Drag Queen Story Hour, which launched last year in San Francisco, is the brainchild of author Michelle Tea and Radar Productions. Due to its popularity, events at schools, bookstores, and public libraries are popping up in different cities, including Los Angeles, Houston, Manhattan and Brooklyn. Not only will the kiddos love, so will you (or your nanny or sitter!)
On June 10, 100 eager little fans, along with their open-minded parents found their places in the outdoor garden of Brooklyn’s Park Slope Library to await none other than Miss Cholula Lemon for the Pride edition of Story Hour. According to the Urban Dictionary, Cholula is a brand of Mexican hot sauce, which tells you a little something about her character.
Lemon did not disappoint. Entering the garden to Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All,” she lip-synced her way through the crowd in a form-fitting red patterned dress matched with fierce black-and-white-striped pumps and headed to the center of the garden, where a chair, microphone, and tote bag marked “Feminist Press” filled with children’s books awaited her.
At first, Lemon seemed a bit nervous. It didn’t help that one of her bedazzled fake nails popped off, landing in the grass as she cracked open the first book. A toddler immediately retrieved it and returned it to her without thinking twice.
During the one-hour program, Lemon read six books, all with a common thread: celebrating diversity.
There was “Friendshape,” by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld, that teaches children that friends can all comes in different shapes and sizes. “The Boy Who Cried Fabulous,” by Leslea Newman and Peter Ferguson, was about a boy whose parents banned him from using his favorite adjective, “fabulous.” The book “I’m a Girl,” by Yasmeen Ismail, was about a girl who everyone mistakes for a boy because of her appearance. “Big Bob and Little Bob,” by James Howe and Laura Ellen Anderson, reminds readers it’s OK to be different. The final book Lemon read was called “Heather Has Two Mommies,” by Lesléa Newman, which is known as the first Lesbian-themed children’s book ever published.
According to the DQST website, “Kids are able to see people who defy rigid gender restrictions” and to serve as positive queer role models.
Behind Lemon’s colorful attire and layers of makeup is Texan Michael Ray Solis, a professional fashion stylist, former improv, and comedy sketch student. Solis, who is gay, says that by dressing drag, he “found a way to pair my three interests: fashion, femininity, and humor.” Solis, who is of Mexican descent, grew up in Alice, Texas, a small Southern town centered around the drilling industry. The youngest of three sisters and a brother, Solis was raised in a conservative Christian household in a Mexican community. Later, his family moved to Broken Arrow, Okla., near Tulsa, to be part of a mega-televangelical church, which Solis credits for shaping his moral values. Through the church, he worked with kids as both a tutor and as part of the children’s ministry.
Solis first began dressing in drag a year ago, when a good friend who goes by the drag name Ona Louise invited him to co-host adult Drag Bingo.
“Drunk adults are a lot like children,” Solis said. “You don’t know what to expect, what they’ll do, or say.”
Solis’ motivation in participating in Drag Queen Story Hour, which is a volunteer role, is that he said he knows firsthand what it’s like to want to play dress up as a kid and told it’s not OK.
“I want kids to know it’s not just OK to be different. Being different should be celebrated,” he said. “I get private messages on Instagram all the time from people. One mom from South Texas where I’m from thanked me for being an inspiration to her son. This is why I do this.”
