Last summer Castle Rock Pride held a highly sexualized “PrideFest” at our taxpayer-funded Douglas County Fairgrounds. Videos of the event shocked the good people of Douglas County. A bearded man in fishnet tights and sexy spangles danced and waggled his exposed butt cheeks in front of small children a few feet away. Another bearded fake woman on a swing aggressively exposed his fake plastic breasts plus nipples. The Pride group later issued an “apology” claiming a “wardrobe malfunction.” And the three Dougco commissioners bought it, even though the performer laughed onstage about showing his “girls” and the leopard-clad MC mockingly added, “this is supposed to be a family friendly event” as an on-stage poster claimed. Another performer went into the audience including children, serenading: “Sex is in the air, I don't care, I love the smell of it/ sticks and stones may break my bones but chains and whips excite me.”

Unsurprisingly, celebrating sadomasochism before children is frowned upon by most Douglas County citizens. Yet the commissioners at their May 9 meeting failed to protect children from the next sexually explicit drag show. They ignored speakers, including me, who asked the August event be adults-only.

Thomas and Laydon said they believe seeing sexualized drag shows will improve the mental health of kids who think they may be LGBTQ and could attempt suicide. Whoa. Could it be these kids are sexually confused or suicidal partly because the LGBTQ lobby targets children at drag shows with bearded men dressed as women — during children's most vulnerable time while they're suffering the typical emotional/mental turbulence of pre-adolescence? Could they be depressed because as they're figuring out their identity, the LGBTQ promoters/performers act out their own adult sexual confusion? Children don't know the difference between fake but very realistic breasts and the real thing. Even small children know that mommies have breasts and daddies have beards. What does the child think seeing “women” with beards: is this a combination of mommy and daddy, or an entirely new being with physical characteristics of both? How does sexual confusion help a child?

Along with their fake apology, PrideFest gave commissioners a list of “Guidelines.” They say a Pride member, “will be present and watching live performances ... monitoring for any mishaps … inappropriate displays and will have authority to stop any situation that may arise.” Of course, by then the “situation” will already have occurred. If you want to speak about the drag event, commissioners are holding a town hall on 7/26 at 6:00, 100 Third St., Castle Rock.

Joy Overbeck

Parker