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Donna La Mode and Tom Cannon tell us their story

Drag Queen Story Time came about after student Tom Canham saw a tweet about the American version and thought it would go down well on these shores. He gathered together a gaggle of West Country drag queens and they had their first performance at this year’s Bristol Pride, receiving rapturous adoration and even winning an award. Despite only starting in June of this year, he’s taken the show around the country and entertained sold out audiences of children and their parents. 

However, not everyone was appreciative of his efforts. Last week, The Sun ran a story attacking the project on their front page, accusing them of running ‘trans classes for kids age 2’. It’s part of an overtly transphobic campaign that many of the tabloids are running with, coming on the same day The Daily Mail criticised the Church of England for releasing guidelines that had the temerity to suggest that boys shouldn’t be criticised for playing with tiaras. It’s scarily reminiscent of the poisonous media narrative that surrounded Section 28 in the 1980s, which accused the LGBT community of trying to brainwash children.

We spoke with Tom and drag queen Donna La Mode, whose picture was used on the front page of The Sun to accompany the piece, to hear about the project and The Sun’s accusations.

Tom Cannon

How were things following press coverage?

I’ve taken the coverage with a grain of salt under the assumption that people who read The Sun and the Daily Mail weren’t likely to hire us anyway. Also, most of my friends have said that if you’re annoying those newspapers, then you’re probably doing the right thing! It’s been odd though to see your name, where you live, your parents’ jobs all printed in a global title.

Have you received any opposition to it in the past?

We’ve received some mean comments occasionally, more so from the people who are familiar with the American Drag Queen Story Hour and have found their way to our page to leave a mean tweet or something. Other than that, it’s been universally well-received by everyone who’s ever attended and every company who’s contacted us. Then, we were on the front page of The Sun and people who didn’t even know we existed are now sending me death threats.

Have you had positive reactions since the front page?

Yeah, quite a lot. We got a lot of people saying they find what we’re doing inspiring and they’d love to get involved. Plus, it all came out at the same time as BBC3 Amazing Humans video, which has been viewed by something like 800,000 people and has been getting lots of lovely comments. A few negative, but you have to take them with a pinch of salt. As for the performances themselves, we’ve never had any negative reviews!

Where do you put the shows on?

Well, first of all, I’d like to say everyone has contacted us to perform, rather than the other way around. I don’t want to be accused of pushing an agenda on anyone. It’s for parents who want to introduce their children to inclusive ideas, but found that there wasn’t really anything else available for them to explore that. We perform for kids aged 3-11, so some of the younger ones probably don’t appreciate the messages of inclusivity, but their eyes still light up when the drag queen comes in through the door and are captivated from the get-go!

What would you say to The Sun’s claims that it confuses kids and it acts as ‘trans lessons’?

I’d point out firstly that our drag queens aren’t transgender, they’re transvestites. It’s a performance, like a panto dame or a clown. They put on a costume and they entertain someone. They also seem to have misunderstood what we do. We don’t go into rooms and start talking about the process of transitioning. We literally just read children’s stories, which are written for children but happen to include LGBT characters or themes around self-expression. All of these books are available on Amazon, they’re critically acclaimed, many have won awards. If they have an issue with the content, they should contact the publisher! I always make sure they’re appropriate and I have published a full reading list on our Facebook page.

What are the future plans for Drag Queen Story Time?

We’re making our Manchester debut in December, we’ve been invited up to Scotland too, Yorkshire, pretty much every part of the country! I’d love to be able to do that, but the project is mostly self-funded by me. We do charge a small fee for private organisations, but in libraries and schools, it’s a free service as a community outreach service. It’s got a lot bigger a lot faster than I was expecting, and my finances can only go so far!

Donna La Mode

How were things following the press coverage?

It was very anxious, upsetting, trying; pretty much every adjective you could possibly use.

Did you ever imagine you’d ever be on the front page of The Sun?

Not in my lifetime! To wake up to that on Monday was a shock to say the least. I had a message from a very good friend of mine who lives in London, who had seen a copy of the next day’s edition, and said ‘you do realise you’re on the front page of The Sun?’. I just reacted ‘LOL’, as you do. But he sent me a screenshot and then I went into meltdown mode. It was bizarre and I didn’t know how to deal with it, as I’d never been in a position like that before. I’ve had a huge pouring of support and love from all my friends and families, and lots of people I don’t really actually know. The support and the messages have been what’s got me through the last few days to be honest.

Has it put you off working with Drag Queen Story Time or doing similar projects in the future?

Initially, my knee-jerk reaction was ‘I can’t do this anymore’, but so many people have told me don’t give up the cause, as it’s wonderful. I’ve worked in the theatrical profession for a while and it’s something I’ve always loved doing. This project is still very new and still developing as we go, but it’s something I’m extremely passionate about. When I saw this article and all the other articles that appeared in the other newspapers, it was a real shock to the system and for a moment, made me question, but only for a moment.

How had you been finding it before the front page came out?

Well this is the whole thing. I just wish the press and negative people could see what we do, because the children adore it. The satisfaction and the look on their faces is just…if you could bottle it, it would be fabulous. I was very trepidatious with the first one because I didn’t know what to expect. I had arrived at the library and as I was sitting backstage…not backstage, but you know what I mean! The butterflies were kicking in. The minute I walked out to these children, their faces were mesmerised and they just sat on my every word, the parents as well. I normally perform in clubs and bars, where the crowd normally take it or leave it. You’re sort of background noise, but the kids just loved it. I got really emotional afterwards, but it was so fulfilling.

What happens during the sessions?

We just see it as putting on a show, so we keep it as easy-going as possible. My usual routine is that I’ll read a traditional fairytale or something they recognise, like The Very Hungry Caterpillar or Alice in Wonderland, and then read a very gentle book that’s slightly different to give them, and the parents, something to think about. It’s not heavy stuff, you don’t do that with children. The fact that I’m a man in a dress makes no difference to them. Most of them don’t even know that. I’ve been called a pretty lady so many times, even though when I’m out of it, I’m certainly not!

Would you have liked something similar when you were growing up?

I’m a year short of 50 and if I had had this in my childhood, it would have been so much easier for me. I knew I was different, even at that age, but I didn’t know why. And this sort of thing would have just been amazing. You don’t get any sense of that at all from that front page.

What would you say in response to The Sun’s accusations in the piece?

We’re not there to try and ram ideas of being transgender down their throat, and we’re not trying to confuse them. It’s just about saying ‘it’s OK to be different’. We’re not extreme. There’s a difference between a drag queen doing a cabaret act and a drag queen sitting with children. We don’t come with lots of flesh showing. It’s very much like pantomime, which is very much part of our heritage in this country.

Have you had any standout moments while doing DQST?

We did a huge event earlier this year, which was fully booked as it has been at everything we’ve done. There was a little boy there, who had come with his sister, who was aged about 8 or 9. She was wearing an Elske princess dress and so was he! They stood there holding hands and it turned out he was deaf. He was signing to me and his mother was translating for me ‘I love you’. It’s things like that keep you going after that after some of the negative coverage we’ve been getting. We have to rise above it.. It can’t bring us down.

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