How Low Will We Go? Burlesque For Babies Draws Outrage

Proving there is no bottom to depravity, first it was Drag Queen Story Hours. Now it's cross-dressing "burlesque for babies" in the U.K., but a conservative backlash is growing on both sides of the Atlantic.

In the last week, videos surfaced of supposedly "family friendly," British drag queen, burlesque "rave" events for babies and their parents, showing: nearly naked men gyrating and "twerking" in front of babies held by their mothers and fathers; cross-dressing men taking cash "tips" from babies' tiny hands; a half-naked man in a sadomasochistic bondage outfit doing a gymnastic-type act in front of the babies; and men and women stripping in front of children, with one showing a dancer with breasts exposed holding up a baby.

The videos have shocked the Western world and which are too graphic to embed for this article.

After a tidal wave of international outrage fueled by social media and publications including the Daily Mail, two upcoming, scheduled "drag for babies" shows, reportedly by an outfit called CabaBabaRave, were canceled and the group took down its website and locked its social media pages.

Meanwhile, in the United States, Tennessee was added to the list of red states enacting legislation to protect children from perverse gender extremism.

A video clip from one such event, first exposed widely by the Twitter account "Libs of TikTok," shows a drag queen taking a cash "tip" out of the tiny, clutched hands of a baby sitting on her mother's lap. Libs of TikTok creator Chaya Raichik described the video this way: "Drag queens do sexual themed performances in front of a baby who then hands them cash tips with the mom's help."

Another video exposed by British TV host Dominique Samuels shows a man in stiletto boots and a leather-strapped outfit of the type worn by sexual sadists swinging on gymnastic-type rings hanging from the ceiling -- as babies with their moms and dads look on with some clapping. "This grotesque grooming needs exposing!" she tweeted Wednesday.

A Twitter user under the name "Suse" responds to the video: "What parent (if we can call them that) in their right mind would subject ANY child to this. What damage is being done to these young minds; parents are there to protect children from this type of behaviour. Why is this being allowed to continue????"

This same video, which has been seen by 2.7 million people as of press time, shows a male "drag queen" wearing only a thong, a garish white wig and oversized stilettos doing a hand-stand, then walking in front of the babies and parents with his bared buttocks exposed.

It turns out the "burlesque for babies" shows are somewhat of an American export -- on steroids. The drag shows are a British derivation of American "Drag Queen Story Hours," usually held in public libraries, which began in San Francisco in 2015 and spread across the U.S. 

But even those events, which stunned millions of Americans who wondered why any parent would want cross-dressing men offering crude caricatures of women to be role models for their children, are tame compared to the U.K. "baby burlesque" shows, launched by two British moms who reportedly were once "performers" themselves.

An online ad for the now-canceled "baby drag" shows published by NotTheBee (with babies' faces blocked out) shows a drag queen in a white bouffant wig lying on the floor to get close to a baby, with several moms laughing. The ad reads: "CABABABARAVE is an exciting new event for parents and their babies!"

The ad lists the then-scheduled performances from Jan. 28 to March 11. The category given is "Cabaret Drag & Burlesque"; "Cabaret/Family Friendly/Women's Voices." And the "Age Guidance" provided is "Under 5s." Ticket prices start at 22 British pounds, about $26.50 American.

In a report Friday, Canada-based Rebel News showed more videos and Instagram screenshots from the two British women who organized the "burlesque" shows for babies. Reporter Drea Humphrey said, "This has gone way too far" after playing several other TikTok video segments from the CabaBabaRave events, which have been going on since 2021. One video excerpt shows a man "twerking" by shaking his rear end feverishly up and down as he points it toward the crowd of mostly babies and their moms.

Another video shows what appears to be a man dressed in a skimpy woman's outfit writhing on the floor, surrounded by babies and their mothers. (One toddler is shown, uninterested, holding a ball and walking away.)

Humphrey makes the point that by calling the controversial shows "raves," the CabaBabaRave organizers are attaching their events to "drug-infested" adult rave parties, which have played a role in the overdose deaths of many teens and young adults in recent years.

After Libs of TikTok and Raichik first broke the story on Twitter, British broadcaster Dominique Samuels informed her that many more such shows had already occurred in the U.K. Samuels exposed the "burlesque for babies" shows on British TV, and the two upcoming CabaBabaRave events were canceled.

"The question is: Why do men and women wearing barely any clothing, wearing nipple tussles, wearing bondage gear and stripper heals and thongs, need to be performing for children? ... These are hyper-sexualized environments," Samuels said on the British news channel GBN, shown in the tweet below.

Co-host Adam Brooks agreed with her and in his tweet about the show he states: "I lost my temper here & believe for good reason. This perverted, depraved movement of sexualising everything to do with kids has to stop. What is this fascination by many on the left, to have men perform in women's getup?!"

