Mercy Muroki: Scantily clad children in drag is something I find deeply unsettling

Is it inappropriate to allow pictures of your 12 year old son dressed in a skimpy minidress, a wig, and high heels to be splashed in a national newspaper?

I think it is. But, not every parent would agree with me.

Because that’s exactly what one Mum has done.

Featured in the papers this morning, she says that from the age of two, her son has loved dressing up in ladies’ clothes and wearing her make-up but that this summer, she let him perform at a show dressed up as a drag queen outside a gay bar in his hometown… which has prompted what is apparently a blossoming career as a drag queen.

She says her son, despite being only 12, takes being a drag queen very seriously and that this is not just a ‘temporary’ whim. He wants a career as a drag queen.

But, I have to say, looking at those pictures in the paper this morning – I feel very uneasy…

In one picture, the young boy can be seen posing provocatively in an open-front minidress, a bright red wig and lipstick, and bright pink heels…

In another, he sports a tight pink bodycon minidress, a blonde wig, pink heels and strikes a sexy pose against a wall…

Now, I’m not bashing this parent – clearly she’s a proud Mum of a son who has, for whatever reason, developed a passion for drag… In fact, there’s nothing in the article to suggest she’s anything but a loving, supportive parent…

I’m simply posing the question – how appropriate is it to encourage a child barely out of primary school, to establish a career out of being scantily clad, performing in what is supposed to be a provocative industry for adults, all whilst exposing them to over-sexualized caricatures of women.

My opinion is that it’s not only inappropriate – but also irresponsible.

Scantily clad children in drag is something I find deeply unsettling, and it is not something I would want to see normalised.