The deputy mayor of Stockholm (Sweden), Jan Jönsson, caused controversy by dressing up as a drag queen to protest against intolerance in his country. The Liberal Party councilor posted a video on her profiles on social networks, last Tuesday (13), wearing a long blue dress, heavy makeup and a blonde wig.
“Fairy tales are not dangerous for children and neither are drag queens. In contrast, populism and intolerance have destroyed the dreams of many individuals throughout history”, says the parliamentarian in the text that accompanies the video. “They will not be satisfied until the whole world is as gray and sad as theirs. This at a time when we need more glitter, love and rainbows.”
The post was a response to the criticism Jönsson received of a cultural proposal of his own: a reading incentive program aimed at children, in which storytelling is done by drag queens.
The initiative was bought by several cities and in recent years has become a cult wave in the country. Over time, however, criticisms of the measure by conservatives emerged. Member of the right-wing SD party, councilor Jonathan Sager gave statements to local newspapers classifying the initiative as “disgusting”. To the newspaper Dagens Samhälle, he stated that his caption would investigate “public spending on inappropriate things”.
Sagor är inte farliga för barn och det är inte dragqueens heller. Däremot har populism och intolerans krossat många individers drömmar genom historien. pic.twitter.com/HKrcDVTBXA
— Jan Jönsson (@janjoensson) June 13, 2023
But worse were the threats of violence from radical groups. In 2020, a far-right group blocked libraries in the cities of Täby and Nykvarn. Last year, a storytelling in Olofström stopped taking place in person and was converted to a live on the internet as a way to divert from constant threats. In some cities, security guards had to be hired and others had no choice but to cancel the presentations.
All the persecution of measures motivated Jönsson to record the video. To “set up”, he turned to the winner of the reality show Drag Race Sweden, Admira Thunderpussy. “We want to defend drag queens and everyone’s right to express themselves. No one should hesitate to exercise their right to freedom of expression out of fear,” he told broadcaster TV4.
Source: CNN Brasil
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