June is Pride Month, and the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library has been hosting a series of inclusive events to connect with the LGBTQ community.
Rainbow flags have been flying in the atrium, the front display case is filled with LGBTQ literature and films, and special events have included drop-in sessions for youth — and Saturday’s Drag Queen Storytime.
Miss Atmos Fierce and Erin B., from East Toronto Drag Queen Storytime, read aloud, danced and lip-synced in front of an all-ages audience. Their goal: to share cultural experiences and break down the barriers between LGBTQ community members and the community at large.
Their message? “Being different is OK.”
Miss Atmos Fierce and Erin B. have been bringing the storytime event — which on Saturday included the children’s books I am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, and Jacob’s New Dress by Sarah and Ian Hoffman — to libraries and schools for the past year.
The response has been wonderful, said Miss Atmos Fierce. “(We are) bringing youth the message that being different is OK.”
All kinds of kids like to dress up, and today’s families express all kinds of different relationships and combinations, she said, so talking about the differences openly builds acceptance.
Behind the event’s light-hearted fun, there are some sobering statistics. On average, 500 Canadian youth between the ages of 10 and 24 die by suicide, with LGBTQ youth strongly over represented, according to Statistics Canada.
While seven per cent of young people overall have attempted suicide, the number jumps to 33 per cent among LGBTQ youth, according to The Journal of LGBT Health Research.
“Adolescent youth who have been rejected by their families for being LGB are over eight times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers,” read a study in Pediatrics magazine.
Miss Atmos Fierce said she was bullied as a child, but she had a strong support network.
“I was really lucky. I grew up in a really supportive family,” she said, adding having access to something like Drag Queen Storytime “would have been the icing on the cake for me.”
It would have provided role models of people who are proud and comfortable in who they are, she said.
Erin B., who stands six-foot-six in her stockinged feet, and six-foot-nine in heels, faced some “pretty ruthless bullying growing up. Growing up was difficult.”
Her family background is traditional Serbian, and she acknowledges her family would never have taken her to an event like the Drag Queen Storytime when she was growing up.
That is why bringing the event to libraries and schools is so important — and why her singing Let it Go in Serbian as part of the event is both an act of subversion, as well as a homage to her cultural heritage.
The event at the library was joyous and fun, and both Erin B. and Miss Atmos Fierce stayed after Storytime to lead a rainbow-themed craft and answer questions from the audience of more than 30, sharing information and fashion tips.
As Erin B. noted: “We’re celebrating everyone in their differences.”
Drag Queen Storytime was launched by child educators and drag queens Fay Slift and Fluffy Souffle in Toronto, promoting literacy and gender acceptance by reading culturally diverse books, and creating a fun and inclusive atmosphere.
Coming up for Pride celebrations in BWG: A special Pride drop-in session for LGBTQ teens between the ages of 12 and 19 and their allies at the library’s Zima Room on June 13 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Make rainbow sundaes and celebrate Pride. An initiative of the BWG library and The Gilbert Centre in Barrie. The event is free.
