She brought along her 15-year-old grandson. Page said she spent a couple of days making signs out of poster board to hand out to fellow protesters but the turnout wasn’t what she had hoped. They’re very sexual,” she said, standing on an island in the library’s parking lot. “It’s indoctrinating, it’s grooming, and it’s sexualizing.” “Kids should not be around men dressed as women,” said Denise Page, 65, of Danvers, a protester. Libraries in Jamaica Plain, Fall River, and Taunton have all been subject to protest over hosting LGBTQ+-themed events.ĭrag story hours, a staple at Massachusetts libraries for years as a way for kids and families to learn about inclusion and representation, have become yet another flashpoint in the nation’s culture wars, drawing protests and increased hostility in New England and the country. “We like to pretend that Massachusetts is safe from this kind of hatred, but it’s not.” “I think this is happening everywhere,” Peterson said. “It is important to me that these guys grow up in a world where anybody can be what they want,” Peterson said, adding that there had been recent “tension” at her local library. Let’s let them grow up with love and support.”Īmanda Peterson, 32, brought her daughter and son, 4 and 6, to the event from their home half an hour away in Chelmsford. “We want to protect the kids,” Billings said. Shielding children who wanted to attend the event from any possible hostility was their primary reason for being there, Billings said. “It’s very overwhelming to see how many people actually are here,” said Lane Billings, of Beverly, president of the newly formed North Shore LGBTQ+ Network. They brought cowbells and megaphones, flew peace signs, and sported rainbow everything from pinwheels, umbrellas, and banners, to socks, tutus, top hats, and suspenders. ![]() Someone waved a sign that said “Drag isn’t dangerous, but hate, bigotry, and ignorance are.” The crowd chanted: “Say it loud, say it clear, bigots are not welcome here.” With students, young families, and a coalition of organizations in attendance, the lawn outside the Peabody Institute Library of Danvers and the driveway leading up to it were a spectacle of tie-dye colors, sights, and sounds. Supporters of a drag makeup class for teens sported rainbow colors as they stood outside the Peabody Institute Library of Danvers on Wednesday.
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