Brandy Butler is the target of neo-Nazis – and yet he keeps going

When Brandy Butler was six, she saw a burning cross and learned: “Some people hate me – not because of what I do, but because of what I am.”

The cross stood in a field somewhere in the American countryside. A big party was held next to the field, to which Butler and her parents were invited. She and her father were the only blacks among many white guests. “My parents were a mixed-race couple – back then, in the 1980s, that wasn’t welcomed there.”

Men wearing Ku Klux Klan hoods would have noticed their presence, Butler recalls. “That’s why they burned the cross.” The images of the evening have stayed with her to this day: the fear on her parents’ faces, the embarrassment of the guests, the quick drive home through the dark night.

Forty years later, on another continent, Brandy Butler again sees smoking torches in the hands of right-wing extremists. She learns: “I’m also a target in Switzerland.”

It’s October 23rd, Brandy Butler is giving a reading lesson for children in the Tanzhaus, when a group of masked neo-Nazis block the way and try to disrupt the “Drag Story Hour”. “We couldn’t go outside, the smoke scared us, some parents were panicking,” says Butler. “I just worked: calmed down, secured the door, called the police, made sure that the children noticed as little as possible.”

A few days after the action, a confession video by the “Junge Tat” group went online, in which two neo-Nazis gave their names and faces to the action – and declared Butler to be an enemy. Brandy Butler says: “That’s when I really realized what happened: You feel safe and protected here – I don’t. After that I collapsed.”

Butler – black curly hair, big glasses, gesticulating hands – is faced with a decision: “What is more important: my fear – or the joy that I can bring to the children?” Does she want to continue – or drive away and flee like she did before the burning cross?

Brandy Butler and the Magical World

How others see her and how she sees herself – with Brandy Butler, there is often a wide gap.

As a child she was a nerd, she says, shy, a fan of the science fiction franchise “Star Trek”. “Nobody understood that at the time. Black, female nerds – you couldn’t imagine that.” Other interests were expected of her: Princesses, for example, or the music of black singers.

As a teenager in the United States, she never saw herself as just black. “My father was black, my mother was white – that was special, that I was mixed race was always clear to me.” In the Zurich suburb of Bonstetten, where she came as an au pair at the age of 23, she was pigeonholed as a black woman and confronted with stereotypical ideas. She was expected to have expertise in Africa or a good knowledge of dance. “When I said to people: ‘I’m from the USA’, they said: ‘No, but where are you really from?'”

As an adult, she took part in the talent show “The Voice of Switzerland”. There they said to her: “Sing more like Aretha Franklin – louder, higher! You can do it with your body.” But that’s just not her style. “Yes, I’m a black, fat American woman,” she said to herself. “But that doesn’t mean that I always have to play this role.” She didn’t – and soon dropped out.

Watch instead of judge

To be who you are – even if the environment expects something else: That is Brandy Butler’s mission. Not just for himself. Butler also wants to free others from prejudice, stereotypes and social norms – especially children.

«I see myself as purveyor of magic“, she says. “I want to show the children: The world is magical – come on, let’s discover it together!”

That’s why she’s been organizing the now famous reading hour for four years, in which drag queens and drag kings – adults who dress up in the style of the opposite sex – read from children’s books. The format is inspired by similar ideas in the US and is aimed at three to ten year olds. She provided the start-up financing herself, later receiving financial support from the city of Zurich. Today the event is a fixed part of the Tanzhaus programme.

“I never would have thought that this would make me a target for neo-Nazis,” she says. «The ‘Drag Story Time’ isn’t a scandal – it is cutest shit ever!»

And yet they have chosen the neo-Nazis of the “Junge Tat” as a target in their fight against an alleged “gender ideology”. The Zurich SVP adopted their demand and demanded that the city government stop the reading hour.

Your critics see the event as an attempt to confront children with issues such as sexuality and gender too early. Brandy Butler invites them: “Look at what’s happening here – before you judge.”

The boy and the lip gloss

A unicorn, a pumpkin and a shark strut through a pink-lit hall. A father and his son try out colored wigs together. A knight demands more glitter on his face. And a boy in a princess skirt applies concentrated lip gloss in front of the mirror – directly on his forehead.

A month after the right-wing extremist action, golden garlands are glittering in the Tanzhaus – and the “Drag Story Time” takes place as if nothing had happened.

Twenty children and their parents, dressed in colorful clothes, run through a hall. “I am me,” they sing, led by Brandy Butler. “I like myself the way I am!”

More gold and glitter: This is Butler’s answer to criticism of her.

And yet not everything is the same this morning as it was before the neo-Nazi attack. The crew meets in the Tanzhaus foyer one hour before the start of the event. Butler wears a bright yellow sweater and pink dungarees with smileys on them. But her face is serious. “If something happens, if you feel uncomfortable, get in touch immediately,” she says. With the three security employees, with the manager of the Tanzhaus or with the police, who are all on site.

