A recent TEDx speaker claimed that “drag is a leadership role model” for everyone, including children, during his talk.
TED Talks have driven negative attention and press to their brand.
Once intellectual, stimulating, and interesting, some TED Talks now flirt with the boundaries of social taboo.
Last year, TEDx invited a speaker who claimed, ‘pedophilia is an unchangeable sexual orientation.’
In the footage, this particular talk begins with guest speaker, Marti Gould Cummings, screaming as they enter the stage.
Cummings amply speaks about joy when they commence their speech.
Cummings also makes the claim that a 20-second video can change one’s entire worldview, before playing the clip to the audience.
The clip Cummings plays for the audience involves Cummings in drag in a miniskirt, dancing at what appears to be a family event at a restaurant.
The drag queen (Cummings) then sits on the elevated table in front of a toddler before playfully clapping in beat to music at the toddler.
After gaining consent from the child’s parent, Cummings played the video on Twitter–where it garnered 500,000 views within 24 hours.
The clip attracted impressive mainstream media attention, to which Cummings exclaims, “drag queens love attention!”
Cummings mentions the positive remarks toward the clip, but also brings to light several negative tweets in response to the video.
To the naysayers condemning the video, Cummings, in a heartfelt manner, urges them to “lead with kindness.”
Cummings follows up with stating that their job, as a drag queen, is to “entertain people”–regardless of their age.
Cummings then explains that they were invited to “Family Week in P-Town (Provincetown).”
Another clip is shown featuring a compilation where Cummings interacts, in drag, with children, performing for and playing with them.
According to Cummings, Provincetown, MA, is the most LGBTQ+ friendly place in the USA.
Cummings then reveals, after asking the children what they wanted to be when they grew up, that many over them wanted to be a drag queen.
“Drag to me,” says Cummings, “is about action, political activism–doing the work…” after stating that they’d like to become a senator after “growing up.”
After revealing running for political office, Cummings explains that drag has always been about leadership and being a role model.
Cummings concludes the speech by urging the audience to “speak up” and to “stand up” against a long list of progressive buzzwords; practicing kindness; and to spread joy as the world is a “scary place” before going onto preach, “it takes a village to raise a child, well drag is a part of that village.
“Let your drag be joy–thank you.”
The audience erupted in thunderous applause before a standing ovation.
At the time of writing this article, the YouTube video had 504 up votes to 2.1k down votes and the comments haven’t been disabled–yet.
