‘Glam and drag camp’ for children as young as six paid for by taxpayer

“Serious questions” must be answered about a “glam and drag camp” for children as young as six that was funded by the taxpayer, MPs have said.

The event, which took place in Doncaster over the Easter break, saw children spend four hours creating costumes, applying make-up and creating “alter egos” for themselves.

The event was approved by the city council and funded by the Government’s Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programme, a £205 million initiative intended to provide “enriching and engaging” activities for those on free school meals.

Nick Fletcher, the local MP who also sits on the education select committee, said: “I don’t see any reason why we should have ‘glam and drag’ sessions through Holiday Activity funding.

“I just don’t see why the taxpayer should be paying for that. I don’t see the relevance of it. There’s lots of fun things for children to do. They’ve never done this before, I don’t see why we need to start now.”

The event was hosted by Journey, a private tuition company, which also put on a taxpayer-funded “graffiti camp” to “find the next Banksy”.

Doncaster Council was handed £1.4 million in HAF funding to put on a series of camps over the Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays this year.

Mr Fletcher suggested the local authority had used the money irresponsibly by approving the “drag camp”, and that it undermined the Government’s “levelling up” agenda.

“The Government is spending an awful lot of money on this, but it’s critical that it’s spent in the right way and I genuinely don’t believe that it is,” he said.

“More and more councils are wanting more and more powers and more and more devolution, and then they go and do something like this.”

Journey previously hosted a “glam and drag camp” in September last year. In an apparent reference to RuPaul’s Drag Race, a BBC television programme where drag queens compete in a series of challenges, Journey posted on Facebook: “RuPaul would be so proud of Doncaster City.”

Angela Cousins, the founder of Journey, said: “The camp consisted of children exploring the Art of Alter Ego – studying performance icons such as Lady Gaga and David Bowie and creating a Superstar Alter Ego for themselves.

“This entailed creating a performance make-up look, sewing fashion garments and showcasing singing and drama talents – all age appropriate being that all the educators are qualified teachers.”

A social media post by Journey also stated that participants received a “GLAM makeover” to show off on a catwalk.

‘Disturbing to see taxpayer money used for this’
Miriam Cates MP, who represents a nearby constituency, said: “I think we need to ask serious questions … It is highly disturbing to see taxpayer money is being used to pay for this.”

Claire Loneragan, of the Women’s Rights Network, questioned the benefits of child drag performances and said “enriching activities” should have been provided instead.

Riana Nelson, Doncaster Council’s children’s services director, said a range of providers had been hired for its holiday camps and that all had gone through a “thorough quality assurance procedure”.

She continued: “All lesson plans for the sessions in question were shared with the local authority and were very clearly focused on the arts and creativity agenda.

“At no point in any of the sessions were issues such as ‘drag queens’ discussed, instead young people were supported to take part in activities such as designing and creating their own clothes.

“The feedback on the sessions from those who attended has been unanimously positive.”

* Article From: The Telegraph

(*) This article is biased towards the end. This is perfect example of how homosexuals try to make homosexuality look like normal behavior. Of course, we know it is a sin.