She is always nervous before events, Butler says afterwards, while she drapes kilos of costumes, plastic necklaces and make-up on tables. But this time something is different. When a balloon pops, heads turn. And when someone new joins the group, he says: “I’m not one of the bad guys!”

It’s only half a joke.

Zurich instead of Philadelphia

It is no coincidence that Brandy Butler works with children. Her parents were teachers – her father in a juvenile detention center, her mother in kindergarten. At home, in their hometown of Philadelphia, the family had foster children. “At my mother’s funeral, a lot of people said to me: ‘She inspired me to go my own way.’ To have such an impact, the children so empower – that is my goal too.”

The fact that Butler is now implementing this goal in Zurich is a coincidence. In her early twenties, after studying music, she worked as a teacher in Philadelphia and wished for a break. She looked online for a place as an au pair, and there was one available in Bonstetten – and so she came to Switzerland. Later she began to perform as a singer, recorded albums and accompanied stars like Sophie Hunger on tour. She continued her education as a music teacher, gave courses and has also been a member of the ensemble at Zurich’s Neumarkt Theater for three years.

Butler says she feels completely like a native of Zurich. Here she found her voice, her calling. Here she found out that she could not only love women, but also men. Here she got married, had a daughter, got divorced.

“When I came here, I asked myself: How long should I stay here?” says Butler. “And my answer was: As long as it’s good.”

“King Joe” and the children

Is it still? Yes, Butler thinks, as long as she can keep doing what she’s doing at Tanzhaus this Sunday. She sits in front of the almost fifty children and adults who have come to her reading lesson and explains: “Drag performers are adults who like to dress up. Now one of them will come and read you a story.”

Then the children loudly call out her name: “King Joe!” And the door opens.

“King Joe” wears a dark jacket, chunky black shoes, a made-up beard – and a bright red pompom on his head. “Good morning, kids!” he calls and jumps into the room. The children react differently: some move closer, others ignore the newcomer. Only one child seems to be really unhappy. “I have to go to the toilet!” she says to her mother.

Then Brandy Butler calls the children over – and the reading begins. Today’s children’s book is about a girl with an unusual wish: she wants to be a grandfather. She makes her own grandpa costume and is happy with it, although the adults at first laugh at her wish. “Well, is that nice of you?” asks Butler. “No!” the children shout.

Butler later asks her what she wants to be herself. “Graphic artist!” says a boy. “Mommy!” calls a girl. A third child has completely different plans: “I want to be an ice cream!”

“Who doesn’t?” says Brandy Butler.

Pleasure principle instead of gender roles

The reading hours follow a fixed schedule: First, Brandy Butler sings a song with the children. Then a drag queen or drag king reads from a children’s book. There it is sometimes about two gay penguins, sometimes about a group of animals that excludes other animals, and sometimes about a boy who wants to dress up as a mermaid.

Sometimes there is still a discussion: Who is allowed to love? Can girls be Superman too?

Then the children and their parents can dress up with glasses, costumes and make-up. It’s about giving the kids a place where they can be whoever they want, says Butler. “Children are confronted with gender stereotypes from an early age: this is for girls, this is for boys. You can, you can’t.” She wants to do something about this and convey to the children: “It counts what you feel like doing – and not what others expect.”

And why do you need a drag performer?

Because these women are experts at dressing up and playfully questioning gender roles, says Butler. “And because we want to create an opportunity for children to meet people who live out their gender identity in this way.” It has absolutely nothing to do with sexualization.

Butler finds it deeply problematic that men in women’s clothing are portrayed as a danger to children. “That only serves homophobic stereotypes. It has nothing to do with our event.” Especially since it’s never about sex and parents are always present.

The fathers and the lipstick

The more the children and parents dress up in the Tanzhaus hall, the less “King Joe” stands out among them. The more colorful the costumes become, the more the differences disappear. As at a fashion show, the children finally strut towards the mirror. “Tell yourself: I look great,” Brandy Butler calls out to them. “And then we all clap!” While they do it, a pop song sounds from the speakers: “You are perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect, baby.”

And Brandy Butler’s father – just visiting from the USA – looks on and growls: “This is Brandy magic happenin’ right here.”

Then the hour is over. Outside, three more drag kings and queens are doing make-up for any grown-ups who fancy some lipstick and nail polish. After that, a number of fathers with red lips sit in the Tanzhaus foyer and order a cappuccino.

Meanwhile, in the reading room, the children reluctantly take off their disguises. Between them stands Brandy Butler. She looks tired. Then a mother with her son comes up to her and says: “That was the first time he dared to dress up!”

Then Butler laughs and says: “That’s worth a thousand times more than all fear and all hatred.”