Drag queen performer defends unapproved high school show, tells angry parents to 'broaden your horizons'



A drag queen performer defended an unapproved high school event that angered parents, who he told to "broaden your horizons."

The drag show was performed at the Ankeny High School in Iowa as a part of the end-of-the-year meeting of the Gay Straight Alliance Club. Students were invited but their parents were not warned beforehand and no permission slips were signed for the event.

The school issued an apology after videos of the drag show were highlighted by the popular "Libs of TikTok" account on Twitter.

Despite the outrage from parents, one performer told KCCI-TV that they needed to lighten up and he defended the performance.

"To the parents that are accepting, thank you. To the parents that are not, please broaden your horizons," said Skyler Barning.

"I just want them to realize that while the idea of drag is very taboo, there are places and shows meant for people under the age of 21," he claimed. "It is not always a sexual act, it can be positive and uplifting with a message behind it as well."

A senior student who performed as "Vivian Von D" at the drag show also defended the performance in an interview with the Des Moines Register.

"It was meant to be an uplifting environment for those in the (Gay Straight Alliance) who don't always have all the support they need to get through the struggles in their lives," said Carson Doss.

The school apologized for the incident in a message on Facebook and said the matter was under investigation.

The Libs of TikTok account forced a town in Indiana to cancel a drag show at an LGBTQ event that was advertised as "family-friendly" by simply posting the advertisement for the show on Twitter.

Here's the interview with Skyler Barning:

Drag event at Ankeny High School draws criticism from some parentswww.youtube.com

Iowa high school says drag show was unapproved and under investigation after videos go viral online



Videos from a drag show performance at an Iowa high school went viral online on Tuesday, prompting the school to announce an investigation into the incident.

"The district has been made aware of an unauthorized performance that took place yesterday after school at Ankeny High School," read the statement from the school on Facebook.

"As a part of the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) Club’s end-of-the-year meeting, performers from the Central Iowa Youth Pride Pageant were invited to share a drag performance. While the GSA is an approved school club, this performance was not approved by the building administration and did not follow the correct protocols prior to the meeting," the statement continued.

"This performance was after school and localized to the students participating in the club. It was not approved by the building administration, and it is currently under investigation," it concluded.

Videos reportedly from the drag show were posted to the popular "Libs of TikTok" account and quickly went viral.

.@Ankeny_Hawks brought in drag queens to perform for students during school. The drag queens also spoke to students about gender identity and expression. pic.twitter.com/6PFv4QcIgx
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 24, 2022

The drag show was also documented at the Iowa Standard.

“Sometimes because of who I am I don’t really feel like I’m a man,” a performer reportedly told the students. “I don’t always feel like I am that like masculine figure everyone wants to see from someone that uses he/him pronouns."

One photograph from the event appears to show a student handing a dollar to the drag performer on stage.

"I feel like sometimes I do identify as a male. I feel like sometimes I’m more in the middle of the spectrum — not one or the other. That’s where I am right now," the performer continued.

That performer also reportedly told the students to contact them if they were confused about their gender.

The "Libs of TikTok" documented a similar event in April at a high school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The school apologized to parents and students and said the incident was under investigation.

Here's more about high school drag shows:

Online backlash grows over video of drag held at Lancaster County high schoolwww.youtube.com