Drag queen Miss Angel was nervously excited for her double-header story time the following day. She had received a hateful message the night before, condemning her drag story time practice and attacking her personhood. Yet she remained hopeful.
“What I’ve learned in the past is, I just have to go in and do what I do and the outcome after that is more positive than anything else that can affect me,” she said.
Decked out in a sunflower dress and hairpiece to match her sunny disposition, Miss Angel walked into Chaucer’s Books on Saturday, June 10, to a crowd of supporters and too many children to fit comfortably between the bookshelves.
Miss Angel had the kids hooked from the get-go. She began by teaching them a call-and-response waterfall to get them to “shhhhh” and taught them how to sign “I agree” in ASL so they could react silently throughout the story time. Miss Angel then read the eager crowd a variety of children’s books with themes of self-acceptance, kindness, and empathy.
The featured book of the event, Juliàn Is a Mermaid, was written and illustrated by Jessica Love, who grew up in Santa Barbara. The story about “being seen for who we are by someone who loves us” is accompanied by stunning watercolor illustrations.
Between pages, Miss Angel quipped: “Has anyone ever felt shy before? On the count of three, let’s say our favorite color! Who has more than 10 favorite books? Who has more than 15 million favorite books?” Just about every kid’s hand shot up, causing the adults in the room to chuckle.
Drag story times were a natural step for Miss Angel, who works as a kindergarten teacher on weekdays and performs as Angel D’mon at various drag events around the city. She discovered drag at the age of 27 after having been a professional dancer for 18 years.
“I started in drag and I released a part of me that needed releasing that I didn’t even know I needed, and it really helped me understand myself as a queer person,” she said.
She hopes that her drag story times allow the kids in attendance to feel represented in a way she never got to feel.
“I would’ve needed that, I wouldn’t have found liberation at 27 years old, I would have found it a lot sooner,” she said. “So, I wanted to reduce the struggle and [maximize] the amount of time to feel comfortable in your own skin.”
Though she has encountered repeated backlash, she takes it in stride and reaffirms her qualifications as an educator.
“I went through so much schooling to be where I am. I did so many tests to be where I am. I’m one of the most qualified [people] to do this,” she said. “The only time somebody has an issue is when I put eyeshadow and hair [on], and all of a sudden, it’s a big deal. But no one’s complaining when I’m helping [their kid] get to their next grade level.”
She doesn’t respond directly to the hate she receives, but she does have a general message for the people who are wary about her story times: “That discomfort that you’re feeling is what I feel every day — and I can’t opt out.”
Luckily the event at Chaucer’s wasn’t one that drew any protest. In fact, a crew of supporters was there to greet her and shield any potential hate.
“When … I saw the crowd, I was really nervous, and then I walked outside and realized what they were for and I was so thankful and it was amazing,” Chaucer’s store manager Jaremie Magara said.
Married couple Joan Ariel and Ellen Broidy came equipped with a sign they’ve marched with for decades, bearing the words, “We love our lesbian mothers.”
“We just thought it was important to come and stand up for these kinds of events [that] are just joyful and life-affirming and love-affirming,” Ariel said.
Broidy is no stranger to LGBTQ+ activism, in fact, she was one of the co-founders of the original pride march in New York City. She believes drag story times are a “gentle, easy” way to nurture acceptance in the younger generations.
“There is nothing to be afraid of; this is just celebratory, joyful,” Broidy said. “Nobody’s trying to convert or change [anyone]. I grew up hearing stories told by Clarabell the Clown — I didn’t turn into Clarabell.”
Supporters like these and the inspiring young people Miss Angel meets drown out the negative noise. She feels good about the next generation and her impact on them. At the end of the story time, she led both the kids and adults in a series of positive affirmations before sending them on their way, having them state, “I am safe. I am smart. I am creative. My voice matters. I am one of a kind. All me and all mine. I am fabulously perfect for me.”
Miss Angel has now written her own children’s book about embracing oneself and is working on getting it published.
More information about Miss Angel and her future story times can be found here.