PASCO COUNTY, Fla. -- Spectrum Bay News 9 is celebrating pride month, which commemorates acceptance of the LGBTQ community and the strides being made towards equality.
What You Need To Know
- Drag Queen Story Hour turns to online bedtime stories during pandemic
- Story hour faced opposition from protesters before the pandemic
- Host Stephanie Stuart hopes messages serve as an inspiration
We’re revisiting with organizers of “Drag Queen Story Hour” in Pasco County, which was forced to change their plans due to protesters and the pandemic.
Now, they’ve found a new way to connect with their community.
Stephanie Stuart is still hosting these story hours. Now she streams them online, due to the pandemic.
Going virtual is something she says is a silver lining in all of this.
“It’s done us a favor because it’s given us a drama free audience. We don’t have to put up with protesters. We’ve not had anybody try to interrupt,” Stuart said.
Back in January 2019, we attended one of Stephanie’s first Drag Queen Story Hours, which was met with dozens of protesters.
She was reading at the Paperback Exchange bookstore in Port Richey.
Owner Joan Hepsworth held it there because she believes in the positive message behind Drag Queen Story Hour.
“When you have children that want to know the differences in families, you can easily approach it. Because it is an open and accepting event,” Hepsworth said.
Organizers kept the story hour at the store as long as they could. Every week, protesters would show up. Eventually, they moved it to a public library, to help keep participants safe.
“It was a very difficult decision. It felt very defeating to us. We could not put on a safe event because of the protesters and what they were saying over bullhorns,” Hepsworth said.
But even at the library, the story hour was still met by protesters.
Now, in 2020, Stuart has switched to reading bedtime stories online, twice a week. She reads them on Facebook Live, with her videos getting hundreds of views.
“The whole message is empowerment of children. I want these children to know that if I can live the life I’ve lived, and accomplish what I’ve accomplished, there’s nothing that they can’t do,” Stuart said.
That’s the message she hopes the protesters hear.
When they are allowed to read in person again, Stuart plans on it. She hopes to be met with more kindness and acceptance from the community. The videos are streamed on Pasco Pride’s Facebook.
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June 09, 2020 at 09:51PM
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Drag Queen Story Hour Continues Despite Protesters, Pandemic - Bay News 9
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