In the face of harassment, Sylvia O'Stayformore reads on

Drag Queen story hours have been targeted across the country, including in Renton last month.

In the basement of a ranch-style house in Seattle, Sylvia O’Stayformore is showing me her drag den.

It’s a small space that looks even smaller because of the sheer amount of stuff packed into it — a clothes rack is overflowing with dresses, wigs line the walls, and framed pictures lay haphazardly on end tables.

"This is my corner of the world where I shove all my costumes and so forth," says O'Stayformore.

Sylvia O'Stayformore is a drag queen who hosts a lot of bingo nights across Western Washington from Mount Vernon to West Seattle.

Past the wigs and the mountains of tulle, Sylvia’s vanity sits in the corner of the room, surrounded by cards, drawings and magazine clippings. This is where she prepares for events, crafting colorful, eye-catching looks. Today, she’ll be hosting a story hour for kids that will transition into a bingo night at the Brewmasters Taproom in Renton.

"Sylvia is an Aunt Mame character," she says, "a naughty aunt that you might need to watch your boyfriend around. She's a cougar on the hunt, but then she can be the church lady."

O’Stayformore has been a drag queen since 1991 in Utah. It was difficult to be both a member of the LDS church and perform.

"I went through a lot of abuse growing up in Logan," she says. "Just people saw me as different. And I used the church as kind of a way to hide behind it being just a good, worthy member of the church."

Eventually, O'Stayformore left the church and then moved to Seattle, where she found a community of drag queens who she describes as a little bit more angsty than those back in Utah.

The Brewmaster Taproom sits on the ground floor of a two-story office park. It feels unassuming, a suburban hangout with a warm atmosphere, but last month it made national news after it became the site of protests against the Drag Queen Story Hour.

Harassment against LGBTQ people has grown in recent years, spurred by white nationalists and other far-right activists.

Drag queens reading to children has become a high-profile target for this harassment.

Marley Rall owns the Renton Taproom and says at first, people would occasionally complain about the event.

"We would get emails or phone calls," Rall says, "but it wasn't until about November that it started really ramping up."

December was different. A Facebook comment claimed that the story hour was “grooming” children. Protests were planned.

Rall was in disbelief.

"People can't truly believe that that's what's going on at story time," she says, "There's literally like pictures and videos of what drag queen story time is."

The situation escalated and someone shot a ball bearing through a glass window next to the entrance of the Taproom the Wednesday before the event. The incident was caught on security camera footage, but whoever did this was wearing a mask and removed the license plates of their car.

Marley believes the shooter targeted this building because of the story hour. It was the culmination of anger fueled by social media.

"If you don't like it, don't bring your kids to it. It's not like we're kidnapping your kids and bringing them and forcing them to be there," O'Stayformore says. "If you don't like it, that's fine. Just stay home and don't go out. We'll be fine with that."

O'Stayformore continued on with her story time last month. After the ball-bearing incident, many people showed up to support the event and held a rally outside.

Today, there’s a Seahawks playoff game and the taproom is packed. There are dogs and children weaving in between adults riveted by the game. O'Stayformore moves to a covered outdoor patio and lays out her books: from classics like "Inch by Inch" and "The Snowy Day" to the more contemporary titles, like "If You’re a Drag Queen and You Know It."

She’s also getting into a kindergarten mindset. Kids have way shorter attention spans than her other audiences — bingo players.

O'Stayformore shuffles some small plastic blue chairs into a semicircle. Children slowly file in. Their parents sit in the back of the patio.

Alex LaRosa's son is here at the story time.

"Just seeing representation of other people who dress in ways that make them feel good and feel positively is super important for him," LaRosa says.

As it gets closer to the story hour start time, the children wiggle in their chairs, scream, and there is an unpleasant odor coming from somewhere. O'Stayformore greets one last kid, picks up a book and begins to read.

Most of these kids don’t know about the controversy surrounding this reading, the threats of violence or the hate that’s been directed at Sylvia O'Stayformore and other story time queens. For now, the community around the Brewmasters Taproom appears determined to protect and support this event, to keep it going.

The little ones don’t know that O'Stayformore shows courage every time she puts on her face, hikes up her stockings and walks out the door.

They’re enchanted by this adult who loves books and makes them come alive, with big expressions and voices with each turn of the page.