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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Biosex affirmative children's books

58 replies

NotAJellyBaby · 30/03/2019 14:00

Not sure what else to call it - basically books which say that you can like whatever you like and still be a girl/ boy. Books for kids as young as 3 are being published at an alarming rate encoraging kids to doubt their biological sex. I want to collate a master list of books for young children with present the alternative. Sadly, they are few and far between. Here's what I've found, please add more!

Pink is for boys

www.amazon.co.uk/Pink-Boys-Eda-Kaban/dp/0762462477/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&crid=24193442VGJPY&keywords=pink+is+for+boys&sprefix=pink+is+f%2Caps%2C152&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1553952399&sr=8-1

(received reviews such as "I bought this book with high hopes, and while it delivers on featuring diverse characters it relies very heavily on a boy or girl frame. If you want to offer your children more than 2 gender options, this is not the book that will do it.")

Julian is a mermaid

www.amazon.co.uk/Julian-Mermaid-Jessica-Love/dp/1406386421/ref=pd_sbs_14_1/258-9722745-9587464?psc=1&pf_rd_p=18edf98b-139a-41ee-bb40-d725dd59d1d3&_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_wg=kEaW0&pf_rd_r=Y9MK4MBSTNSNBK3ZNJQ2&pd_rd_i=1406386421&pd_rd_w=M7pXR&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&refRID=Y9MK4MBSTNSNBK3ZNJQ2&pd_rd_r=75eae36a-52ef-11e9-aaac-1b9af162ec26

One review tries to call Julian "gender fluid" but the book clearly describes him as a boy who dresses up in "feminine" clothes and should be accepted just as HE is.

My princess boy

www.amazon.co.uk/My-Princess-Boy-Cheryl-Kilodavis/dp/1442429887/ref=pd_sbs_14_30?psc=1&pf_rd_p=18edf98b-139a-41ee-bb40-d725dd59d1d3&_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_wg=3ab59&pf_rd_r=K3MAC7M5X238KVJJF4WJ&pd_rd_i=1442429887&pd_rd_w=T1zwl&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&refRID=K3MAC7M5X238KVJJF4WJ&pd_rd_r=d59c916e-52ef-11e9-8669-1d4b023142e4

I hate hate hate the title, but the message seems positive, i.e "princess" boys are still boys. Has a review that I think is gender critical but honestly these issues have got everyone so bloody confused that it's hard to tell.

"Girls shouldn’t be raised like little princesses, all frilly pink dresses and dolls as this can lead to being treated in a less serious way and often having less fun than boys. However if you are born a boy and want to identify as a girl then how do you do it - it seems by dressing in frilly pink dresses and playing with dolls. How do these two types of behaviour co-exist in a sensible world?! This book is good because it introduces the idea of differing people."

The "all about Clive", "Clive's jobs", and "all about Rosa" books.

www.amazon.co.uk/Clive-Nurse-Clives-Jessica-Spanyol/dp/1846439914/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&crid=YBHIOKNBKUJQ&keywords=clives+jobs&sprefix=clives+%2Cstripbooks%2C154&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1553953454&sr=8-1

These books don't mention sex, gender, identity, or any other political buzz words; they don't centre around a story in which a child is initially marked as different but then we learn that that's OK; they just describe two children, clearly marked as male/ female, going about their day without conforming to sex based stereotypes.

Frida Kahlo

www.amazon.co.uk/Frida-Kahlo-Little-People-Dreams/dp/1847807704/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&crid=2OAJH1WSU0V1P&keywords=frida+kahlo&sprefix=frid%2Cstripbooks%2C156&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1553953809&sr=1-2

I know there have been attempts to "transwash" Frida out of history, but this book clearly presents her as a woman who liked to dress however she pleased. In fact, the whole "little people big dreams" series is like that as far as I know.

David Bowie

www.amazon.co.uk/David-Bowie-Little-People-DREAMS/dp/178603803X/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?s=books&crid=7NGSU3QMFFZ5&keywords=david+bowie+little+people+big+dreams&sprefix=david+bowie+lit%2Cstripbooks%2C148&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1553954024&sr=1-1-fkmrnull

As above.

Amazing you: Getting smart about your private parts

www.amazon.co.uk/Amazing-You-Getting-Smart-Private/dp/0142410586/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&crid=2IOBONKGOBYIO&keywords=amazing+you+getting+smart+about+your+private+parts&sprefix=amazing+you%2Cstripbooks%2C150&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1553954114&sr=1-1

From the description: "Here is a picture book designed especially for young children who are becoming aware of their bodies, but aren't ready to learn about sexual intercourse. Amazing You! presents clear and age-appropriate information about reproduction, birth, and the difference between girls and boys bodies."

In this book, girls do not have dicks.

I imagine that most "facts of life" books will be based on sex as an immutable binary, but this one seems really nice for young children.

Anyway, that's all I've got for now. Please add your own (maybe we should even think about trying to write our own!)

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T1meForDebate · 30/03/2019 15:01

Ok a girl called Titty might not fit today 😅

T1meForDebate · 30/03/2019 15:00

Would books like Malcolm Saville's Lone Pine and Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series fit? Groups of boys and girls riding bikes, sailing boats, riding horses, solving crime, telling stories, having adventures, building relationships ... Old fashioned and I love them.

blockedbywho · 30/03/2019 14:53

Ah, I was thinking about this the other week, I came across a picture book at the library, I can't remember it's name but it was about a little hippo who didn't want to be a hippo because all the other animals were much cooler. Anyway, it tries to be the other animals in the book, but they all tell it that it can't be, for example, a bird, because it doesn't have wings, no matter how much it wants to be. In the end, it realises that it is happy to stay as a hippo and it's okay to be happy with the way you were born. I will try and find out the name of it.

teyem · 30/03/2019 14:46

Oh, it's 'Tiler' not Tyler. It's just a sweet novel about a kid who gets up to mischief and the reader assumes that the kid is male simply because of how Tyke behaves but at the end you learn Tyke is female and it challenges your assumptions without any gender anguish at all.

teyem · 30/03/2019 14:37

How about The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tyler? Is that too old and uncool, now?

NotAJellyBaby · 30/03/2019 14:32

Maybe if we get enough books together PeachYoghurt can add a "GC library" resource to her resources for parents section on Transgender Trend

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MountainWitch · 30/03/2019 14:17

The 'Let's Talk' books about bodies and reproduction are brilliant.