Hundreds of parents brought their children, as young as babies and toddlers, to wave rainbow flags, pose with a drag queen, and do LGBTQ-themed crafts at the “Kids’ Pride Parade and Street Fair” in Montgomery County, Maryland, on Sunday.
“Pride is for everyone. That’s the whole point of pride is to be inclusive of everybody,” a local Takoma Park mom of a two-and-a-half-year-old child in a stroller told The Daily Signal. “So I think it’s for kids, adults, everybody.”
Families marched in the Kids’ Pride Parade at 10 a.m., waving rainbow and transgender flags and signs with messages such as “Love is Love” and “Let Trans Kids Bloom” in honor of Pride Month. After the parade, families and their small children explored a number of pro-LGBTQ booths, purchased food from street vendors, and took photos with drag queen Tara Hoot.
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Pride activities included a kids’ craft tent with rainbow bracelet making, coloring, and free pronoun pins, a rainbow-clad juggler surrounded by a crowd of preschoolers, and rainbow face painting.
At noon, kids began taking pictures with Tara Hoot, the drag queen in a huge pink wig and pink plaid jumpsuit whose day job is teaching at a D.C. school. Hoot told The Daily Signal performs at a lot of “family-friendly” events.
“My type of drag is like Mr. Rogers in a dress,” Hoot said. “I do story time. I do bubbles. I do all sorts of fun things. I’ve been a teacher for 26 years, so why wouldn’t I be here?”
A mom named Casey asked her young daughter to share with The Daily Signal “what the rainbow party is all about.” When the child said she didn’t know, the mom told The Daily Signal they were there to celebrate that “everyone’s different, and that’s awesome.”
Families explored a street fair with various booths. Hosts ranged from the Temple Shalom in Chevy Chase—advertising its “Gender Expansive & Trans+ Chavurah” gathering for LGBTQ adults—to the office of “queer, non-binary psychotherapist” Mary Huber, who provides clients “gender affirming medical procedure letters.”
“Many medical procedures, a part of gender affirming healthcare for many folx, require a letter from a mental health care provider,” Huber’s website says. “I offer this service to clients who are transitioning. As different procedures require different types of letters, please contact me to discuss your needs. Most letters can be completed after 1 session.”
Her booth featured renderings of the “Gender Unicorn,” the “Gender Galaxy,” and the “Sexuality Galaxy.”
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Other books for sale included: “Who’s Afraid of Gender,” which “confronts the attacks on “gender” that have become central to right-wing movements today,” according to Google Books; “Page Boy,” an autobiography detailing actor Ellen Page’s transition to Elliot; “I am Ace,” a handbook on being asexual; “Queerly Beloved,” the story of a gay baker fired from a Christian bakery; and an array of LGBTQ teen romance novels.
Estelle, a mom who said her 11-year-old child came out as LGBTQ at age 8 or 9, told The Daily Signal her family was at the event to make her kids feel supported.
“I think it’s really important for my queer kids to see like that the whole town rallies behind them and supports them,” she said.
* Original Article:
https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/06/10/montgomery-county-parents-bring-babies-elementary-schoolers-kids-pride-parade/amp/