One Paradise Valley elementary school put up more Pride posters after parents complained about a class that taught children to play an LGBTQ+ song.
A newly-hired teacher with Desert Trails Elementary (Paradise Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) taught students to play “Pink Pony Club” by pop artist Chappell Roan, as first reported by the Arizona Daily Independent.
Following parent complaints to the school and ADI’s reporting, parents reported seeing an increase in the number of Pride-themed posters around campus.
“The posters are now everywhere,” one parent told us.
That was the case before even more complaints from multiple parents to Governing Board member Sandra Christensen forced the school to take down the posters altogether.
The song describes leaving the conservative, Christian south for the LGBTQ+-friendly community of California, sprinkled with references to drag queens and sexual activity.
“Pink pony” is also used in some circles as slang for male genitalia.
Roan shared in media interviews that she drew inspiration for the song from a hometown strip club, the Pink Cadillac, and a gay bar in California, the Abbey. It was the latter that Roan visited after leaving her church-going family in her hometown in Missouri.
Many of Roan’s other songs focus on sex with women and exploring LGBTQ+ lifestyles. She has come to be viewed as a gay rights icon.
The official music video for the song “Pink Pony Club” shows Roan dancing in a revealing outfit, joined by drag queens and biker men who transition from skeptical onlookers to participants dubbed “leather daddies.”
The term “leather daddy” refers to an individual in the gay community who is older and dominating, often hypermasculine and rugged in appearance. This LGBTQ+ archetype gets its name from the tendency of these individuals to wear leather.
Parents said they were not notified of the lesson or provided an opt-out. Many learned of the lesson after the local parental rights and education watchdog, Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity, posted about it on social media.
The teacher behind the lesson, Jerry “Michael” Nanny, claimed to not know the meaning behind the song.
Nanney claimed no previous knowledge of the term “pink pony” or the song “Pink Pony Club.” Rather, Nanney claimed students selected the song from a list given to him by other teachers. Nanney declined to disclose the identities of the other teachers. Sources told ADI that the district did later admit that these educators were not within PVUSD.
These claims of having no knowledge of the song conflict with Nanney’s lifestyle. His Facebook activity revealed Nanney was sharing posts from drag queen lifestyle accounts, and he leads the choir at a pro-LGBTQ+ church, the United Church of Sun City.
Additionally, Nanney’s classroom contained decorations indicating his support for LGBTQ+ lifestyles.
Concerned parents told ADI that the district cleared Nanney to return to teaching this week on the promise that he “won’t do it again,” according to the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, Shaun Holmes.
The district hired Nanney in late July. He moved to Arizona from Texas, where he’d taught at three different school districts.
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