On the fourth Thursday in November at 9 a.m. you will always find me watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in my pajamas. I am aware that I am 21-years-old and there is nothing new about Garfield flying across the sky, but it’s not Thanksgiving without the parade.
My favorite part of the parade is the Broadway performances that are at the beginning of the parade.
This year, the parade featured a performance from the new Broadway musical “Kinky Boots,” which is about a drag queen and a shoe-factory owner who work together to save a suffering family business.
But as you can imagine conservatives, families, drag queens and social media don’t mix well.
Viewers took to their Twitter accounts to say things like:
“@nbc Parade, @Macys What in the world are you thinking putting Kinky Boots BS on during an American tradition on Thanksgiving. #Seriously”
and
“Let parents decide when to discuss certain topics with their kids instead of springing it on them in Macy’s Parade. #kinkyboots”
While I was watching the performance, I was confused about the plot because I missed what Matt Lauer said. When Annaleigh Ashford, one of my favorite Broadway stars, came on I gave up trying to figure out the plot because whatever she sings sounds good. It never crossed my mind that the performance would offend someone.
In fact, I find it comical that someone would say, “Parents should decide when to discuss topics with their kids instead of springing it on them in Macy’s Parade.”
Honestly, you might as well not let your children watch television at all if you’re worried about them learning about topics you’d prefer to teach them instead. Kids learn so much from the media, that’s just how our generation has worked out.
This also isn’t the first time Macy’s has featured a show featuring drag queens, in 2011, the show “Priscilla Queen of the Desert,” performed.
“Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has always spotlighted the best of Broadway since the ’60′s, and this year is no exception,” a Macy’s representative said in response to the outrage. “As 2013′s Tony award-winning best musical, ‘Kinky Boots’ is not only a hit with Broadway fans, but Black Friday shoppers… Please have them call us and we’ll set them up with our personal shoppers.”
Performers of the show responded to the criticism by going to Macy’s on Black Friday in their “kinky boots,” and some in drag to do their shopping.
Classic.
So my suggestion to parents is this, control the things you have control over. If you heard the description about the show in the introduction, you should have changed the channel.
Oh and remember, this isn’t your grandma’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
