Philadelphia Sets Recently Invented World Record.
It's stupid, and you should tell Visit Philadelphia.
The City of Philadelphia did the most important thing in the history of gay and lesbian liberation to kick off the holy month of Pride this year. They set the Guinness World Record for Drag Queen Story Hour, breaking a record that has stood for centuries….oh wait... a record that was invented just recently by a clever company that creates publicity out of thin air. In fact, municipalities have been inventing stupid world records for publicity since Guinness published its first book in 1955.
Reporters from well-respected media outlets have dutifully reported on this publicity stunt, one attended by far more adults than children, as an important statement.
It wasn’t.
We’ve talked about drag being adult entertainment and not appropriate for children. We stand by that. We also object to children being brought to any event that is about the egos and agendas of adults.
But this thing? It was a joke and not in the misogynist way the drag queens meant it.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t object. If you are so inclined, you might ask Visit Philadelphia (questions@visitphilly.com) why they want the gay and lesbian community represented by drag queens as opposed to the many fine gays and lesbians not interested in performing kiddie fetish shows. You can show them this excellent Bill Maher commentary in which he calls out Drag Queen Story Hour for what it is.