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Embracing Our Differences: Drag Queen Story Hour Comes To Richmond

S. Preston Duncan | March 4, 2020

Topics: #GayAgenda, Austin Sweigart, children's books, Drag Queen Story Hour, drag queens, events in richmond va, events richmond va, Fountain Bookstore, lgbt events richmond va, lgbt richmond va, lgbtq events richmond va, lgbtq richmond va, Michelle Tea, richmond events, richmond pride, richmond va, RVA, things to do richmond va, Todd Reazor

The newest chapter of the fast-growing Drag Queen Story Hour movement comes to Richmond’s Fountain Bookstore for the first time on Saturday, March 14.

Childhood can be rough. Inner conflicts fuel external confrontations, which only make the inner conflicts worse. In the hallway and at recess, adult-taught slogans celebrating individuality are undermined by peer-to-peer condemnation of any difference from the norm, no matter how slight. This problem, which exists for many kids, is exponentially worse for LGBTQ youth.

Enter Drag Queen Story Hour. DQSH was started in 2015 by San Francisco writer Michelle Tea. It has since grown, boasting over 50 official chapters across the United States and overseas. It has also steadily drawn the animosity of the grown-up version of schoolyard bullies. Their accusation? That DQSH represents that Gay Agenda, of course. That by accepting the basic humanity of those with gender expressions outside the narrow confines of heteronormativity, children are in grave danger of embracing their inner fabulousness.

According to Todd Reazor and Austin Sweigart, who are in the process of bringing DQSH to Richmond, the program is really a literary vehicle for self-acceptance and inclusivity. “We see DQSH as a way to show inclusion, diversity, and expression,” they said. “Showing families and children that having differences is okay can make a world of difference.”

Photo via Drag Queen Story Hour/Facebook

Three years ago, Sweigart and Reazor moved to Richmond from Pennsylvania, where they were both involved in advocacy for LGBTQ rights and visibility. When a friend started a DQSH chapter in Reading, PA, they fell in love with the project, and found it to be a perfect fit for their own Gay Agenda.  

“We’ve both been passionate about advocacy within the queer community,” they said. “As a result we started a business, #GayAgenda, that focuses on creating LGBTQ-inclusive environments. We knew that DQSH was a great way to provide educational and inclusive family events.”  

While they were in the process of locating potential venues in the Richmond area, Kelly Justice, owner of Fountain Bookstore, was meeting the Global Program Director of DQSH at a conference. When Justice returned home, she reached out and offered her shop as a venue, and the Richmond DQSH was born. 

LGBTQ youth have a rate of attempted suicide that is 1.5 to 3 times higher than their cisgender, heterosexual peers, and this statistic is impossible to divorce from the fact that they are disproportionately targeted for bullying. A culture of relative secrecy when it comes to LGBTQ identity only further isolates LGBTQ youth – in too many places, there just isn’t substantial access to openly gay or transgender role models for children. For Sweigart and Reazor, DQSH is a step in combating this inequity. 

“With both of us growing up and being raised as boys for the majority of our lives, something like DQSH could have shown us that we are normal, and fine as we are,” they said.

Photo via Richmond Drag Queen Story Hour/Facebook

But DQSH is also about the stories themselves. Stories express the beauty of individuality, and demonstrate the limitless potential of imagination. They also have the potential to show us new ways to see ourselves. The act of reading out loud gives further weight to this possibility – instead of isolation, reading stories cultivates community, validating our differences while underscoring our essential humanity. 

“One of the best ways to improve literacy and get children to want to read is to show stories that reflect an interest or part of their life,” Sweigart and Reazor said. “At DQSH, we will read stories that parallel struggles and highlight differences. Stories will feature characters that don’t fit gender stereotypes, show same-gender parents, while promoting kindness and understanding.” 

Richmond Drag Queen Story Hour will kick off March 14th at Fountain Bookstore, located at 1312 E. Cary St in Shockoe Slip. It will be held on the second Saturday of each month thereafter. Story hours start at 10:30am. The first reader is organizer Mx. Tara Byte (Austin Sweigart).

Future readers include organizer Mx. Anita Manager (Todd Reazor), Tiffani Hunter-Monique, Miss Liz Bien, Miss Milka Magnesia, and Ms. Faye Kapology. 

Richmond DQSH is always looking for readers, and drag performers of all kinds are welcome to apply. If you’re interested, email [email protected]

Top Photo via Drag Queen Story Hour/Facebook

Queer Eye for the Non-Binary Guinea Pig

Ash Griffith | January 20, 2020

Topics: children's books, Jonathan Van Ness, non-binary youth, Peanut Goes For The Gold, Queer Eye

Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness has released a children’s book about a non-binary guinea pig who is also a gymnastics prodigy. Can this story possibly be any more adorable?

Jonathan Van Ness of Queer Eye and A Gay of Thrones fame continues his role in the world as a wholesome, encouraging presence who must be protected at all costs. Van Ness came out as non-binary last summer, although he prefers he/him pronouns, and apparently decided to write a children’s book about a non-binary guinea pig, because we do not deserve him.

Peanut Goes for the Gold follows the story of a guinea pig named Peanut who uses they/them pronouns and encourages children to embrace themselves unapologetically. When Peanut decides not only to become a rhythmic gymnast, but also that they will create the best routine, because of course they do, we get a children’s story that sounds unsurprisingly inspired by Van Ness’ own childhood.

“Growing up, the things that made me unique were not always celebrated, and I wanted to do something that would inspire kids to celebrate the things that make them special,” Van Ness told People. “With that being said, I’m so excited to announce my debut children’s book, Peanut Goes for the Gold, an inspiring story of a guinea pig rhythmic gymnastics prodigy.”

