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Original poster

Horrendous gender ideology book on the Waterstones Children's book award shortlist

38 replies

Vebrithien · 22/03/2023 08:12

Couldn't find this mentioned anywhere here, but though it was too awful to ignore.

I've started a thread on the petition board, so please pop over there.

Waterstones have shortlisted a cartoon book that encourages pubescent girls to hate on their bodies, describing breasts as 'fatty lumps that need removing' onto their prestigious 2023 Children's book award.

The book is called 'my trans teen misadventure' and as well as validating teen anxiety, the book also openly promotes the use of puberty blockers for children, even though they have been banned in several countries on the grounds of safety.

The book even has an adult content advisory warning discreetly tucked away on the back, so it's anyone's guess why Waterstones think this is suitable for children.

What gets me about this is that because Waterstones have put it on their shortlist, the book will feature on sales displays that will be placed in areas with a high footfall of children and is likely to be picked up and browsed by them, especially because the story is in cartoon form.

It is a massive safeguarding concern, targeting young and vunerable children.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/petitions_noticeboard/4768562-remove-this-inappropriate-and-unsafe-book-from-the-waterstones-childrens-book-award?reply=124827689

OP posts:
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Omlettes · 08/07/2024 16:01

Vebrithien · 22/03/2023 08:12

Couldn't find this mentioned anywhere here, but though it was too awful to ignore.

I've started a thread on the petition board, so please pop over there.

Waterstones have shortlisted a cartoon book that encourages pubescent girls to hate on their bodies, describing breasts as 'fatty lumps that need removing' onto their prestigious 2023 Children's book award.

The book is called 'my trans teen misadventure' and as well as validating teen anxiety, the book also openly promotes the use of puberty blockers for children, even though they have been banned in several countries on the grounds of safety.

The book even has an adult content advisory warning discreetly tucked away on the back, so it's anyone's guess why Waterstones think this is suitable for children.

What gets me about this is that because Waterstones have put it on their shortlist, the book will feature on sales displays that will be placed in areas with a high footfall of children and is likely to be picked up and browsed by them, especially because the story is in cartoon form.

It is a massive safeguarding concern, targeting young and vunerable children.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/petitions_noticeboard/4768562-remove-this-inappropriate-and-unsafe-book-from-the-waterstones-childrens-book-award?reply=124827689

That is monstrous.
Suggest sending it to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Families and Wellbeing. It was David Johnston, but dont know who it is or will be now.

xxyzz · 23/03/2023 03:20

MrsOvertonsWindow · 22/03/2023 09:35

Amazing from an industry that openly employs "sensitivity readers" & trigger warnings yet they promote bodily self harm and eugenics to children without a second thought.

Good point.

Quite incredible. They wouldn't dream of publishing a book for children with a single image or description that was negative about a child's appearance as regards their race.

Yet they will publish and even view as deserving of prizes a book that exists only to list all the things 'wrong' with a teenage girl's body in terms of her sex.

The misogyny is off the scale. Literally teaching vulnerable teenage girls to hate their growing bodies. It's so cruel.

Grammarnut · 23/03/2023 00:44

Have seen the book on Amazon (kindle version) and it is horrendous, suggesting that total mutilation is the way forward. Dangerous - would we promote anorexia in this way? Also sexist - the 'feminine' girl flicks her hair just like a TiM thinks women do. Yuk. Signed and put on Facebook.

nepeta · 22/03/2023 16:41

So odd to think that only ten years or so ago feminists wrote books about the way young girls learned to hate their bodies and those feminist books tried to fight that trend.

Now we are told that if the misogynistic society makes you hate your body, you can have that body cut and reshaped and go on hormones and that way you will join those who shame that body. Freedom!

JustStopOilyPoshKids · 22/03/2023 11:18

@MishyJDI Completely agree with you! Until a couple of years back that is. I was 100% behind affirming my teen's gender wobbles. Understanding that sub 1% of folk felt this way. Hey ho. My kid was pretty rare and special. No worries. I love them and will support them through whatever. Then the realisation that this was their entire friendship group. So more like 30% of the school year. All of em the 'outsider' kids; autistic/ gay/ emo or alternative types. Basically not the mainstream, popular wannabes

QueenHippolyta · 22/03/2023 11:17

Cutting your breasts off and shooting opposite sex hormones into your body is not the answer to adolescence.
It's uncomfortable and for girls even more so because boys behave badly.

How about instead of girls cutting off their breasts, parents and schools train boys to treat adolescent girls respectfully?
( and lock their phones against pornography)

Babdoc · 22/03/2023 11:05

Off topic, but may I just point out that “radical” mastectomy is almost never performed nowadays- it was drastic cancer surgery involving the removal of not just the breast but all the underlying muscles of the chest wall.
What these girls are undergoing are bilateral “simple” mastectomies. But still absolutely shocking and with no rational indication for surgery.

Original poster
Vebrithien · 22/03/2023 10:50

PinkyU · 22/03/2023 10:24

“It validated teen anxiety” what do you mean by this?

That the totally normal ambiguous feelings that teens have about their bodies and going through puberty, can be completely solved by taking puberty blockers. Which have been scientifically shown to have significant problems.

