Tufts University ‘Queer Librarian Story Hour’ will feature ‘queer children’s stories’

The Tufts University’s LGBT Center is offering students a “Queer Librarian Story Hour” to help “destress” amid finals at the end of this semester. The event is scheduled for Monday, December 2, and will feature “queer children’s stories.”

“Reconnect with your inner child by joining for Queer Librarian Story Hour,” the Center’s Facebook post says. “Take a quick break from finals by dropping in to the DSDI Community Research Hub, eat some sweets, and listen to heartwarming stories read to you by cool queer librarians.”

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Tufts’s LGBT Center, part of the school’s Division of Student Diversity and Inclusion, “provides programming, support, and personal and educational resources that aim to affirm the experience of LGBTQIA+ people at Tufts,” according to its webpage. 

“The LGBT Center believes that LGBTQIA+ experiences are not a monolith as we understand that race, gender, ability, and class background play a huge role in access and privilege,” the page continues. “We are committed to community accountability and justice.”

The Center has offered many LGBTQ-themed programs this semester to accomplish these goals.

On November 14, the Center organized a spiritual program called “Queerness and Faith.” Other events include a “Queer Asian Social,” a drag show, and “Queer Sex Ed Jenga.” 

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During a celebration of “Out & Proud Week” in October, the Center sponsored a program called “Queering the Chapel.” The event’s description called students to “[j]oin in making a giant rainbow heart mural” outside Goddard Chapel on campus.

While the Tufts University event will feature books intended for children, it is only advertised for college students. Other colleges and universities have not limited LGBT themes to adults.

In 2022, Oklahoma State University sponsored a drag queen story hour for children as young as two years old. While the event description said anyone could attend, it was “geared towards ages 2-8.”

In a similar example, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona performed in drag for children last year at a Texas gay bar. The professor goes by the stage name “Lil Miss Hot Mess.”

Some universities seek to teach children LGBT thought through other means. Campus Reform has previously reported examples of university summer camps for minors about Pride. The University of Evansville has hosted a “Pride Camp” for the last two years for children 13-17. 

The event advertised the program by offering teens the opportunity to “[b]uild lifelong friends with incredible activities throughout the week while learning about social justice and activism” and “[h]ear powerful stories of LGBTQ+ history and heroes.”

Campus Reform contacted Tufts University and the LGBT Center for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.