This book, “My Trans Teen Misadventure for Children. WTF???

[TheWorldisGoingMad]

I know this post may offend and I'm sorry if it does. But I feel children need to be protected. If parents don't know what books may be in their school libraries, how do they counteract the information?

This book, “My Trans Teen Misadventure,” has been nominated for UK bookseller Waterstones Children’s Book Prize of 2023.

AIBU to think this is a dangerous book for children's mental health and body image. I find it seriously worrying that children have access to books like this from an early age. I feel sends a message to vulnerable girls that the answer to dis-ease in their bodies is irreversible medication and surgery.

Very harmful for children.

Holy thread revival Batman

I can’t comment on the book but I used my library card as a teen in the 90s specifically and only to root out eating disorder memoirs which I would use as how-to manuals. There were loads and still are. Presumably they were designed as warnings but it certainly wasn’t their effect on me.

I see David Tennant's on the thread!

Well, you are clearly bedside yourself with rage, so what are you goung to do next? Plenty of replies here, varying views to help inform your decisionshould we be going for a full class action against the author? The publisher? The distributor? Waterstones? Our local library?
Or are you going to expose it on GMB?
Please do let us know and thank you so much for bringing it to our attention.

Well I don't know about anyone else, but that's me convinced

I've read the book. It isn't grooming. For other reasons around age appropriateness it's not one I have ordered for the school library. It is however, one I've recommended to sixth form students.

What about a book called My Teen Anorexic Years with a diagram that said 'fat thighs, mouth that needs to stop eating, stupid rumbling tummy' etc? Cool to market to 14 year olds?

Its interesting that people who have actually read the book deem to think it is not grooming or indoctrination, whereas those who have only read the free sample are going crazy.
Also, who resurrected the zombie thread?

If at 16/17, my (vulnerable to gender ideology grooming) ASD children were recommended this book by a teacher, I’d be hauling their backside through every safeguarding/complaint procedure going. I hope other parents have the sense to do the same when they find out how inappropriate you’ve been.

There is nothing inappropriate about recommending an age appropriate book to a student. If there was a specific issue around a topic and a student I would like to think staff would be aware.
For a non-related example we check before teaching A Monster Calls in case there's anything we need to know to support students.
Would you also have an issue with Heartstopper?

There is nothing inappropriate about recommending an age appropriate book to a student.

When the book in question is pushing self harm ideology in a positive manner, of course it’s an issue. As someone above has mentioned, would you recommend a book that pushes self hating ideals in other ways, such as pointing out how someone suffering with anorexia would ‘fix’ themselves? Of course it’s inappropriate to suggest literature on to children who are still maturing, that promotes the idea that their bodies are wrong but can be fixed with unnecessary medical procedures.

What is actually needed is books specifically for young neurodivergent people explaining why puberty seems so much more difficult to process, and that their bodies are not wrong or need to be fixed like those before them were lead to believe. Because thanks to adults like you, who are leading with their own belief systems and ‘be kind’ attitudes, you are inadvertently (or at least you’d hope) leading many children with autism or traumatic childhoods down a path of complete misunderstanding of what is the cause of their physical hatred.

I disagree about this book (have you read the whole thing?). And that's fine. And yes I have had books I haven't recommended (or changed what I've taught) based on information about specific students. But in general I have no problem recommending this book. It isn't as shocking as people think and is aimed at the upper end of the YA age range.

No I haven’t read the whole book, but anything aimed at young girls that ends in ‘and then I realised my perfectly healthy female body was actually a man in disguise due to my untreated mental health issues’ is not something that should be aimed at young people at all.

As a side note, have you seen the authors social media videos? Evidently their issues with being a girl runs deep. A lot of internalised misogyny, certainly not someone who should be aiming their own words at other girls.

ALLJ · 20/09/2023 13:16

Because it's not aimed at young girls, it's aimed at trans boys who are teenagers, not children teenagers.

I'm not sure where to start with that hairy bag of piffle. It most certainly is aimed at girls, girls in psychological distress, because they think they are actually boys. You may call them "trans boys," but they are, in fact, girls. Also, teenagers are children - what on Earth does "not children teenagers" even mean?

You are free to write one!

You're not aware of what happens to women who write children's books and don't believe in gender ideology, are you?

https://wildwomanwritingclub.wordpress.com/2021/12/09/rachel-rooneys-exit-interview-from-publishing/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-11259447/Former-childrens-author-opens-cancelled-standing-JK-Rowling.html

No I'm fully aware. Are you suggesting that people who've got something to say don't say it? Sounds counter productive. Pretty sure nothing ever changes without being challenged.

Or is getting backslaps on mn enough?

A ex ofsted teacher friend says it’s becoming the new anorexia all this gender stuff. It’s really scary.

So you said PP was free to write her own book, knowing that she would be harassed, threatened and lose her livelihood if she did?

So more women need to be threatened and harassed, if we want teenagers not to be encouraged to damage their bodies. Good to know.

Reading memoirs of anorexics can absolutely act as a trigger to adopt, accelerate or relapse into ED behaviours. This is a well known fact in the world of ED treatment, so much so that the most graphic memoirs, such as Marya Hornbacher's Wasted, are banned from ED units and can result in removal of some privileges if being harboured.

Interestingly anorexia tends to manifest in its full blown form in the late teens although restrictive behaviours or what used to be known as cryptanorexia typically appears aorund age 14. An especially impressionable age. So i cna absolutely acknowledge that seeing healthy breasts described as fatty lumps would be triggering and dangerous to any teen girl alreday vulnerable to all types of body dysmorphia.

10/10 this book should be for adults and carry a TW.

It's a good book, my 14 year old borrowed it from the school library, and I read it at his recommendation.

It's written by an adult who finally feels settled in their own skin writing to their teenage self, reflecting on how they felt, what they struggled with and why.

Its sad that they were drowning even though they had a supportive family and close friends.

My 12 year old had someone scream at her the other day that she had "massive boobs" she felt self conscious and upset, there will be a next time because kids at her school are frankly assholes, I told her to respond with "I would rather have massive boob's than a tiny mind".

It is amazing how many people seem to convince themselves teenager can "catch" being Transgender. If it was that easy to be influenced by media/books surely some of you would have read books like this realised how hard a transgender persons life is and caught compassion and empathy by now?

If your daughter is self-conscious about her chest then please for the love of Goddess don't let her get her hands on the book under discussion here.

Direct her to books and media resources which celebrate and affirm the biological female body in all its diverse glory.

I'm not advocating that behaviour am I? It's not what I want, it's what it'll take though.

I can see what everyone keeping their opinion to themselves, or select listeners, has done for the debate so far. People need to be out and proud with this.