Amid mounting pushback, Illinois drag queens push forward
For the last four years on the third Sunday of every month, drag queen Ginger Forest heads to Jerry’s Sandwiches in Lincoln Square just in time for brunch. She’s there to put on a show.
To a never-ending chorus of children’s “wows” and “oohs” muffled by bites of food, Ginger and his drag daughter Candi Forest parade between tables, wearing high heels and sashaying in their blond wigs while they read books to families.
“It’s almost like a Disney meet-and-greet because we’re in these big costumes and these kids are just at the table and they’re staring and watching us,” said Ginger, who has been doing drag for seven years.
But across Chicagoland, recent drag events advertised as family friendly have been targeted with threats of violence and vandalism, with one suburban library even canceling its Oct. 11 because of “numerous threats” and “aggressive emails.” The controversies have been sparked, in part, by social, an organization rooted in the suburbs that was born from the anti-mask, anti-vaccine fervor of the COVID-19 pandemic and has been criticized for anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.
