Ohio Public Library to Offer ‘Drag 101’ Class
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Posted On: 05/29/2019 11:35:28 AM
Ohio Public Library to Offer ‘Drag 101’ Class for Teenagers
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These are not girls.
The Delaware County District Library in Delaware, Ohio, is gearing up to host a “Drag 101” class for local teenagers.
According to a local news report, Ohio’s Delaware County District Library is preparing to host a “Drag 101” class for local teenagers. The class, which will be taught by a 29-year-old drag queen who goes by the name Selena T. West, will teach local residents aged 12-17 how to engage in the performance art known as “drag.”
West told ThisWeek Community News that he hopes the class will teach interested teenagers how they too can become drag queens. West will discuss various aspects of fashion that go into a drag performance.
“It’s going to be open to everybody, and I want people to come be able to express themselves and learn about drag,” West said. “Drag is not scary; drag is not sexual. (Teens can) learn about what seem like trivial things like hair, nails, makeup, clothing. Those are the building blocks of a Drag 101 class I would teach.”
The class has stirred a backlash in the local community. Many residents don’t want their taxpayer dollars funding an event such as “Drag 101.” However, some residents think that the class is a more than appropriate use of public funds.
“What the opposition is doing now is fear-mongering,” one resident said. “Remember in our country how books were kept from the public eye because of ignorance. Amazing books like ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ were not allowed in the public library system because of fear-mongering. A library is a place for learning, not a place for squashing learning.”
Some residents think that the event was marketed incorrectly. One local said that West’s class should have been described as a fashion class. If the class had been titled less provocatively, the resident thinks that the community would have been more accepting.
“I think if it was portrayed as dress-up, makeup, things along those lines in the description, it would have been received much better,” the local said. “I just want to express that a lot of the pushback and the comments on this program have been because of the negative connotation behind what that definition has meant in the past.”
< >
These are not girls.
The Delaware County District Library in Delaware, Ohio, is gearing up to host a “Drag 101” class for local teenagers.
According to a local news report, Ohio’s Delaware County District Library is preparing to host a “Drag 101” class for local teenagers. The class, which will be taught by a 29-year-old drag queen who goes by the name Selena T. West, will teach local residents aged 12-17 how to engage in the performance art known as “drag.”
West told ThisWeek Community News that he hopes the class will teach interested teenagers how they too can become drag queens. West will discuss various aspects of fashion that go into a drag performance.
“It’s going to be open to everybody, and I want people to come be able to express themselves and learn about drag,” West said. “Drag is not scary; drag is not sexual. (Teens can) learn about what seem like trivial things like hair, nails, makeup, clothing. Those are the building blocks of a Drag 101 class I would teach.”
The class has stirred a backlash in the local community. Many residents don’t want their taxpayer dollars funding an event such as “Drag 101.” However, some residents think that the class is a more than appropriate use of public funds.
“What the opposition is doing now is fear-mongering,” one resident said. “Remember in our country how books were kept from the public eye because of ignorance. Amazing books like ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ were not allowed in the public library system because of fear-mongering. A library is a place for learning, not a place for squashing learning.”
Some residents think that the event was marketed incorrectly. One local said that West’s class should have been described as a fashion class. If the class had been titled less provocatively, the resident thinks that the community would have been more accepting.
“I think if it was portrayed as dress-up, makeup, things along those lines in the description, it would have been received much better,” the local said. “I just want to express that a lot of the pushback and the comments on this program have been because of the negative connotation behind what that definition has meant in the past.”
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