Van Ness noted that, of course, the story is inspired by his own childhood, but also his pet guinea pig growing up, along with the fact that he has been returning to practicing gymnastics himself. Peanut may have been released earlier this month, but they are not the Queer Eye star’s first foray into books. His memoir, A Raw Journey to Self Love, came out late last year.

With all of the Queer Eye cast members now having dabbled in the book world, maybe this will start a trend of adding to the growing world of LGBTQ children’s books. While populous, unless they are written by a famous name, these books are not normally talked about as much. But they certainly are important, regardless of who is writing them.

Peanut Goes for the Gold is available now.

Top Photo via Jonathan Van Ness/Facebook

Author Marc Boston Wants You To Be Courageous

Ash Griffith | May 24, 2019

Topics: author, children of color, children's books, Marc Boston, representation, The Girl Who Carried Too Much Stuff, What About Me?, writer

The author of two children’s books, Boston began writing because he wanted to see girls of color (like his own daughters) represented in children’s fiction.

Three things you need to know about Charlottesville-based children’s author Marc Boston: his upbeat attitude is undeniably infectious, he has a fantastic smile, and when he wants something, he gets it done.

One of Boston’s favorite quotes is from fellow author Toni Morrison: “If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must write it.” When Boston realized that there were not many children’s books featuring girls of color, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

His most important ingredient: inspiration from his own daughters.

Originally from Baltimore, and raised in Kansas City, Boston and his family decided to move to Charlottesville for a few reasons. The schools are excellent, the landscape is beautiful, and the shorter trip to visit his family in Baltimore made the city an easy sell.

“Once you have kids, it becomes kind of a hassle going back and forth from Kansas City to Baltimore,” said Boston. “We literally googled ‘family friendly cities on the east coast,’ and Charlottesville came up. We weren’t that familiar with Charlottesville other than the University of Virginia [being] here, but we fell in love with it.”

Boston and his family (via Twitter)

The Bostons put their houses on the market two hours later, as soon as they realized how centralized they would be to both family and a little beach time to get away from it all — as Virginians do. They were excited to start a new adventure.  

Boston started writing while still in Kansas City, after he was laid off from his job in corporate America. He soon realized that the layoff had been a blessing in disguise, as he never felt that world was for him to begin with. Once he and his wife had their third child and he settled into his newfound role as storyteller to his children, a light came on.

What Boston thought of initially as a new hobby soon grew into much more.

“I started reading stories to my girls, and I fell in love with these books and pictures, more so even than when I was a kid,” said Boston. “One evening one of my kids said — and I’m paraphrasing — ‘Dad, why aren’t there any brown people in the books that we read?’ I noticed that, of course, but for you to notice this at your age, something needs to be done.”

While Boston was not a writer at the time, he quickly realized that the most important act in becoming a writer is just sitting down and putting pen to paper.

His daughters, of course, serve as inspiration for the majority of what he writes. His first book, The Girl Who Carried Too Much Stuff, was modeled after his middle daughter, who also carried one too many things wherever she went — teddy bears, books, you name it.

“Do you have to have the blanket? It is July,’” said Boston. “And she said ‘Yes, I have to have it!’ I started journaling what she was doing, and realized later that it was a good story. I’m glad, because people seem to resonate with that story.”

At its core, The Girl Who Carried Too Much Stuff is ultimately about materialism. It’s about letting go to find happiness, and realizing that material things are not the key to making your life better.

“It kind of fulfills a void in children’s books, where marginalized communities don’t always get to see themselves in books that they read,” said Boston. “So I’m addressing that as well.”

Boston’s books feel important due to his willingness to touch on deeper issues. Children’s media tends to stick with lighter, easier topics — making friends, or being proud of yourself. While those are topics that should be covered in children’s media, children also need to learn about issues that will affect them all their lives, like consumerism and materialism. Too often, such subjects are left out of children’s literature. How can writers help fill that void? Boston has an idea.

“It’s up to us as writers to go within each of us and go, ‘I’m going to be brave enough to tell a story that is going to make a difference in someone else’s life,’” said Boston. “It’s up to us writers, on the ground level, to decide to make a difference, and make a change. When we have individuals who do that, society can’t do nothing but catch on.”

Representation in media definitely has an impact on us as adults. However, it feels very different at 30 to realize you’re not represented in media than it does for children. For children, who are still just figuring out the world around them, knowing that you are not only seen but valued, that you’re just as important as the classmate sitting beside you, has an indescribable impact.

“A child’s self-esteem is entirely predicated on being able to see themselves in stories that they read,” said Boston. “It goes back to images of beauty. That blonde-haired blue-eyed character does not represent [my daughters]. Where are they supposed to get their self esteem from? How are they supposed to feel empowered when none of the superheroes look like them? They feel less beautiful, less powerful.”

Boston sees this in his own life experience. He doesn’t recall any writers of color coming to his school when he was a kid, and therefore, he never saw being a writer as a valid path for his life. It wasn’t until he took that leap and put pen to paper that he realized the power to be a writer was in his hands. And with that in mind, he has some advice for the would-be writers out there.

“Writers write. That’s what makes you a writer,” said Boston. “Not a book published. If you’re a writer, you have to write. You have to get your pen and paper, or your computer, and write as often and as much as possible. You have to be courageous.”

Marc Boston’s books, The Girl Who Carried Too Much Stuff and What About Me?, can be purchased from his website, marcboston.com.

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