Swedish political leader dresses in drag to skewer rightwing attacks on “glitter, love & rainbows”

Swedish Liberal Party leader Jan Jönsson has released a video of himself dressed in drag reading a fairy tale to children. But in a cutting dialogue with the camera, he addresses adults, not kids.

Wearing a bouffant wig and a dress with red roses, Jönsson cuts straight to the heart of the controversy over drag queens reading books to children, and the country’s far-right Sweden Democrats party, which claims that drag queens “sexualize” children.

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“Fairy tales are not dangerous for children and drag queens aren’t either, but populism and intolerance, those are dangerous for children, and for adults too,” he says in the video.

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“When right-wing populism seeks to stamp its rule over culture and ban drag queens reading fairy tales, they are limiting children’s freedom, the freedom to laugh, be inspired and discover new worlds,” he said. “They won’t be satisfied until the whole world is as grey and depressing as their own.”

Members of the Sweden Democrats party have argued that drag queens are “unsuitable” for appearing in front of children since several perform for adults with names with sexual innuendo.

“This is a time when we need more glitter, love, and rainbows,” Jönsson says at the end of the video. “I will never accept that pressure and prejudice hold anyone back.” 

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

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