School cancels drag act after concerned parents ask MP to intervene

A school has U-turned on inviting a drag act to perform at its Pride event after an MP labelled it “morally reprehensible”.

The drag performance was advertised as part of the school’s upcoming annual Pride event, with children as young as eleven to attend.

Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman intervened after being contacted by parents in her constituency who were concerned about the plans for the inappropriate and sexualised performance.

‘Demeaning and offensive’

The Conservative MP explained that drag “is highly sexualised, presents a demeaning and distorted image of women”.

She said: “Pretending to children that a man can be a woman if they put on some makeup and wear a dress is wrong,” and branded hosting a drag act at a school a “morally indefensible safeguarding issue”.

Following a meeting with the school’s headmaster, Braverman commented on X: “I want to thank the school for listening to me and changing course.

“There are many ways in which schools can support LGB students but facilitating a sexualised, demeaning and offensive form of adult entertainment on its premises – and funded by the taxpayer – is not appropriate.”

‘Misguided and harmful’

Parents have raised concerns about a Pride leaflet produced by Swindon and Wiltshire Pride and given out at a primary school, which the charity said is “all part of a drive to be more inclusive of the expansive breadth of identity within the community”.

A parent and former teacher commented that the guide was “really concerning”. She particularly highlighted the polyamory section “encouraging children to have multiple sex partners” and a section to “raise awareness of the lesser known identities across the fetish spectrum”.

Helen Joyce, the Director of Advocacy at women’s rights charity Sex Matters, said the resource implies that children need to “find themselves on the list”, whereas she believes they should instead be “protected from such misguided and harmful ideas”.