Drag queens who read to children foil far-right demonstrators

A reading session by drag queens to a group of children at a Rotterdam theatre at the weekend went ahead without major incident by the simple expedient of moving the event to a different time.

Far-right groups, among which youth members of Forum voor Democratie, had already announced they would stage a demonstration, prompting the organisers to move the event from the afternoon to the morning. A hundred or so people turned up to the protest including supporters of the event.

‘We didn’t want the children to see all those angry people,’ spokeswoman Liesbeth Beeftink of the LanterenVenster theatre told the NRC.

The reading, which was attended by some 20 children, was a reaction to the ban on similar drag events in the American state of Tennessee.

‘We just wanted to show that every person can be who they want to be and that boys don’t necessarily have to play football, for instance. The reading, which included Ik ben ik en jij ben jij (I’m me and you’re you) was a great success, with crisps, lemonade and glitter,’ drag queen Ma’MaQueen told the paper.

‘It was fun. They read really well,’ 7-year-old Ivo told the NRC.

A 51-year-old womand from Dordrecht who had posted threats in the run up to the book reading event was later arrested for incitement to violence.