On April 11, 2023, Kalen D’Almeida, a reporter for Frontlines with Drew Hernandez, confronted assistant professor of LGBTQ studies Harris Kornstein at the University of Arizona. Kornstein is widely known for performing as a drag queen in front of children as well as writing “children’s books” that are geared toward exposing children of ages one to eight years old to drag culture.
Kornstein’s first book is called “The Hips On The Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish” and includes a sing-along song to the tune of “The Wheels on the Bus.” The book is listed on Amazon as “appropriate” for children between the ages of one and six. Kornstein’s second book is titled, “If You’re A Drag Queen And You Know It!” and it’s listed on Amazon as appropriate for children between the ages of two to eight. Harris Kornstein performs drag as his alter-ego “Lil Miss Hot Mess” when participating in Drag Queen Story Hours, and when performing at drag shows for children at gay bars such as Cheer Up Charlie’s, located in Texas.
As “Lil Miss Hot Mess,” Kornstein has co-authored exhaustive written works, such as, “Drag Pedagogy: The Playful Practice of Queer Imagination in Early Childhood.” The book explores methods by which children can be exposed to LGBTQ, gender, and drag ideologies by harnessing the innocent imaginations of children, and by “engaging with the power of young children’s imaginations today to begin to envision alternate tomorrows.” Kornstein’s goal is not to defend his position among grown adults but to go after the minds of children to bring about an “alternate future” where every child is a homosexual dressing in drag, gyrating their hips on stage for dollar bills in front of sexually deviant perverts.
The Frontlines team, Reporter Kalen D’Almeida, and Producer Braden Ellis visited the University of Arizona to confront Harris Kornstein and ask him why he believes his activities are acceptable and why they should be normalized in society. Kornstein refused to answer a single question regarding the matter. The questions were simple and pointed and allowed Kornstein the opportunity to make a case for himself.
One of the last questions that D’Almeida asked Kornstein was whether or not Kornstein had a sexual attraction to minors, and Kornstein refused to answer the question twice. This is absolutely shocking, to say the least. A so-called drag queen professor refused to answer a simple, but weighty question — most normal people on would simply answer, “no” but he decided to leave in silence.
D’Almeida responded to the situation, stating the following:
“As American’s, we should feel a sense of great responsibility to defend children in our society because they’re our future. If we don’t take pride in our history as Americans or our future we’re doomed to fail as a society. The fact of the matter is that if we don’t push back on these people and show them that there are Americans who stand up for the good values we believe in then someone else will stand for their values and in Kornstein’s case, those values are grooming little boys and girls to become homosexual drag queens. We need to stand against those who seek to pervert the minds of our children.”
Kalen D’Almeida
