen-brunch_n_5c893c7ee4b038892f49caa9|title=Drag Queen Performs 'Baby Shark' At 2-Year-Old's Request, And It's Delightful|last=Wong|first=Curtis M.|date=19 March 2019|website=[[HuffPost]]|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190614202754/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/baby-shark-drag-queen-brunch_n_5c893c7ee4b038892f49caa9|archive-date=14 June 2019|access-date=9 September 2019}}</ref> "Anyone who thinks drag isn't for children is wrong," said Cummings, "Drag is expression, and children are such judgment-free beings; they don't really care what you're wearing, just what you're performing."<ref name=":5" /> As of May 2019, the video has been viewed over 806,000 times.<ref name=":4" />

West responded to critics who question if children are too young to experience drag, saying "Drag is an opportunity for anyone – including and especially children – to reconsider the masks we are all forced to wear daily."<ref name=":4" /> West added, "Children are inundated with implicit imagery from media about what is 'boy' and what is 'girl.' And I believe that almost all kids are really less concerned about playing with a toy that's supposedly aligned to their gender, and more concerned with playing with toys that speak to them."<ref name=":4" />

John Casey, an adjunct professor at [[Wagner College]] in New York City, posits in ''[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]'',{{Blockquote|"[Drag queens] are incredibly talented, and they are trying to live their lives, and in the process, brighten the lives of those around them. That's the message parents should be communicating to their kids, at any age. It's all about acceptance and being loved for who you are."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2019/9/17/exposing-kids-drag-isnt-abuse|title=Exposing Kids to Drag Isn't Abuse|last=Casey|first=John|date=September 17, 2019|website=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921225932/https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2019/9/17/exposing-kids-drag-isnt-abuse|archive-date=September 21, 2019|access-date=September 19, 2019}}</ref>}}

Separately from kids watching drag, the phenomena of drag kids is relatively recent,{{vague|date=January 2023}} ''The New York Times'' in September 2019 published a guess that a there are about a hundred children who do drag in the U.S., with [[Desmond is Amazing]] being the one with the most followers.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/07/style/self-care/drag-kids-desmond-the-amazing.html|title=Sashaying Their Way Through Youth|last=Hines|first=Alice|date=7 September 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=9 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190909054506/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/07/style/self-care/drag-kids-desmond-the-amazing.html|archive-date=9 September 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The mainstream access to drag queens on television exponentially increased in 2009 when ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' started airing.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2017-05-04 |title=How RuPaul's Drag Race Pushed Glamour Mainstream |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/photo-essays/2017-05-04/how-rupaul-s-drag-race-pushed-glamour-mainstream |access-date=2024-02-23 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Framke |first=Caroline |date=2017-06-26 |title=The phenomenon of RuPaul's Drag Race — and what it means for teen culture |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/6/26/15845792/rupauls-drag-race-season-9-teen-fanbase |access-date=2024-02-23 |website=Vox |language=en}}</ref>

However, as of 2022, exposing kids to drag has become somewhat controversial. Lawmakers in states such as Arizona, Florida, and Texas are attempting to ban minors from attending drag shows and punish parents who expose their kids to drag.<ref name="auto5">{{Cite news |last=Barco |first=Mandalit del |date=2022-06-16 |title=Some lawmakers hope to crack down on drag shows watched by children |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/06/16/1105544325/drag-shows-children |access-date=2022-11-19 |archive-date=10 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510005848/https://www.npr.org/2022/06/16/1105544325/drag-shows-children |url-status=live }}</ref> These attempts to ban minors from watching drag are based on allegations of drag being a form of perversion and hyper-sexualization.<ref name="auto5"/> Some have argued that these accusations are the same that were leveled against homosexual men since the [[lavender scare]] of the 1950s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tensley |first=Brandon |date=2022-10-27 |title=How age-old homophobic language is being used to miseducate voters |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/27/us/rhetoric-lgbtq-midterms-race-deconstructed-newsletter-reaj/index.html |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Jones |first=Timothy W. |date=2023-05-16 |title=Calling drag queens 'groomers' and 'pedophiles' is the latest in a long history of weaponising those terms against the LGBTIQA community |url=http://theconversation.com/calling-drag-queens-groomers-and-pedophiles-is-the-latest-in-a-long-history-of-weaponising-those-terms-against-the-lgbtiqa-community-205648 |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=The Conversation}}</ref> Those who disagree with the accusations have argued that drag queens provide a safe and creative environment for young children, especially LGBTQ+ children, and are a source of both education and entertainment.<ref name="auto5"/>

