Outrage as Royal College of Nursing invites TODDLERS to a ‘super-camp drag story time’ event
- Nursing union planned to host a ‘drag story time’ for children and babies under 7
- It sparked fury online with many users calling for the college to cancel the event
- The RCN has deleted all mention of the event online but says it will still go ahead
Britain’s nursing union has sparked outrage after planning a ‘drag storytime’ for toddlers next month.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has now removed all mention of the event from its websites following backlash on social media.
However, it told MailOnline the event — open to the union’s 465,000 members and their families — will still go ahead after ‘rescheduling’.
The CLIP Theatre’s Drag Storytime (for ages 0-7) was going to be held on June 11 at the union’s London headquarters as part of the RCN’s celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride month.
Attendees would have enjoyed a ‘splendidly silly, super-camp storytime’ with ‘one of London’s finest drag artists’.
Parents and children were promised ‘interactivity, live music, silly props and sensory fun’.
However, the RCN event was immediately criticised after it was promoted on social media.
The original tweet from the Royal College of Nursing promoting the story time with a drag queen
Some RCN members were displeased with the college’s decision to host the event
Others questioned why an act traditionally associated with adult entertainment was being performed for children
Some argued the RCN could better demonstrate its commitment to Pride month by holding an event dedicated to amplifying voices of lesbian, gay and bisexual nurses
But some defended the event, arguing it was no different than the classic pantomime dame
Sarah Enne, who claims to be an RCN member in Wales, said she was unhappy with her membership fees being used this way.
‘This isn’t why I pay my subs,’ she wrote.
Nurses have to pay up to almost £200 per year for membership to the RCN, which represents them in issues like pay negotiations and workplace representation.
A man named Phil, from London, questioned why children were being exposed to what many see as a form of adult entertainment.
‘Men in fetish clothes, performing women as sexually objectified caricatures in front of children should shows a complete lack of child safeguarding. Do not do this!’ he wrote.
Others questioned the relevance of the event to the nursing profession and if the RCN would be better off holding an event to highlight ‘the voices of LGB (lesbian, gay and bisexual) nursing staff’.
Other users questioned the outrage, arguing a drag story time was essentially the same as a British pantomime.
When questioned by MailOnline, an RCN spokesperson said the event had not been canceled only postponed.
‘This event is being rearranged, not cancelled,’ they added.
‘Our commitment to celebrating Pride and equality, diversity and inclusion is strong and we have other events planned.’
The RCN did not explain the reason for the rescheduling.
CLIP Theatre, a production company which specialises in children’s theatre, was also contacted for comment but did not respond.
It follows similar outrage to an event organised by a primary school in South London.
Hollymount Primary School in Raynes Park hosted burlesque entertainer Dolly Trolley during its ‘This Is Me’ day in February.
But some parents expressed fury about Dolly Trolley, who wore knee-high leather boots and a low-cut sequined dress teaching a dance to pupils aged nine and over before reading to pupils aged five to nine.
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