On the program, co-panelist Amy Nickell defended the "burlesque for babies" events and tried to make an economic case for the drag queen dancers. Nickell expressed outrage when the GBN interviewer said that even if he were broke he would never dance for money, nearly nude, in front of children, for fear of being seen as a "pedophile."

Nickell said the CabaBabaRave events are "basically more for the parents ... any sexualization of that would go completely over the baby's head, and they would see colors, makeup and fun, and hear the music."

That comment set off panelist Adam Brooks, who said, "Anyone who takes their child to that needs their hard-drive checked. It's perverted and depraved." Twitter users overwhelmingly pilloried Nickell for defending the "drag for babies" events.

Nickell is right about one thing: the CabaBabaRave parties' main clientele appears to be bored moms looking for some adult-oriented excitement and who are willing to take along their innocent babies to get it. An August 2022 article on CabaRabaRave in the Manc, "the people's voice of Greater Manchester," describes the genesis of the events:

"CABABABARAVE is gearing up to be unlike anything else on offer for little Mancs and their parents, as it's bringing the experience of a 'big London night out' to a popular social club in Salford this October.

"It's described as being a 'little slice of afternoon delight' that provides 'show-stopping cabaret interspersed with baby sensory moments.'... CABABABARAVE is hosted by Lizzie and Gemma -- two performers turned mums, who were constantly looking to be entertained whilst "holding a baby in one hand and a pint in the other."

"'We wanted to create the type of event we ourselves as Mums would want to go to,'" the pair explained.

"'There's only so many times you can listen to the Wheels on the Bus, so we wanted to give parents the experience of a 'big London night out' with cabaret, drinks and dancing ... but one you can bring your baby to, and still be home for bedtime."

"...All of these immersive events will be interspersed with baby sensory rave activities."

WND has learned that the venue for the CabaBabaRave events, an alternative live theater organization called the Vault Festival, plays host to extreme, pornographic adult stage acts that push the boundaries of sex, gender-bending and radical feminism. One act titled "High Steaks" by a woman named "Eloina" is described as follows: "With two beef steaks hanging from her labia, Queer, Feminist Performance-Artist & Clown, ELOINA, stages a riotous rebellion against labia-shaming and cosmetic labia surgery."

Humphrey of Rebel News also reported that in addition to serving alcohol, the CabaBabaRave events invited adults who are not parents to attend, as an organizer's Instagram page (since taken down) shows

The surfacing of the U.K. drag queens engaging in sexualized stage acts in front of babies and very young children comes after the Tennessee legislature passed a bill, SB3, banning such performances in front of kids throughout the state. The bill was signed into law Thursday by the state's governor, Bill Lee, a Republican, along with a second bill that bans hospitals from performing body-mutilating "transgender" "surgeries," so-called "puberty blockers" and trans cross-sex "hormones" on minors.

Under SB3, "anyone who either hosts or performs a drag show in the presence of children would be charged with a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of $2,500. They will also be subject to up to one year in prison. Meanwhile, repeat offenses would be considered a felony, with defendants subject to a $3,000 fine and anywhere between one to six years in prison," reports Breitbart News.

One pastor and pro-family leader in Tennessee who has opposed "drag queen" events for children in his state is expressing gratitude to Lee for swiftly signing both child-protection bills.

"Thanks to Gov. Bill Lee for his leadership in protecting the children in Tennessee from being exposed to these type of immoral events that corrupt the souls and minds of vulnerable children," Dale Walker, president of the Tennessee Pastors Network, told WND. "As a pastor and public evangelist, I have personally witnessed this disgusting adult cabaret taking place in public places in our state with children present. I appreciate our legislators and Gov. Lee for addressing this serious issue."

In one recent pro-LGBT protest in Tennessee against the two pro-family bills, reported by USA Today, people held signs that read: "trust parents" or "trust doctors" with the words "politicians" crossed out (as in: don't trust politicians). 

But with more stories and videos surfacing everyday about young children being dragged by their parents to highly sexualized, perverse drag shows, or minors receiving body-mutiliating "trans" "surgeries," Americans' trust in both doctors and "progressive" parents is waning. Political observers on the left and right expect passage of more Tennessee-like bills in red states across the nation.

Talking about drag queens who interact with very young kids, conservative radio host Andrew Wilkow told his listeners Wednesday: "I want to know why these men so desperately want to present to children."

Wilkow said that if, say, a female kindergarten teacher were to wear a skimpy outfit in her classroom and engage in erotic antics in front of children, it would be completely unacceptable. So why, he asked, it is OK for men dressed in drag to do so?

Originally published at WND News Center - reposted with permission.