Speaking of girls and princesses – do children need drag queens?

An event at which a drag artist will read stories to children has sparked outrage on social media.

Alyssa Van Delle has been invited to Taunton Library in February as part of LGBTQ+ History Month.

The performer will read from children’s books that cover LGBT themes or challenge traditional fairy tales.

But what are “LGBT themes”? They’re a grab-bag, aren’t they, and drag queens don’t exactly represent all such themes. They don’t speak much to the L part, for instance, and by some lights they just plain insult it. Lesbians and gay men share some interests but not all; lesbians are women and gay men are men and there is that familiar hierarchy, that doesn’t just vanish because it’s LGBTQ+.

The tour is also working with Islington Council to introduce a range of books for primary schools covering issues such as gender and sexual identity.

The aim is help youngsters increase their understanding and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community.

Same problem. The putative LGBTQ+ community covers a lot of issues (“such as gender and sexual identity”), and many of them are highly contested within said community. It’s not clear that drag queens are the ideal ambassadors or educators on this jumble of issues.