A Cardiff drag queen has spoken about the protests that took place during their story telling event in London. On Saturday, February 11, one person was arrested amid protests at the Tate Britain art gallery while children's author and drag queen Aida H Dee gave a storytime reading.
Protestors held signs that read: "No drag for kids!' and "Leave our kids alone!" But a separate group of demonstrators, who were led by Stand Up To Racism, also gathered outside the gallery in support of the event. Their signs read: "Don't let the far right divide us" and "Trans rights now".
Sab Samuel, who performs as Aida H Dee, said the day had been "proper emotional", adding that five protesters had gained entry to the Tate and "caused a disruption" in parts of the building, but they did not affect the readings. Sab added however that the incident highlighted the importance of hosting such events for people across the UK.
Speaking to WalesOnline, Sab said that such events have brought warmth and laughter to many children and their families, but they have recently been hijacked by small groups of demonstrators gathering outside libraries and shouting homophobic slurs, including the one that took place in Cardiff in December of last year.
Sab said: "These aggressors - I won't call them protestors because these people are an insult to what protesting is about, travel all around the country, following me from library to library. They were under the impression that I was doing some sort of sex show, which is bonkers and ridiculous.
"It sounds a bit weird but the fact that the aggressors are there is showing that I am doing the right thing. If it weren’t for these aggressive people, I would just be a fun story hour drag queen - which is perfectly fine and that is the goal, but because these people exist, it just simply lights a fire in me more and more every time. They are the reason I do what I do."
Sab was badly bullied at his all-boys school in north-east Somerset. Today, he tours the UK as the role model he wished he had when he was growing up. Now more than ever, Sab says, it is important to spread a message of acceptance. He talks of 12-year-old Riley Hadley from Devon, who died by suicide in 2019 after suffering homophobic bullying, and 16-year-old transgender schoolgirl Briana Ghey who was recently stabbed to death in a village park in Cheshire. Police have charged two teenagers with her murder.
Sab said: "Me being dressed up in drag itself doesn't really do that much. Of course, drag has an extremely focal point to LGBTQ+ history and rights. It is embedded in our cultural history and there's nothing they can do about that, even if they wanted to do and I'm proud it is the way it is.
"However, the reason why it’s so important is that the amount of young people who are contemplating suicide today is horrible. Just a few years ago, there was a young person at the age of 12 called Riley from Devon who took their own life. I found out when I was attending a school and reading books, I sobbed so much over the idea that someone felt like life wasn’t worth living because they were being bullied for being gay.
"Riley is the reason I do what I do, Briana is the reason I do what I do, I myself am the reason I do what I do. The horrible self-loathing process of growing up, with the word 'gay' being a horrible and negative thing, and then realising that that is me - this taboo, evil villain of the world is me.
"I would look at myself - and I wasn’t even religious, and I would ask God: 'please, please, don’t let me be gay'. Once I went through that process, now I am so happy to be gay. I wished that kids didn’t have to go through the process of hating themselves for being gay to get to the point where you love yourself for being gay. You should love the fact that you’re gay."
Sab added: "If you as a young person are LGBTQ+, or think you are LGBTQ+, you are going to lead a powerful life, and you are not alone. The only thing that might be stopping you from doing that, is the world around you telling you that you can’t. I hope you do because you can and you should."
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