Aida H Dee described the island as ‘very gay’, and he said that in his three years as a children’s performer he had never received such a warm welcome.
The drag queen story time event had been criticised by several local politicians who were concerned that it was ‘indoctrination’ and a ‘dangerous path’.
Wearing a sparkly blue jumpsuit, platform shoes and with his hair in a beehive – Aida said the reaction from the youngsters had been fabulous.
‘Everyone was just so willing to get involved, the kids, the parents, all the children seemed so in awe because they look at me as if I am a real-life story, I’m a character out of a book, that’s come out of the book to read the story.’
One of the themes of drag queen story time is that it is okay to be different and challenge stereotypes, Aida wanted to spread the message that a person’s differences can also be superpowers.
‘You can be a boy, you can be a girl, you can wear women’s clothes, you can wear male clothes, if anything it’s going to be about how they dress and that it’s completely okay to wear a wig, or sparkly clothes, or trousers if you’re a girl, it’s completely okay to wear anything you want to.’
Guernsey currently does not have any legislation to protect the LGBTQ communities from discrimination, and after the event Aida said that it needed to be sorted out.
‘Guernsey is as gay as anywhere else, I have already walked around Guernsey the last couple of days and I’ve seen women holding hands, I’ve seen men holding hands. Guernsey you are as gay as anywhere else and this idea that you are enclosed in a bubble as an island is completely untrue, and in fact I think you should give yourself a bit more credit because you are much more in love with LGBT than anyone thinks.’
The drag queen story time had been one of the Guilles-Alles Library’s fastest-selling events – tickets had sold out within 24 hours, with a long waiting list.
Parent Cammy Wolfer, who took her son along, was full of praise for the event.
‘It was the most fun, vibrant and exciting story time that I’ve ever been to. It was inclusive and everyone had a great time and I’m really glad that the library did this.’
Another parent, Julia Jager, said she had been surprised by the negative comments on social media.
‘I don’t know what all the fuss was about. For my children I want them to take everyone as they are, for who they are.
‘It was a great thing for Guernsey, especially for the children to meet people from different walks of life, the more they understand that everyone is different and to accept everyone as they are, the more of that the better.’
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