Long story short: conservatives in the Texas Legislature don't like it.
- The bill in question is SB 1601.
From Wikipedia: Drag Queen Story Hour.
Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH), Drag Queen Storytime, Drag Story Time, and Drag Story Hour are children's events first started in 2015 by author and activist Michelle Tea in San Francisco with the goals of promoting reading and diversity. The events, usually geared for children aged 3–11, are hosted by drag queens who read children’s books, and engage in other learning activities in public libraries. Some see the concept as unconventional since libraries are usually more reserved and the queens usually host nightlife events rather than leading sing-alongs.
From City Journal: The Real Story Behind Drag Queen Story Hour.
Drag Queen Story Hour—in which performers in drag read books to kids in libraries, schools, and bookstores—has become a cultural flashpoint. The political Right has denounced these performances as sexual transgressions against children, while the political Left has defended them as an expression of LGBTQ pride. The intellectual debate has even spilled into real-world conflict: right-wing militants affiliated with the Proud Boys and the Three Percenters have staged protests against drag events for children, while their counterparts in the left-wing Antifa movement have responded with offers to serve as a protection force for the drag queens.
From Huff Post: A Brief History Of Drag Queen Story Hour.
The rise of drag queen storytime can be traced back to the San Francisco Bay Area — long a haven for queer folk — where a Market Street bookstore hosted what it billed as “America’s first drag queen storytime” a decade ago. It looked a lot like the drag story hours held around the country today, and completely unlike the fantastical, sexualized vision pushed by the political right: just a colorful queen in a sky-high hat reading to a bunch of kids.
The conflict is a recent example of the culture wars.
- Culture War.
- Moral Panic.
- Drag Panic.
