The hyper-sexualisation of children’s shows in the name of ‘diversity and inclusion’ continues to grip the United Kingdom.
The latest incarnation to emerge is the ‘Caba Baba Rave’ – a ‘cabaret sensory rave for parents and their babies 0-2 years’ – which has been performing in London and was due to appear in Waterloo on 11 March.
It recently came to light that the show, which promised to provide a ‘little slice of afternoon delight’, was packed full of half-naked drag acts, wearing bondage gear, thongs and nipple tassels in front of children. The performers often name themselves after lewd sex acts. Nothing is left to the imagination.
Those in positions of power appear only too happy to push this twisted agenda
After public outcry after videos of the ‘rave’ were shared on social media, the organisers have cancelled their upcoming shows. They have taken their website down and turned all of their social media profiles to ‘private’, in what could be construed as an attempt to avoid the rigorous scrutiny they are now facing.
They have also chosen to engage in bizarre justification and mudslinging, rather than use this criticism to indulge in some self-reflection about whether or not it is appropriate to dance half-naked in front of children. They have blamed the cancellation of their shows on ‘trolling’ and say the only people who take issue with their performances are people who ‘have a problem with… non-binary performers.’ And as if it makes it any better, they say their shows for babies are aimed more at the parents who want to have a ‘night out during the day’.
Most shockingly, they try to justify their sexualised performances on the basis that the babies are too young to know what is happening anyway. They make a ridiculous comparison: ‘it goes without saying babies of a young age aren’t able to grasp the plot of an intricate, thought-provoking movie.’
Just because a young child may not fully understand what is in front of them, does not mean it is okay for them to be exposed to it in the first place. That is a basic premise of child safeguarding. Children lacking the proper developmental capacity should not find themselves being treated as sexual objects or being exposed to inappropriate sexual themes.
For some time now people have suggested that child drag performances taking place around the UK are no different to pantomime dames at the theatre. It’s a laughable comparison. Traditional theatre is geared towards family entertainment and has age-appropriate content. It may be ridiculous and farcical, but unlike child drag acts, it is not sexual.
The drag performances being offered to children, on the other hand, ooze sex. They are often hyper-sexualised in language and dress. They blur the boundaries between adults and children. And they are often promoted to children as something they may wish to aspire towards. Crucially, they promote and encourage regressive, sexist stereotypes of what it means to be a woman.
Yet our children cannot seem to escape from this frenzy of sexualised drag.
Shows such ‘Drag Queen Story Hour’ are being performed in schools up and down the country. This particular show features ‘Aida H Dee’ wearing such tight-fitted clothing that his genitals are often visible. Drag Queen Story Hour seeks to offer ‘imaginative role models for children to look up to’. Dee will often have young children pose with the ‘trans pride’ flag at the end of a performance. This is the same individual who has previously said ‘trans women are women’ and ‘love has no age’.
Even NHS England and Greenpeace have chosen to partner with this show. Drag Queen Story Hour has also raised money for Mermaids, a charity supposedly set up to help children struggling with gender dysphoria.
Those in positions of power appear only too happy to push this twisted agenda. A video emerged last year from the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Pride Festival of a drag act, advertised for children. It included a performance of ‘Sweet Transvestite’. There is no world in which this is appropriate for young children.
Drag shows are being pushed, even when they are utterly irrelevant to the work of a given organisation. Last year, the Royal College of Nursing advertised a drag show they were hosting for ‘children aged 0-7’. I’m not entirely sure what sexist and sexualised drag shows have to do with the nursing profession.
The commercialisation of such drag performances is ensuring they become increasingly more mainstream. At the start of the year, ‘RuPaul’s DragCon’ was held at the London ExCel centre. Children were actively sought after, with ‘kids eight and under’ let in for free. Performers included ‘A’Whora’, ‘La Big Bertha’ and ‘My Little Puny’. One of the acts, Victoria Scone, who has referred to their act as ‘pretty damn vulgar’ was videoed doing the splits and twerking in front of very young children.
What I find most shocking of all is the increase in drag performers encouraging children on stage to partake in the show. In the States, videos online show young children dancing provocatively while audience members through money at them. The is the literal sexualisation of our children.
Unfortunately, the powers that be appear hell-bent on putting their heads in the sand. A letter written by myself and several others to the Children’s Commissioner, raising concerns about these type of performances, never received a response.
The market for this vulgarity is, depressingly, propped up by parents who are willing to take their children to these shows. For those who dare to speak out against this, they are smeared as ‘transphobes’ or ‘bigots’.
Those complicit in the facilitating of the sexualisation of children, whether for profit, or simply to signal how ‘inclusive’ they are, must stop and soon. Our children must be protected.
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