Children have been showered with tampons by a non-binary “alien” who smeared “blood” on himself after pretending to be menstruating on stage at a council-backed Pride festival.
Girls, some apparently as young as five, were sprayed with the toiletries after being hurled by the performer.
Footage of the Pride event in Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, showed a child hastily walking away as tampons were thrown from the platform.
The performance was introduced at around 2pm on July 29 by presenter Alexa Darling, a drag queen known as the “Broadway Diva of Norwich”.
There was a substantive warning and a statement: “Our next act will be very political.”
“So raise a warning at times. If there’s any grisly things you don’t want to see, blood or anything, maybe take the time now to get something to drink.”
Darling urged, “Please gather your hands for the intergalactic alien who will take over our stage, it’s Mx Slaybia of course!”
The act then took the stage in red alien outfits and sang a version of No Doubt’s “Just A Girl.”
The other social media shots captured the moment the tampons were thrown into the crowd
There was a warning about the content allegedly being political and containing blood
During part of the song, the performer stared at the “blood” that had been rubbed onto his hand
The performer then appeared to be menstruating through white pants before smearing the “blood” around her clothing.
Mx Slaybia then reached into a clear plastic bag and tossed wrapped tampons into the watching crowd.
Moments later, the performer — whose title suggests they’re non-binary — holds up a placard that reads “Moonblood has no gender.”
The sign is then reversed to show the message “We will bleed for your period, capitalism”.
Mx Slaybia then blew a kiss to the audience before exiting the stage after presenter Alexa thanked her for the performance.
Footage of the crime circulated online, drawing criticism for its graphic nature and audience suitability.
Other recordings of the same performance show the end of the act from a different perspective
Earlier that day, Norwich Council announced that it was an official supporter of the Pride event
After the performance and criticism on social media, any mention of the Pride event disappeared
Maya Forstater, founder of the campaign group Sex Matter, said the performance was totally inappropriate.
She told Web: “Puberty is scary enough for kids without anyone in front of them, making it a glittering horror show.”
“It’s totally inappropriate at a family gathering like this.” It’s almost as if people are constantly trying to push the boundaries of what is acceptable and appropriate.
“I think there’s something bizarre and scary that shouldn’t be shown to children.”
“The Council has responsibility for what is portrayed in public.” If they have supported it prior to the event, that support from the Council gives people who are considering attending an expectation of standards and safety.”
Norwich Council – which had proudly announced its support for the festival – then mysteriously deleted all trace of its support from its website.
A number of questions from Web about the act or the “menstrual blood” used in the performance went unanswered.
Alexa Darling took to Instagram to defend the performance and said she highlighted issues
Mx Slaybia, who revealed his Instagram address at the end of the performance, appeared to have deleted his account after the performance.
But Darling strongly supported Slaybia, posting on Instagram, “I see what happened to not only one of my best friends, but another queer person as well, as a result of an incredible, important and necessary discussion about menstrual health and period poverty, including for trans people.” Rights are more than annoying.
“At this point, it feels superfluous to say how angry I am, especially at the audiences I’m reaching, but I’m angry.”
“Why does this keep happening? How does this keep happening? What goes through these people’s minds to make them think it’s okay to attack someone? Why do they think it’s okay to utter vile rhetoric?
“They insist that we’re still proud and how disgusting they find that, although the irony is that they’re the reason why.”
“The vile TERFs and the far right who constantly vilify us for fighting for justice who keep killing is because they are too small-minded to realize the world doesn’t revolve around them and their narrow-minded view on the world is the reason.” .
“All I have to say to you is that we’re not going anywhere, no matter what you do, you will never silence our voices.” If you are able to do so, please report any videos you see of it . This is the time for us to come together as a community and help one another.”
Norwich Pride trustees also defended the artist but said they would welcome feedback on the cast.
A spokesman said: “We are aware of a negative story being shared on social media regarding an appearance at Norwich Pride on Saturday 29 July 2023.”
“We will always strive to strike a balance between providing an unabashedly queer and open space for our performers and creating a show that can be seen and enjoyed by people of all ages.” Thank you to everyone who performed over the weekend for her authentic and talented self. Norwich Pride condemns harassment of artists at or after our event.
“As always, we welcome any feedback from people who attended the event in good faith and will take this into account when making future program decisions.” If you attended Norwich Pride 2023 and have feedback for us, please fill in our annual survey, which you can find on the home page of our website.