April 3, 2023 -- Anti-fascist members and supporters of queer communities successfully mobilized to the town of Ville de Ste-Catherine on Montreal's South Shore early this past Sunday morning to support and defend a Drag Queen Story Hour that was targeted for a protest by a bigoted mix of far-right, anti-trans, religious fundamentalist, conspiracy theorists.

Well-known Quebec drag queen - Barbada de Barbades - was scheduled to host a Drag Queen Story Hour at the Ville de Ste-Catherine Library on Sunday morning.
Drag Queen Story Hours have been hatefully targeted by right-wing anti-trans protesters in the USA, and that tactic has been copied by Quebec far-right activists, led by a local Trump supporter and anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist. However, the anti-drag/anti-trans protesters were confronted by close to 100 anti-fascist and pro-queer protesters who effectively kept the bigots away from the library building.

The Drag Queen Story Hour was also able to take place as scheduled, but at a location away from the library known only to the organizers and the 20 families who had registered for the event. Essentially, the Drag Queen Story Hour took place while the anti-fascists taunted and physically prevented the bigots from getting anywhere close to the library.

Drag Queen Story Hours all over North America have become the target of hateful protests by the transphobic far-right. But, fortunately, counter-protests have mobilized successfully to defend the events, and provide a tangible example of community-based self-defence against the far-right.

- Text and photos by No Borders Media