A pride-month event at a gay bar in Dallas, Texas inviting kids to take the stage alongside drag queens was met with encouragement and outrage alike over the weekend. The event, titled 'Drag The Kids To Pride,' was held on Saturday morning at the Mr. Misster gay nightclub in North Dallas.
According to the Daily Mail, the event invited parents to bring their children along for a morning drag show, and it featured kids dancing alongside men dressed in drag beneath a pink neon sign that read 'It's not gonna lick itself.'
Outraged protesters arrived at the venue to picket the event, while the show's participants and promoters defended the day as nothing more than an opportunity for people attending to share joy about who they are.
Protesters picket controversial event in Texas
The controversial event in Texas comes as debates rage across the United States about how children and gender identity should interact. Pictures and footage from the Dallas event showed adults in the venue sitting on stools surrounding a long narrow runway stage in the middle of the room.
As parents sipped on drinks with children seated at their side, drag queens in glittered leotards and dresses danced along the stage, at times inviting the kids to walk down the runway with them, according to NBC News.
Texas State Rep. Bryan Slaton, a Republican, blasted the event, saying a law was necessary to protect children from "perverted adults." The drag queens snatched dollar bills from kids' outstretched hands in the event, all beneath the glow of a pink neon sign. An online brochure for the said event read 'Mr. Misster's Drag The Kids To Pride Drag Show provides the ultimate family friendly pride experience.'
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Protesters and parents trade barbs outside venue
As expected, the event was met with vitriol by some people, who came out in protest and called after parents in line with their kids, accusing them of endangering and 'grooming' their children. One protester asked through a bullhorn, "why do you want to put an axe-wound in between your son's legs?"
A woman responded to the query, saying "We've got kids here, please go away." The man on the bullhorn replied "That's the point." The interaction became more heated when the protester accused the parents in line of enabling Democrats to endorse pedophilia. A woman then screamed "You're scaring children, shut the f**k up! Shut the f**k up! Shame on you! Shame on you!' as kids in line cowered and held hands over their ears.
A woman protester told ABC 8 that she does not believe that she should be seeing signs advertising for children to be dancing on stage with men in thongs and in inappropriate clothing and makeup. She added that she does not in any way condone the behavior that these people are engaging in.
