Parents at a Canadian school kicked children out of class last week after discovering a drag queen giving a presentation on gender identity, and students who were uncomfortable during the show were not allowed to leave.
Teo Ferguson, a non-binary drag performer, gave a presentation on sexual orientation, gender identity, and relationships to seventh- through ninth-grade students at Oyster Pond Academy in Nova Scotia, according to CTV News.
As word spread about the presentation, outraged parents of Nova Scotia schoolchildren — some angry that a drag queen was teaching the lesson — pulled their kids out of school Friday.
Other parents get angry when they realize that their children want to leave during the presentation and have to stay and listen to the content.
One mother who chose to take her child out of class on Friday, Hollie Riggs, told CTV News that her son was upset during the presentation but was not allowed to leave.
“When I asked about it, he said, ‘Mom, I don’t want to be there, but they won’t let us go,'” Riggs told the outlet.
“It’s beyond what we should be teaching in the classroom.”
Another parent, Greg Austin, recounted what his son told him after he got home from school after last week’s presentation.
“My son came home from school yesterday. They tell us about their interactions with influencers,” Austin said.
“Usually for me as a parent, we don’t know if someone is going to talk to the kids.”
Austin said his son was also uncomfortable during the presentation and was upset when he saw his friends trying to leave who were made to stay.
“He could see people being uncomfortable and other people asking to leave, and he wasn’t allowed to,” his father said. “There is no other choice.”
However, it was revealed that the majority of the outrage was over Ferguson allegedly sharing a drag social media account with students after the presentation.
The Halifax Regional Education Centre, which oversees Oyster Pond Academy, confirmed to CTV News that the presentation took place and that “personal social media details” were shared.
“One of the presenters shared their personal social media details, which resulted in some students viewing content intended for mature audiences,” the statement read.
Ferguson was not specifically named in the statement.
The drag performer, who also works as a creative programming facilitator at The Youth Project, a non-profit organization for young people struggling with their gender identity or sexual orientation, told the Daily Mail that the children – aged between 12 and 15 – are taught how people can introduce their gender.
After the presentation, several parents allegedly attacked Ferguson on social media and sent direct messages expressing their displeasure about the student being taught the controversial subject, according to the outlet.
Ferguson, whose stage name is “Cookie Cunningham,” reportedly had a picture posted to her account of her wearing a revealing outfit in a provocative pose.
However, Ferguson told the Daily Mail that “the truth is that teachers are really excited when they see me in class talking about gender, identity, and sexual orientation from grades 7-9,” but seventh and eighth graders do. can’t hear drag account information.
Ferguson explained that at the end of the presentation to the ninth grade audience, other teachers and students approached and asked for social media.
“At the moment when I made a mistake in the court and gave the information of the drag account,” said Ferguson Daily Mail, noting, “I did not show my account physically.”
“I also have to stress that at the beginning of every presentation, I tell the whole class not to look me up on social media,” Ferguson added.
After receiving complaints from parents, the school’s principal and vice-principal sent a letter explaining that they must implement the Health Education curriculum provided by the Nova Scotia Department of Education, according to CTV News.
The Halifax Regional Education Center also said administrators visited ninth grade classes to discuss the consequences and explained that their social media accounts should not be shared.