And pushing the belief that a radical bilateral mastectomy is the best course of action for a teenager disconcerted by her changing body.

OP posts:
drspouse · 22/03/2023 10:49

I am not keen on Citizen Go in general. Are there other options for complaining/signing a petition?

PinkyU · 22/03/2023 10:24

“It validated teen anxiety” what do you mean by this?

FrancescaContini · 22/03/2023 10:22

I don’t even know where to start with @MishyJDI ’s “..being cis (🤮) is the only outcome”.

What “outcome”? “Outcome” to what, exactly?

Igmum · 22/03/2023 10:21

Hatred/disgust/and simple disgust with a changing body during puberty is incredibly common. Add in a bit of angst, autism, trauma and access to the internet and bingo you have an instant cure for all that ails you - cut it off and treat it with puberty blockers and cross sex hormones.

Sadly these treatments don't help. Depression and anxiety are not relieved because the underlying problems are still there. Suicide rates go up and many, many want to detransition when they realise what they have done.

So no, this book won't reassure 'trans teens', it will add to the media clamour telling vulnerable children that self mutilation is the answer.

Original poster
Vebrithien · 22/03/2023 10:17

Couple more images, copies over from the earlier thread.

Horrendous gender ideology book on the Waterstones Children's book award shortlist
Horrendous gender ideology book on the Waterstones Children's book award shortlist
OP posts:
OldCrone · 22/03/2023 10:15

Saying it is a safe guarding risk, assumes that being CIS (oh that word!) is the only right outcome. Nature and the existence of trans peoples informs us otherwise.

Nature? What is natural about the body modifications done to people (including children) who identify as 'transgender' @MishyJDI ?

Do you believe that people are literally and naturally 'born in the wrong body'?

(I hope by not using the 'm' word that this post won't be deleted like the last one - I've asked MNHQ why they deleted my other post, but I assume it was the 'm' word)

FrancescaContini · 22/03/2023 10:12

I think @MishyJDI is being a little disingenuous.

Original poster
Vebrithien · 22/03/2023 10:07

Thank you for the links to the existing threads.

I am most certainly NOT suggesting that books should burnt.

That book should not be on the shortlist for a CHILDREN'S award.

OP posts:
Bunshaped · 22/03/2023 10:06

@MishyJDI Perhaps these books should be gathered together, and burnt in the street?! Pretty sure that is how it all started in the 1940s.

Why do TRAs and their sympathisers insist on using this as some sort of gotcha? All it does is betray a fundamental lack of understanding of history and a complete inability to acknowledge what is being done by their own side.

Bunshaped · 22/03/2023 09:57

FrancescaContini · 22/03/2023 08:42

Can you put this in AIBU? Will get more traffic.

This publication is beyond the pale. I’ve just been reading about the young woman in the US who had a double mastectomy at 13 to “change sex”. The funny ha ha cartoon format of this book trivialises to a grotesque level the irreversible, self-mutilating “choices” 😵‍💫 the young woman was allowed to make when she was still a CHILD.

There was a thread about it in AIBU recently:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4758024-this-book-my-trans-teen-misadventure-for-children-wtf

There is currently also a thread about it on Feminism Chat but that board is slowwww. All the action seems to be on this side of FWR.

OldCrone · 22/03/2023 09:43

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

StrongandNorthern · 22/03/2023 09:41

The full title is 'Welcome to St Hell. My trans teen misadventure'.
If you Google the title there's quite a few items about it.
Marketed for 14+ apparently.

OldCrone · 22/03/2023 09:38

HoneyPotBee · 22/03/2023 08:57

Are people on here only finding out about this book now? It’s been widely reported.

There was a thread on here about it last month when the shortlist for the prize was announced.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4739203-waterstones-childrens-book-prize

Faffertea · 22/03/2023 09:37

Same @DrBlackbird

My practice is a small rural one. I am currently looking after 3 teenage patients who are all identifying as transgender in one way or another. None of them have ever shown signs of dysphoria before their mid teens, all have spent lots of time online and the 2 that are female have co-existent significant MH/ childhood trauma. We shouldn’t be normalising distress at their bodies during puberty (or in fact at any time) and telling them the easy solution to all their problems is transitioning because that is not supported by evidence.

I actually think this book would be considered ‘babyish’ by 14+ year olds. The language is immature as are the cartoon drawings.

MrsOvertonsWindow · 22/03/2023 09:35

Amazing from an industry that openly employs "sensitivity readers" & trigger warnings yet they promote bodily self harm and eugenics to children without a second thought.

CharmedUndead · 22/03/2023 09:34

Are we banning books now?

No, thank you.

(That it's up for an award is another thing...)

RoyalCorgi · 22/03/2023 09:32

Perhaps these books should be gathered together, and burnt in the street?! Pretty sure that is how it all started in the 1940s.

Nice attempt at DARVO. The only people burning books are the people on your side of the debate, as you well know.

See, no one's suggested burning this book - just expressing dismay that such an awful book that encourages teenage girls to believe there's something wrong with their body has been shortlisted for a major prize.

I know it's difficult for people like you to distinguish between "burning books" and "expressing dismay" but if you put the effort in, you might get there eventually.