Hannah Conda On Why Letting Kids Ask Questions Will Help Us Beat Discrimination
Here’s to celebrating what makes you you.
It’s a big ask to get a drag queen dolled up in the daytime, but Sydney’s Hannah Conda is more than happy to put on her finest frock and mug every other month for Drag Storytime. It’s far from another gig; each time, she walks away uplifted.
“[It’s always] an example of the kindness in all children, that no-one is born with hate or bigotry,” she tells Junkee. “They’re just innocent souls that want to do good and make the world better, even from such a young age.”
Hannah’s been reading to kids across Sydney since 2017 – not in the tradition of Paris Is Burning (though the cheekier kids can certainly throw shade at times), but by grabbing a picture book. Inspired by similar programs in the US, Drag Storytime’s concept is simple: bright and larger-than-life drag queens read picture books featuring diverse families to kids. Its impact is anything but.
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“For the kids, it’s exciting just to see different range of families presented,” says Hannah. “It normalises that all families are different and that that there’s no one way to be a family, and that the bricks and mortar of a family is love.”
While the event’s run by Sydney’s LGBTIQ community group Rainbow Families, Hannah notes the books aren’t just about queer visibility. “Generally, we have one or two stories that maybe include diverse families in different family units,” she says. “It’s not just LGBTIQ families, it’s also single-parent families, or people being raised by grandparents, or adopted families.”
“There was one story about a male penguin couple that had that found an egg and they kept the egg warm and then it hatched into a little baby. They became a little family because the two dads looked after the egg. It’s a little subtle, but the message is loud.”
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That message – that it’s okay to be different and to respect those that are – leaps off the page, too. Hannah says one of the most rewarding parts of Drag Storytime comes after reading, when they play dress-ups and other games, since that’s when the kids get the opportunity to ask questions. And, given Hannah looks as mythical as any storybook character, they’re naturally very curious.
“They’re just so open,” she says. “They come up and ask you so many different things: generally, they’re trying to understand and grapple with the [question], ‘You’re not a boy, but you’re not a girl, are you?’. But then I say, ‘You know, I’m sometimes a boy, sometimes a girl, but most of the time I’m a princess’. They love it. They get it and say, ‘Okay, makes sense’.”
Once they accept that Hannah is a princess, they move on (the fact she’s often dressed like Elsa from Frozen certainly doesn’t hurt, either). The kids aren’t asking big questions; they’re more focused on Hannah’s sparkly outfits or starting a ‘Let It Go’ sing-along.
“They’re always wondering how many clothes I have,” says Hannah. “They get very excited by that. They love touching my eye lashes as well! It’s just a very bizarre concept for the young kids to see these big floppy things on your face, there’s always hands on my face or my eyes or in my hair.”
“But they also just talk about general things: you know, their family, playing with their friends, what movies and superheroes they like. That’s been a hot topic. Luckily, my partner’s introduced me to the whole Marvel universe, so I’ve been very on top of all things [superhero].”
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When Hannah started drag just under a decade ago in Perth, it was an amour of sorts against discrimination, turning her difference into a source of power. She says it’s not an exaggeration to say drag saved her life. At 27, she doesn’t need Hannah as an armour anymore, but recognises drag’s power for others and the fact that even something as small as reading books with kids can make a world of difference. It can’t be measured, but it can be felt.
Spreading that magic message of acceptance – of teaching kids at a young age that’s it’s okay to be different and that it’s powerful to embrace that difference – is vital for a more equal world. Hannah is overjoyed by their excitement and openness during Drag Storytime and wishes she had the same growing up.
“I never really had any connection to the LGBTIQ community [growing up],” she says. “I didn’t even know there was that many queer people. It would have been amazing to have Storytime or something, just something to connect us. It’s great that Storytime exists, so they grow up knowing there is diversity in the world.”
Visit Rainbow Families for more info on Drag Storytime.
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(Lead image: Nick Arnold)
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