A petition launched against a drag queen storytime event at the Tate has received nearly 10,000 signatures in a day.

Catholic commentator Caroline Farrow has petitioned for the Tate to stop “promoting gender ideology to children” through its headline February half-term free event.

The Tate Britain Museum is set to host a drag queen story hour next week, hosted by “queer hero of literature”, neuro divergent drag queen Aida H Dee. According to the Tate, Aida is a patron of Autistic Inclusive Meets London, an author and activist.

Farrow, who is the UK and Ireland campaign director at CitizenGO says the gallery’s event promotes gender theory and sexualises children.

Her petition reads: “Drag queens have long been known as a niche form of adult entertainment predominantly found in gay nightclubs. Drag queens present a highly sexualised, demeaning and distorted vision of women, which many members of the public find offensive.

“Drag acts do not constitute education and do not teach tolerance. Their aim is to expose children to sexualised and political messaging regarding the LGBTQ+ movement.”

Farrow also raises concerns over the Tate’s promotion of children’s spring workshops which include material exploring the transgender experience and where all artists share their pronouns.

She added: “Tate has also produced a teaching and guidance resource for teachers and schools co-authored with Gendered Intelligence, a transgender lobby group, which is replete with gender ideology and encourages educational professionals to break the law!”

At the time of writing, the petition - which was launched on Tuesday evening - had over 9,600 signatures. Its target is 10,000.

Premier has contacted the Tate for comment.