After drag story time was banned by a Western Sydney council, one group is still fighting back
Drag performer Lavish Lazuli read My Shadow is Purple for an unofficial drag story time. (ABC News: Pablo Viñales)
It was an unauthorised stunt that defied a council's ban — a drag performer armed with a picture book.
Jesper Duffy chose gender expression children's book My Shadow is Purple to read to a willing audience at a council venue in Western Sydney.
"I wanted to do this story time because it would have made little me proud," the 21-year-old, known on stage as Lavish Lazuli, said.
The events, which have been held internationally at libraries, schools or bookstores, involve drag performers reading to groups of all ages to help promote creativity, inclusivity and storytelling.
A ban by Cumberland City Council was introduced last February following a Local Government NSW endorsement of drag story time the year prior.
The original motion, brought by Libertarian councillor Steve Christou and Liberal councillor Joseph Rahme, said council did not "support" and would not "host drag or sexualised material designed to target children".
At the time, the council had never hosted drag story time, nor received any requests to.
Rainbow Cumberland says it is "going to keep the fight going" until the ban is reversed. (ABC News: Pablo Viñales)
The council meeting was forced to adjourn after "disorder", with a motion it "would not host drag story time in this council" later passed after being voted for by 12 councillors.
Mr Duffy said drag queens and kings knew how to cater to different demographics, including at family-friendly events.
"I think it's misguided to believe that drag is inherently adult in nature, because you wouldn't say that to a Disney princess performer, you wouldn't say that to someone in a Halloween costume — so why are you saying it about us?" he asked.
'LGBTQIA+ people exist here'
Rainbow Cumberland has been campaigning to revoke an ongoing drag story time ban enforced by local council and Mr Duffy read the book at Lidcombe Community Centre last month.
"Queer kids … deserve to see queerness in their community," Mr Duffy, who grew up in nearby Regents Park, said.
"I never got that chance and I remember thinking that any other queer kids wouldn't get that chance either."
Mr Duffy says doing the story time would have made him proud as a child. (ABC News: Pablo Viñales)
Founder of the collective Kayla Hill said it was "really important" the drag story time was held "specifically in a council venue to show that these types of events are really beautiful".
"It was a fun and creative act of civil disobedience to show the power of the community and also the demand,"she said.
Ms Hill said it was just the beginning and the group were "going to keep the fight going" until the ban was reversed.
She said the group had invited council to events and emailed various councillors to raise awareness of their cause, and were turning their attention to official discussions next.
"My message to Cumberland City Council is that LGBTQIA+ people exist here and there's no place for policies against our community."
A laser focus on libraries
A spokesperson for the council said generally, its resolutions remained in effect unless rescinded or altered by a subsequent council decision.
"Council has not been contacted directly by the organisers of the petition, and no formal request has been received to review council's current position," they said.
"The story time event was not a council-run program and was not associated with or held at Lidcombe Library.
"Library programs delivered by council staff continue to focus on promoting literacy, inclusion and community connection."
Three months after the controversial vote, the council was forced to overturn a separate ban on same-sex parenting books after a petition by LGBTQIA+ groups.
Ms Hill said Rainbow Cumberland was aiming to replicate that outcome and hoped "to get similar numbers to the one on the same-sex parenting book ban".
Protesters outside Cumberland City Council after it banned same-sex parenting books from the children's section of libraries. (ABC News: Keana Naughton)
In a statement, Cr Christou said his position on drag story time had not changed, and hearing about the "movement" had "doubled my resolve to oppose this ludicrous and outrageous proposal".
"The LGBT community and their advocates can spin their sad and sorry narrative anyway they like," he said.
"The realities are these bans were not homophobic they were designed to let kids be kids."
He said children should not "have to worry about men dressed in dresses and wearing lipstick" and the community had spoken against the events.
"I will ensure that children's innocence, safety and freedoms are protected from such ideology at a young age."
Cr Christou said he would ask for details of last month's event and "somebody will be held to account if warranted".
'We deserve dignity and joy'
Kayla Hill from Rainbow Cumberland. (ABC News: Pablo Viñales)
Ms Hill said since the introduction of the ongoing drag ban, it had been "very scary" for the community to "exist proudly".
"There's never really been a sense of visibility for LGBTQIA+ people in Lidcombe, let alone Western Sydney as a whole," she said.
"I think we should fight back against the idea that because somewhere is conservative we should inherently just accept conservative policies," she said.
"We deserve safety and we deserve dignity and we deserve joy," Ms Hill said.
Greens councillor Sujan Selven said his counterparts should speak with the LGBTQIA+ community and experience drag story time themselves.