"I am a real-life story"

Saturday 28 September 2019

Showing children that it is "ok to be different and to be yourself" is one of the main messages a visiting drag queen hoped to convey at a story time reading.

Aida H Dee read books including "Guess How Much I Love You", "We Are Going On A Bear Hunt" and "The Lion Inside" to children and their parents at the Guille Alles Library yesterday morning.

Aida received criticism from some deputies in the lead-up to the book readings, but she said the support she had received overall outweighed any negative comments. 

"Guernsey has given me the warmest welcome I have had for any drag queen story time I have ever been to, and I have done this for three years all across the country," she said.

"The reason of Drag Queen Story Time is to show young children that it is ok to be different, that difference is not just something you will come across in the world, but it can be fun and that is ok."

Aida said criticism of DQST is mainly out of ignorance, and that broadening experiences during childhood influences how they react as an adult to people who are different to them. 

"To these children I am not gay, I am just a character out of a book that has come to life – I am a real life story.

Pictured: Genevieve Jager and Zoe Langlois, both three, attended and enjoyed the story time. 

"People need to understand the definition of a role model  - it is not someone that children copy, a role model is someone who they they look to as an inspiration, who lets them know that it is ok to be yourself."

Among those at the readings were Jenny Langlois and her daughters Zoe, three, and Etta, one. 

"Zoe loves coming to the library story times and I thought it would be a fun and lively event," she said. 

"You want children not to be scared of people who are different and they had a great time."

Guille Alles Library's Head of Marketing Adam Bayfield explained where the idea for the event came from. 

"We had had lots of requests from parents for an event like this," he said. "It was really popular and has been lots of fun. It is a great story time with the added element of promoting inclusion and diversity." 

Pictured top: Aida H Dee.