The Prevalence of Children’s Programming Related to Gender Identity in North Carolina Public Libraries, Including Drag Queen Story Hours or Other Drag Events

Anderson, Griffin C.

doi:10.1080/01616846.2024.2302238

Cited by 2 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The idea that the safety of children is compromised and the adjoining construction of fear of the other is then used to justify political measurements taken to prevent DSH from taking place. This outcome is comparable to controversies over DSH and the book bans discussed in previous research (Anderson, 2024;Kitzie et al, 2022;Stone, 2019;Tucker, 2023). Equally, different meanings ascribed to safety as a response to fear of radical right hatred and violence is what guides the different reactions from the five libraries.…”

Section: Concluding Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…Dyer, 2017). It is also connected to an understanding of safety as a process to produce a secure society for all, regardless of identity, lifestyle, or sexuality (Anderson, 2024). For the radical right however, these very attempts of promoting pluralism are what endangers the safety of children.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this context, it is worth noting that threats of violence from radical and extreme right-wing actors have been carried out in Sweden, as well as in other countries. For example, the number of hate crimes related to sexuality in Sweden is increasing since 2016 (Brottsf€ orebyggande r adet, 2019) and in the US a man opened fired at a LGBTQ venue, killed five and injured 18 people (Anderson, 2024).…”

Section: Responses To Fear and The Meanings Of Safetymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a North American context, DSH events at public libraries have been criticized by conservative media for endangering American children, coinciding with acts of vandalism and even violence. Several states have also proposed and passed anti-drag bills (Anderson, 2024). Furthermore, previous research shows how some US libraries are inhibited from engaging in work to include materials and resources for the LGBTQ population due to unfavorable or antagonistic local political climates (Mehra and Jaber, 2023).…”

Section: Public Libraries and The Culture Warsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The debate in Kalmar is but one example of heated discussions taking place in several Swedish municipalities in relation to the event Drag story hour (DSH) at public libraries. Thereby, Sweden follows an international trend where similar performances have been the target of right-wing outbursts in recent years (Ellis, 2022; Anderson, 2024). The reactions can also be related to current events in the US where the numbers of attempted and successful bans of reading material are higher than ever, and where the most reported reasons for challenging books are LGBTQ + content (Clark-Hunt and Creel, 2023; Tucker, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drag story hour at public libraries: the reading child and the construction of fear and othering in Swedish cultural policy debate

Engström,

Carlsson,

Hanell

2024

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PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to produce new knowledge about the positions that public libraries both take and are given in the conflicts over politics and identity that play out in contemporary cultural and library policy debates. Using conflicts over drag story hour at public libraries as case, the study seeks to contribute to an emerging body of research that delves into the challenges that public libraries as promoters of democracy are confronting in the conflictual political landscape of today.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents an analysis of debates reported in news articles concerning Drag story hour events held at Swedish public libraries. Utilizing the analytical lenses of discourse theory and plural agonistics, the analysis serves to make visible the lines of conflicts drawn in these debates – particularly focusing on the intersection of different meanings ascribed to the notion of the reading child, and how fear is constructed and used as an othering devise in these conflicts.FindingsDifferent imaginings of the reading child and the construction and imagination of fear and safety shapes the Drag story hour debates. The controversies can be understood as a challenge to the previous hegemony regarding the direction and goals of Swedish cultural and library policy and the pluralistic democratic society these policies are meant to promote.Originality/valueThe paper offers new insights into the consequences of the revival of radical right politics, populism and societal polarization, and the different responses from public libraries.

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Section: Concluding Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Responses To Fear and The Meanings Of Safetymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Public Libraries and The Culture Warsmentioning

confidence: 99%