Usbourne publishing calling mums transphobes

[Abite]

Go woke go broke

"Looks like they have previous form for misogyny:"

twitter.com/NorthernSoleuk/status/1216056916079730690?s=19

"Usborne apologises for puberty book that says breasts exist to make girls ‘look grown-up and attractive’ "

t.co/M5FjpIdZb1

Oh dear Lord, was that them? It was awful.

Ffs.

"Usborne apologises for puberty book that says breasts exist to make girls ‘look grown-up and attractive’ "

Gross. Misogynistic and a more than a bit peado-y.

I absolutely agree with the analysis by Red - it's essential to understand and address the biggest picture possible. Politics, money, culture wars, wokeism, power. And how Western capitalism shores everything up. Jennifer Bilek is a great person to follow on Twitter for this.

However, this movement also relies on the personal. Relies on as many individuals as possible being netted - whether they actually truly believe it or feel that they must stay quiet because they assume everyone else is on board.

The implied threat of being shunned carries immense weight and power. Both Red and I, and so many who dare to question, are living that reality. Either personally or publicly.

The power of MumsNet is that it makes the public personal and the personal public. It brings difficult and complex issues into the living rooms of women and parents and makes them relateable to our own experiences and our own families, so that we have a personal focus of engagement and connection.

For a long time I've known that we need to see the biggest picture, we need to join all the dots together. But for the picture to make sense, we have to expose and call it out on every level.

The personal is corporate. The personal is political. The ideology relies equally on change happening simultaneously from the bottom up and the top down.

Every layer needs exposing for it to make sense to us as a society.

There are absolutely times to grey rock, but I don't think this is it. The discussions are too important here - safeguarding and a narrative that has the power to silence and manipulate us all.

Multi level marketing. It is a business practice where it is a pyramid scheme where those at the top get a commission from all of those they recruit and then the people that these workers recruit. It means that those at the bottom (often mums needing a bit of extra cash) are paid a pittance for each book sale while those above them make the real money.

So... the book takes an interesting turn into the issue of trans kids. An article appears in the newspaper about the issue of trans kids and we are firmly told that 'clever' girls know the papers are lying!

Izzy (the Year 8 protagonist) inspires her father to go on breakfast television and discuss the issue with an evangelist pastor. He wins with these insane arguments! Apparently!

Along the way there is some full-on Stonewall propaganda.

So to be clear, Izzy can’t call her dad “Dad” anymore and has to call him “Dee”?

And Dee goes on tv and repeats the “trans people are dying while you’re fussing about ‘evidence’ trope?

I will never, for the life of me, understand how trans people get from

“We need to know the best way to help children”

to

“You can’t pretend we don’t exist”.

It’s not a novel, it’s a propaganda tool.

...You might as well read the article, just make sure you don't believe a word of it

it's twisted and mean and not true

Despite the fact I've never actually seen a headline like that, ever, does the dad explain exactly why it's not true GoodbyePiccadilly?

I'm wondering quite how much of a strawman they are making it.

Thanks for the screenshots.

Makes this all very clear.

Gendered Intelligence - what a surprise to see them popping up here!

GoodbyePiccadilly wow - how’s your blood pressure? 😬

maybe too early for ?

Did Stonewall commission this book?

Omg that is one of the worst written most dull books. And odd - because in a children’s book the protagonist is normally the child but this appears to be all about the Dad. Funny that. Although not the book, there is no humour in the book... seriously I cannot emphasise how badly written and boring this book actually is.

@GoodbyePiccadilly Do you mind if I tweet your screenshots? (I don't think you're on Twitter), or would you rather I wait until after you've blogged about it?

NotBad - I'm assuming the children come up with the name Dee in the 'heartwarming scene' that was mentioned in the review I quoted upthread, where the children come up with a new name for their dad.

That is not a children's book.......( and I used to be a secondary school English teacher!)....that is a piece of adult propaganda.

Usborne apologises for puberty book that says breasts exist to make girls ‘look grown-up and attractive

Seriously? Which book was that?

D(ee) for Dad?

Wasn't one of Pan's People called Dee?

Bonkers. Truly bonkers. Since when did "Get over it" constitute the zinger in an argument? In my experience, any time a sentence starting with "Get" is used in an argument (e.g. Get over it, Get a life, Get over yourself, Get out more) it's a sign the person deploying it has lost conclusively.

That wording looks like it's copied straight from a lesson plan.

@TinselAngel that's fine :-)

Omg that is one of the worst written most dull books.

I have had the opportunity to read a copy and yes it is so boring that even as an adult I struggled to not skip whole chapters.

The storyline can be summed up as Izzy fighting the ignorance and bullying of her peers due to Dad being Trans. It hardly touches on the emotions (other than embarrassment) and the grief you would expect Izzy to be going through.