Drag queen makeup class draws supporters, protesters to Danvers library
DANVERS - The Peabody Institute Library of Danvers was anything but quiet as hundreds of LGBTQ supporters turned out in noisy approval of a makeup class hosted by a drag queen.
"If you're not into it just don't go," said Will Ford, a Danvers teacher. "There's no reason to deny it for somebody who wants to go to the class."
The event is part of the library's renewed effort to be a welcoming spot for all teens.
"The advertising was whether it's makeup for pride or for prom, you can learn something, who knows makeup better than a drag queen," said Library Director Noelle Boc.
But she expected pushback, and there was some, although dialogue that erupted on Facebook was largely favorable. Only a handful of protesters showed up.
Among them, Jillian McCarthy, a Danvers mother with kids in the local schools who believes a drag queen led makeup session is closer to indoctrination than education.
"I just don't find it extremely appropriate for children," said Jillian McCarthy. "They're innocent and they really don't know what to think yet. I think that that's a problem when you're kind of shoving it down people's throats and it's not just here, it's everywhere."
We weren't allowed to take pictures of the makeup session itself because it involved teenagers. But most of them were accompanied by their parents, and we did speak with their instructor.
Miz Diamond Wigfall insists there is no hidden agenda to her makeup lesson. "What is wrong with eye shadow?" Miz Diamond Wigfall said. "Just because there's a loud minority out there, there is so much more love in the world."
And the library director says if feathers have been ruffled, it's worth it. "It's OK for me to take that hit for the community, I don't mind, because it's still important for us to do it," Boc said.
Police were highly visible with backups close by but not needed.