==== Story time in libraries ====
In December 2015, Radar Productions and [[Michelle Tea]] developed the concept of [[Drag Queen Story Hour]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lamarche |first1=Una |date=19 May 2017 |title=Drag Queen Story Hour Puts the Rainbow in Reading |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/style/drag-queen-story-hour-puts-the-rainbow-in-reading.html |url-status=live |access-date=22 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701150324/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/style/drag-queen-story-hour-puts-the-rainbow-in-reading.html |archive-date=1 July 2017}}</ref> Launched at the [[San Francisco Public Library]], Drag Queen Story Hour was adopted by the [[Brooklyn Public Library]] in the summer of 2016, and has since traveled to various libraries, museums, bookstores, recreation centers, and parks across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Drag Queen Story Hour |url=https://www.dragqueenstoryhour.org/#about |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602104444/https://www.dragqueenstoryhour.org/#about |archive-date=2 June 2017 |access-date=22 June 2017 |website=Drag Queen Story Hour – drag queens reading stories to children in libraries, schools, and bookstores |publisher=Drag Queen Story Hour}}</ref>

Such events sometimes prompt opposition against the libraries and organizers.<ref name="Kuga 2018">{{cite web |last=Kuga |first=Mitchell |date=15 November 2018 |title=Some Libraries Are Facing Backlash Against LGBT Programs – And Holding Their Ground |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mitchellkuga/librarians-drag-queen-story-hour-lgbt-safe-spaces |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621041117/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mitchellkuga/librarians-drag-queen-story-hour-lgbt-safe-spaces |archive-date=21 June 2019 |access-date=21 June 2019 |website=BuzzFeed News}}</ref><ref name="FallRiver2019">{{cite web |date=1 June 2019 |title=Drag Queen Storytime Held at Fall River Library Despite Protests |url=https://boston.cbslocal.com/2019/06/01/drag-queen-storytime-protests-fall-river-library-kids/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621041130/https://boston.cbslocal.com/2019/06/01/drag-queen-storytime-protests-fall-river-library-kids/ |archive-date=21 June 2019 |access-date=21 June 2019 |website=WBZ – CBS Boston}}</ref> In one instance in California, men belonging to the far-right group known as the [[Proud Boys]] arrived in a group and disrupted the event by shouting homophobic and transphobic phrases at the crowd. The County Sheriff's Office opened a hate crime investigation into the incident due to the nature of the disruption.<ref name="auto5"/> Proud Boys sometimes bring guns for intimidation purposes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Proud Boys Terrorize Drag Queen Story Hour in Nevada |url=https://www.advocate.com/news/2022/6/30/proud-boys-terrorize-drag-queen-story-hour-nevada |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=www.advocate.com}}</ref> Some leftist groups, such as the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club, organize armed counter protests to keep protesters out of the building. This usually leads to the presence of police to ensure both groups don't harm each other.<ref>{{cite news |last=Pengelly |first=Martin |orig-date=30 August 2022 |title=Armed left and rightwing protesters face off at 'drag brunch' in Texas |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/30/texas-drag-brunch-armed-protesters-roanoke |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230611221411/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/30/texas-drag-brunch-armed-protesters-roanoke |archive-date=2023-06-11 |access-date=2023-06-20 |work=[[The Guardian]]|date=30 August 2022 }}</ref>