A drag-themed story-time event will be held in Cumbria after significant backlash caused it to be called off.

M-Jay Fulton, a Workington drag queen and chief executive of the CIC Over The Rainbow, initially planned to run a story-time event in the town earlier this month, but due to a highly negative public response fuelled on social media the event was postponed.

READ MORE: Disappointment as Pride event cancelled in Cumbria due to backlash

Posts and comments were shared alleging that the event, which involves a drag performer reading a story to children, would be adult-oriented and therefore inappropriate for children.

Drag story-time events have been happening across the country and faced similar backlash from people who claim the events involve sexually inappropriate material.

However, Mx Fulton said these claims come from a place of misunderstanding and are not true, and that drag as an art form, like other art forms such as music and literature, come in different genres.

While there are drag queens that perform for an adult audience in bars and clubs, there are drag queens that perform in family-friendly shows like pantomimes, are dancers, singers, comedians, make up artists, or social media influencers, they explained.

This time around, they’re attempting to host it with the support of Drag Story Hour UK, a national organisation that helps facilitate such events, and firm up safeguarding for the volunteers and audience, including contacting the police for protection from violence from the public should it arise.

Drag story time events are beneficial for two main reasons, as Mx Fulton explained the colourful characters, which are a theme in many story-time events not linked to drag, help children engage in the literature, and they promote inclusivity and awareness of other kinds of performance like drag.

They said the idea that all drag performers are hypersexualised is a misconception.

Another misconception is that drag performers are transgender, the latter of which is about who someone is, while drag is someone performing a character, they added.

Mx Fulton has been doing drag on and off for 13 years and over time has performed shows for adults at pubs, and shows for families in the day, tailoring the material and outfits accordingly.

Much of the backlash is on the basis of homophobia, which itself comes from confusion, Mx Fulton said.

While some critics held sincere concerns over safety for children, regardless on their foundation, Mx Fulton said they would invite those people to have a conversations/

“That’s the issue, everyone jumps to opposition and confrontation, but very few people will stop to ask the question ‘why’.

“The main backlash was the idea of a male drag queen, ‘a man in a dress’, but drag isn’t restricted to men.”

Drag kings, a swap of the drag queen, in which a woman adopts a male character, have existed alongside drag queens, and many drag queens are female or intersex.

The backlash had a big impact on Mx Fulton themself, causing them to unplug.

“Online, people are willing to say stuff they won’t say in person.

“At the same time, it catches like wildfire – such a wide audience can reach it, so what can start as a small debate can escalate into something very hard to dial down.

“What got me is I’m local to the area, I grew up in Workington, and have seen the many steps forward we’ve taken as a town and county.

“But when I saw the language used and the threats, it hit home as to how little attitudes have changed over the years.”

They said progress is being made, but this indicates that more is necessary, citing Pride Month as a necessity.

While a venue, date and time for the event is TBA, Mx Fulton is tenacious in their effort to establish a drag story-time event in Workington in the near future.