New York State, City Paid $200,000 for Drag Queens Reading to Kids at Public Schools, Records Show

Contact Your Elected Officials
The Epoch Times Header

New York City and state combined have paid drag performers more than $200,000 for appearances in New York City public schools since 2018, according to a report.

Drag Story Hour NYC, an organization previously known as Drag Queen Story Hour NYC, has received $50,000 from the state’s Council on the Arts, as well as $157,000 from New York City’s departments of Education, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Community Development, and Transportation, according to records obtained by the New York Post.

Since the beginning of this year, Drag Story Hour has organized 49 appearances in 34 elementary, middle, and high schools across the city. The group in May alone made $46,000 in public funds for its appearances at schools, festivals, and libraries.

This year so far has seen the New York City Council spending $80,000 on Drag Story Hour, more than triple the amount spent last year.

These story hours, where performers in drag read to children from 3 to 8 years old, first started in 2015 in San Francisco and have since spread to libraries and schools across the United States. They’re “intended to capture children’s imagination and help children explore their gender fluidity through glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models,” according to the organization’s website.

The books used during the story hours typically focus on homosexuality and concepts such as “gender fluidity.” Two of the popular books, “The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish” and “If You’re a Drag Queen and You Know It,” are authored by a founder of Drag Story Hour and feature classic children’s rhymes rewritten in a way that celebrates the drag lifestyle.

New York Public Library, the largest public library system in the United States, entered a partnership with Drag Story Hour in 2017 and has been holding story hours both in-person and online over the past five years. Despite the sexual nature and often lewdness of drag performances, the library encourages parents to expose their children to drag events and have conversations about them.

“If your child is interested in talking about why the drag queen is dressed up, you can have that conversation in very simple language,” the library states alongside a drag story hour video intended for children aged 2 to 4. “Why do you think this person dresses this way? I think it’s because they love looking beautiful. Isn’t it great how human beings come in all shapes, sizes, and colors? How we dress on the outside sometimes matches how we feel on the inside. How do you feel when you wear your favorite outfit?”

The sponsorship is endorsed by progressive politicians such as Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), a former teacher whose congressional district covers parts of Manhattan and Queens.

“Across the country, books are being banned, which are depriving our nation’s youth,” Maloney wrote on Twitter in April. “But thanks to [New York Public Library] and programs like Drag Queen story hour, NYC’s next generation are getting a well-rounded education about LGBTQ+ issues and gender identity.”

A Republican councilwoman says she can’t stand for taxpayer money being spent on these events.

“I am considering pulling funding to any school in my district that is implementing Drag Queen Story Hour,” Vickie Paladino, who represents Queens in the New York City Council, told the New York Post. “We are taking hundreds of thousands of dollars out of the pockets of hardworking New York taxpayers … to fund a program teaching little children about their gender fluidity? Not. On. My. Watch.”

By Bill Pan

Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com

The Epoch Times
The Epoch Timeshttps://www.theepochtimes.com/
Tired of biased news? The Epoch Times is truthful, factual news that other media outlets don't report. No spin. No agenda. Just honest journalism like it used to be.

No Kings Exposes Odd Things!

The “No Kings” protests held around the nation are not grassroots spontaneous people’s protests but are highly organized events by paid provocateurs.

President Trump Needs Much Better Protection

President Trump faces threats from foreign adversaries and domestic radicals prone to violence, people suffering from severe “TDS.”

Science Has Finally Come For Transgenderism

British biologist Richard Dawkins said “trans women are men,” calling transgender ideology a movement that undermines biological truth.

Trump is Coming for Antifa

Liberals say there is no organization called “Antifa”. Conservatives say Antifa is real and we now know how it is funded. What should we believe?

The Pentagon vs. the Free Press (or What’s Left of It)

Reporting what the government would rather not have reported is not just an essential function but a duty of a free press in a representative system.

Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Jumps as It Eyes Rare Earths Production

Cleveland-Cliffs’ $400M Defense Logistics Agency deal and rare earth mining prospects boosted its stock to yearly highs on Oct. 20.

FBI Confirms Hunting Stand Near Trump’s Air Force One: 4 Things to Know

FBI’s deputy director said forensic tools are being used to investigate a hunting stand found overlooking President Trump’s Air Force One in Florida.

Government Shutdown Could End This Week: White House Economist

In an interview, Kevin Hassett stated that a chorus of Senate Democrats thought it would be “bad optics” to reopen the govt before the “No Kings” rallies.

Vehicle Hit With Artillery Shrapnel During Marine Ceremony: California Highway Patrol

Metal shrapnel from a Marine Corps live-fire exercise at Camp Pendleton’s 250th anniversary damaged a CHP vehicle near a major highway, officials said.

President Signs Rare Earth Agreement With Australia’s PM

President Trump hosted Australian PM Albanese at the White House, where both leaders signed a new agreement on rare earth mineral cooperation.

Trump Says Insurrection Act Is ‘Strongest Power a President Has’

President Trump detailed plans to invoke the Insurrection Act to address rampant crime, calling it the “strongest power a president has.”

Army Corps of Engineers to Pause $11 Billion in Projects During Shutdown: Vought

Russ Vought, director of the White House’s OMB, has added to the growing pile of federal projects paused during the government shutdown.

Trump Signs Executive Order Putting New Restrictions on Federal Hiring

Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to restrict hiring, with exceptions for immigration, security, and political appointees.
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

MAGA Business Central