The NSW Parliament Theatrette hosted a drag story time event on Friday afternoon with Sydney drag performers Cassandra the Queen and Woody the Cowboy wowing the audience with dance numbers and a reading from My Shadow is Purple – a children’s book about a non-binary child.
My Shadow is Purple by author Scott Stuart is a picture book rated as appropriate for children four and over by America’s Common Sense Media and tells the story of a a child whose parents are boy-blue and girl-pink but sees themself as somewhere in between.
Everything works out for the child until the school dance, where the boys and girls are separated and a teacher asks the child to choose a side.
But when another child joins them to say their shadow is yellow, and another one says theirs is silver, and green, and red, then all the children get to dance together.
The event was organised by bisexual Greens MP Dr Amanda Cohn who also holds the Greens’ LGBTIQA+ and Youth portfolios.
“It was so special to host Drag Story Time at NSW Parliament,” Dr Cohn said on Friday, adding that it was an event that “embraces diversity, inclusion and self-expression.”
“Drag Story Time can and should be held in local libraries around NSW, so kids can explore their imagination with the help of wonderful performers like Cassandra the Queen and Woody the Cowboy, who bring stories to life with creativity and flair.”
“Thank you so much to everyone who joined us for a story and a dance.”
The event was held in the wake of a number of drag story time events around Australia by local councils and libraries that were either shut down over security concerns or were the subject of protests and counter-protests.
In June a group of right wing protestors tried to picket a drag story time in Wollongong but found themselves badly outnumbered.
That same month Sydney’s Inner West Council passed a motion committing the council to hold drag story time events.
Rainbow Families recently held a drag story time event as part of this year’s Sydney Fringe Festival in Marrickville in Sydney’s Inner West that occurred without incident.
However in May, Victoria’s Monash Council cancelled a drag story time event that was being held as part of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia due to repeated threats of violence and intimidation against Councillors, families who had booked to attend the event, the performer, and Council staff.
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