An elementary school in Portland Oregon is planning to celebrate “Pride” with a school drag show for students in May.
Atkinson Elementry School will host a school pride event with a drag show, drag queen story time and booths dedicated to make-up, nail polish, tarot reading and “dressing in drag.”
The school’s event flyer was originally posted by the Instagram account pdx.real. The account’s owner, Angela, also posted private messages from a concerned parent who originally shared the information.
“I am severely disappointed in my daughter’s school,” the parent wrote.
The flyer itself shows the Atkinson Elementary School’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) is scheduled to hold the after-hours “Pride Fest” on the elementary school campus from 3pm to 5pm on May 19th, 2023.
The event will host “BIPOC Drag Queens and a King,” who will be greeting “folx” at 3pm. Afterwards, a drag queen called “LaLa” will be officially introduced, before performing a drag show.
“LaLa” appears to be LaLa Benet, a Portland-area drag queen and social justice activist.
The poster also outlines the activities planned for students. These include various “stations” for make-up, crafts, tarot cards and nail polish. The event also offers a “self-defense demo presentation” and “clothes swapping.”
The event will end with a “Q&A on gender affirmation” hosted by the school counselor Miss Madi and Elliott Hinkle, President and CEO of Unicorn Solutions.
Unicorn Solutions is an outfit that purports to offer training and consultation on “creative solutions that aids development of environments for youth and young adults to thrive.” It has a particular focus on the LGBTQ community.
Its founder is Elliott Hinkle, who uses “they/them” pronouns. Hinkle was featured in the White House Convening on Transgender Equality video in 2021, posted on the official YouTube channel for The White House.
Included on the flyer is also a QR code that links to a GoFundMe set up by a school counselor associated with the Portland GSA named “Miss Madi.”
The GoFundMe says that Miss Madi works for two elementary schools and has a “huge” group of students in her GSA program. She says that “Pride Fest” needs sponsors and the event will be “school-wide.”
“We are hoping that Queer-affirming supporters would be open to donating to our cause to go towards activities, food, and awareness for our group, this event, and the work we do as a whole to build a safer and more inclusive community…
This event will be featuring BIPOC Drag Queens and a King, activities centered around the exploration of gender, and empowering those within and outside the Queer community to value their identity, and build a safer more inclusive world.”
The comments on the pdx.real Instagram post range from outraged parents who can’t believe anything like this would be held at an elementary school to citizens who not only condone the event being held on campus but applaud it.
