By James Cirrone For Dailymail.Com
Published: 21:42 BST, 21 October 2024 | Updated: 13:18 BST, 22 October 2024
Multiple parents of students enrolled at a Canadian school pulled their kids out of class on Friday after learning about a gender identity presentation that took place last week.
It emerged that the presentation to seventh to ninth graders – ranging in ages from 12 to 15 – at Oyster Pond Academy was in part delivered by Teo Ferguson, a nonbinary drag queen with plenty of risqué photos on their social media profile.
Per their Facebook profile, Ferguson is also employed as a creative programming facilitator at The Youth Project, a non-profit organization that provides support to young people struggling with their gender identity or sexual orientation.
The presentation covered topics relating to sexual orientation, gender identity and relationships. Ferguson told DailyMail.com that children were taught how queer-identifying people might express their gender.
While some parents of kids at the Nova Scotia school were outraged by the content of the presentation, it is understood that others were furious when they found out that the presenter is a drag queen in their spare time.
Teo Ferguson, pictured, is an educator employed with The Youth Project but is also a drag queen
Ferguson told DailyMail.com he participated in the lecture about sexual orientation and gender identity at Oyster Pond Academy, pictured
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Ferguson told DailyMail.com that when parents discovered this, they attacked them on Facebook and sent direct messages to condemn the behavior.
Much of the outrage has allegedly come from the fact that Ferguson shared their drag account with an underage student.
Two of their profiles, one on Facebook and one on Instagram, contain images of Ferguson wearing scantily-clad outfits while in provocative poses.
Ferguson’s stage name is ‘Cookie Cunningham.’
The Halifax Regional Center for Education, which houses Oyster Pond Academy, acknowledged that this occurred in a statement to CTV News, though didn’t name Ferguson specifically.
‘One of the presenters shared their personal social media details, which prompted some of the students to view content that is intended for an adult audience,’ the statement read.
Pictured: A flyer advertising a show Ferguson was performing in. Their stage name is Cookie Cunningham
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Hollie Riggs was one of the parents who opted to pull their child out of school for that day.
‘It went above and beyond what should be taught in the classroom,’ Riggs told CTV News.
‘It was the fact that how much of it was discussed and what the kids had access to after the meeting,’ she added, referring to drag account being shared by Ferguson.
In multiple social media posts and statements to the DailyMail.com, Ferguson explained that they gave out the details to their drag account by mistake.
‘The reality is a teacher was really excited initially to see me in their classroom talking about gender, identity, and sexual orientation from grade 7-9,’ Ferguson originally wrote in a Facebook post.
‘Now grades 7 to 8 did not hear about my social media, but in grade 9 they did due to a teacher’s excitement.’
Ferguson went on to explain that toward the end of the grade 9 presentation, another teacher and a student approached and asked for their social media.
‘In that moment is when I made the mistake in judgment and gave my drag account information,’ Ferguson told DailyMail.com, adding, ‘I did not physically show them my account whatsoever.’
‘I must also stress that at the start of all presentations I told all classes do not look for me on social media,’ Ferguson also said.
Hollie Riggs and Greg Austin told CTV News they were against the presentation and felt blindsided by it. Austin alleged that the students weren’t allowed to leave
Another parent, Greg Austin, told CTV News that students weren’t allowed to leave the presentation.
‘My son came home from school yesterday. He was telling me about the interactions he had with the influencer,’ Austin said. ‘Mostly for me as a parent, we had no idea that anybody was coming to talk to our kids.’
Austin added that his son told him others weren’t comfortable with the lecture being given.
‘He could see people were not comfortable and that other people asked to leave, and they weren’t allowed to,’ Austin said. ‘There wasn’t any other option.’
Lindsey Bunin, the communications officer with the Halifax Regional Center for Education, told DailyMail.com that students were ‘encouraged to attend the session based on content that aligned’ with Health Education curricula provided by the Nova Scotia Department of Education.
‘If a student felt uncomfortable and didn’t want to stay for the presentation, they should have been allowed to leave,’ Bunin added. ‘This has been addressed with the administration, and they have been instructed to allow students to excuse themselves respectfully in future if they have concerns about a speaker’s presentation.’
After receiving complaints from parents, the principal and vice principal of the school sent a letter to parents explaining that they were legally required to follow the Health Education curricula.
The Halifax Regional Center for Education told students that Ferguson’s social media shouldn’t have been shared
Pictured: Teo Ferguson, who apologized for sharing his drag queen social media with some students
Curriculum documents seen online for 8th graders outline some of the topics that health educators are mandated to cover in class.
Students ‘will investigate methods for preventing unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. They will explore puberty, brain development, and changing relationships as markers of the adolescent stage and how these relate to body image,’ according to the document, last updated in 2022.
Students are also introduced to ‘pornography, consent, and sexual violence,’ and are given guidance on ‘how to seek help related to sexual and reproductive health concerns.’
One parent told CTV News they had no problem with the presentation at the school and said their child, who is struggling with their gender identity, found it helpful.
The Halifax Regional Center for Education also said administrators visited the ninth grade class to discuss the aftermath and explain that the social media account shouldn’t have been shared.