A council has issued an apology to parents after an adult entertainer was invited to read books to young primary school pupils in Paisley.
The drag queen, who uses the name Flow when speaking to children but uses the name ‘FlowJob’ when performing for adults, suffered online backlash following a visit to Glencoats Primary with many concerned over explicit content found on her Twitter account.
The entertainer was joined by SNP MP Mhairi Black to give talks about Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 and their personal experiences with the outdated law which prevented schools from teaching about LGBT.
However, critics levelled accusations about the character of Flow as her Twitter page contained controversial activity and questioned the school’s use of an adult entertainer to educate children.
In response to the backlash Flow wrote on Twitter: “Who would have thought I would of got so much abuse for reading wains a story book?”
She added: “As the drag queen who read the story to the children it was amazing to see what the kids have learned, we live in a time where kids will be going to school with 2 mums/dads or LGBTQ+ family, we are showing them that it’s normal.”
Renfrewshire Council has now apologised over its decision and said the visit “would not have been arranged” if it was aware of the speaker’s “stage persona”.
The statement read: “The school pupils at Glencoats Primary are currently organising a series of activities and events to mark LGBT history month.
“In discussion with pupils in their Rainbow Club, one of their requests was to invite people from the LGBT community to hear about their own experiences growing up and they wanted to invite a drag queen to talk to this group to hear about their own personal experience.
“Learning about values including equalities and diversity has an important role in the school curriculum.
‘All school visits are arranged and managed with the wellbeing of pupils first and foremost however it is clear in this case, the social media content associated with the speaker’s stage persona is not appropriate for children and had we been aware of this, the visit would not have been arranged. We are sorry for the concern this has caused and are investigating.’
Renfrewshire Council
LGB Alliance echoed the concerns of parents as a spokesperson said: “Whatever anyone’s view of drag queens, they belong to the world of adult entertainment. Importing such acts into primary schools reflects a gross abdication of safeguarding principles.”
The group also asked whether drag queens were appropriate role models to teach children about LGB and T issues saying: “They present a cartoon stereotype and an almost pornographic version of women that is often close to misogyny.”
However, Black, SNP MP for Paisley & Renfrewshire South, defended the move, she said: “You just know that the people pretending to be livid that a drag queen read a book in a school in my mentions rn are also the people who run out to buy their kids the latest Grand Theft Auto on release day. Your homophobia is transparent.
“I completely applaud @PS_Glencoats for putting on such a great day, and I’m so grateful to have been invited along.”
She added: ” If my school had invited a gay MP and a drag queen to visit during LGBT History Month, or even acknowledged that LGBT History Month existed, it would have made an immeasurable difference to the difficult childhoods my LGBT classmates and I had.”
LGBT Youth Scotland also hailed the school’s education programme as “bold and brilliant” and an “example to others across the country”.
A spokesperson said: “We’re horrified to see the abusive messages and tweets targeting Glencoats Primary School for their bold and brilliant LGBT inclusive education practices. We are proud to work with their pioneering headteacher, and recognise the school as an example to others across the country.”
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