Ginger Forest News Today

The organization GLAAD found 141 anti-LGBTQ incidents targeting drag events specifically, eight of which were in Illinois.

It’s reprehensible that people who bring joy and inclusivity and a sense of belonging to kids would be on the receiving end of threats.

Controversies have been sparked, in part, by social Awake Illinois, an organization that was born from the anti-mask, anti-vaccine fervor of the pandemic and has been criticized for anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.

For the last four years on the third Sunday of every month, drag queen Ginger Forest heads to Jerry’s Sandwiches in Lincoln Square just in time for brunch.

Across Chicagoland, recent drag events advertised as family friendly have been targeted with threats of violence and vandalism, with one suburban library even canceling its Oct. 11 children’s drag queen bingo because of “numerous threats” and “aggressive emails.” A lot of the pushback, one drag queen says, comes from a confusion between drag shows for adults and drag events for kids.