A Melbourne community library has been put on blast by people screeching “won’t somebody PLEASE think of the children“, after announcing that a local drag queen will be reading storytime this Friday during International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT).
Despite the backlash, Whittlesea Library and Annie Depressant are sticking to their guns and bringing ‘Rainbow Storytime‘ to the kids of the outer northern Melbourne suburb.
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After the library made the announcement on its Facebook, people began to hit back at the event in the comments, which ranged from parents upset with Annie’s “adult entertainment” through to straight-up homophobia and transphobia directed at the drag queen.
The initial post was removed by the Whittlesea library, but that hasn’t stopped people from posting directly onto the Facebook page and sharing in other online groups, with one woman claiming that she had “informed all local Islamic organizations and mosques about it.” Not quite sure what that’s meant to achieve but you do you.
Meanwhile, other parents and supporters of the library’s inclusivity have been flooding the library’s Facebook page with positive reviews, commending the community space for putting the effort into being accepting of people of all genders and sexualities.
Annie Depressant has been reading to children at Werribee Plaza Library since late last year, bringing inclusive stories like Todd Parr‘s Be Who You Are and Jessica Walton‘s Introducing Teddy to life.
The special storytime is a part of a larger run of events being put on by the Yarra Plenty Regional Library group, which includes other storytimes in Diamond Valley, Eltham, and Watsonia.
The irony of people getting wildly up in arms about a queer-identifying drag queen reading stories about acceptance and inclusivity to kids on a day dedicated to eradicating hatred homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia is not lost on me, and personally, huge kudos to Annie and the team at Whittlesea Community Library for sticking to what they know is the right steps towards teaching tin lids about inclusivity and being yourself.
More of this, please.
