An “after hours” drag queen show based on the popular RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise will allow children aged eight and under to attend for free alongside an adult ticket holder.
Children aged eight and under were able to attend the “after hours” drag queen shows held as part of a RuPaul’s Drag Race convention in the United Kingdom this weekend for free, a report has claimed.
According to a report by The Telegraph, two “after hours” drag queen shows held over the weekend as part of the convention were accessible by children, with the publication even stating that free tickets were being offered to those eight and under attending the event so long as they were accompanied by a paying adult.
Such a claim appears to be backed by the RuPaul’s Drag Con web page, with an FAQ section of the site saying that “[k]ids 8 and under are free when accompanied by an adult with a ticket”.
“Kids will be let in during All Star hours if the adult has a All Star ticket,” the website explains. “This ticket does not include entrance to any separate DragCon After Hours Parties, unless the adult has a seperate ticket for After Hours as well [sic].”
Although the website also insists that the drag queen convention as a whole “is an all-ages, family friendly event” where children are welcome, some child protection campaigners have criticised the handing out of free tickets to young children for “after hours” events.
“Drag shows are highly sexualised performances for adults only and therefore do not constitute suitable entertainment for school-age children,” one senior researcher from the Family Education Trust, Piers Shepherd, reportedly remarked.
“It is shocking that children under the age of eight will be given free tickets to this performance,” he continued.
“This raises serious concerns about safeguarding and the sexualisation of children.”
The controversy comes as the politics surrounding drag queen shows becomes ever more contentious across the West, with the performances, involving men dressed as women dancing for entertainment, becoming an ever more significant symbol for the modern progressive movement.
For instance, politicians in Sweden have championed drag queen shows in recent weeks, comparing populist conservatives in the country to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin after they unsuccessfully attempted to stop a drag queen show aimed at children.
“The rhetoric we hear could have come directly from Vladimir Putin’s mouth,” one Green Party bigwig remarked while attacking those in the far more popular Sweden Democrats (SD) party.
The RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise in particular has gained significant traction amongst progressives, with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appearing on one of the show’s many spin-offs to champion progressive causes.
“We do diversity better than just about any other place in the world,” the political leader remarked while on the show.
“It doesn’t matter what your background is, where you’re from, who you love — you enrich this place.”
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