Guardian interview with Juno Dawson

[RoyalCorgi]

The Guardian is once more peddling male fantasies of what a teenage girl is:

www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/11/juno-dawson-trans-alice-wonderland-interview-spice-girls

Dawson has written a novel based on Alice in Wonderland, but with a trans lead character:

'Wonderland is also a wake-up call to anyone who believes gender reassignment might be a happy-ever-after. Alice has recently returned to school after three months in hospital following a suicide attempt. “While I’m delighted with my perky little boobs,” she says, “I was profoundly disappointed that my urge to cut myself didn’t vanish with the first milligram of oestrogen to pass my lips.” Her problems, Dawson points out, are those of all too many young women. “When I’m at the Hay book festival or at Yale, these teenagers come into my signing queues and they are scarred. It must be talked about because it permanently affects girls.”'

Yes, teenage girls are really delighted with their perky little boobs, you misogynist little creep.

Eventually my dad took all my Barbies away.

Same thing happened to Paris Lees.

• My experience of being a teenage girl was having to deal with predatory male behaviour well before I was mature enough to understand why it made me feel so disgusting or how to deal with it. It's quite clear from that interview where Dawson's beliefs about teen girls come from. It's just plain gross and very creepy. Pornhub has a lot to answer for*

Totally agree. I was quite fearful of men when I was a teen. Plus I didn't see myself as a sexual being until my late twenties because I wasn't allowed to sexually mature at my own pace for my own pleasure. It's a very male mindset to think young women feel they have sexual powers that they can confidently use.

LoveReading4Kids website author pages:

Juno Dawson

"Juno Dawson – formerly known as James – is the multi award-winning author of dark teen thrillers HOLLOW PIKE, CRUEL SUMMER, SAY HER NAME and UNDER MY SKIN. In 2015, she released her first contemporary romance, ALL OF THE ABOVE. In 2016, she authored one of the World Book Day titles: SPOT THE DIFFERENCE."

(author's pages link to websites, social media accounts including live Twitter feed currently referring to Mumsnet )
www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/author/4569/Juno-Dawson.html

James Dawson - Author
(extracts)
"For eight years, James Dawson was a teacher specialising in Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education (PSHCE). His main remit was ensuring that these subjects were taught to a high standard across several schools. He collaborated on projects involving bullying, sex education, drugs and alcohol education and family diversity.

He now writes full-time and lives in London.

His debut, best-selling YA novel Hollow Pike was nominated for the prestigious Queen of Teen prize, and was followed by publication of the YA thriller Cruel Summer in 2013.

When he's not writing books to scare teenagers in a variety of different ways, James is busy listening to pop music and watching Doctor Who and horror movies.

Here is James talking about his book, Being a Boy
www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=rO_vi8ZZ7Mw&feature=emb_logo

Q&A with James about Say Her Name...

What inspired this book in particular? People told me that Hollow Pike was scary and I wasn’t even trying so I thought it would be fun to write a book where I was actually trying to terrify the reader.

How do you come up with ideas for all of your books? It’s almost always something that intrigued me when I was young. That period from about ten-twenty years-old, I just soaked up pop culture like a sponge and now it’s finding it’s way out in my writing.

We’d like to update readers on what you’ve been doing since your previous book came was published – would you mind filling us in a little? Clearly doing lots of writing! Since Cruel Summer came out, I’ve also become a Stonewall Schools Role Model, a role I’m very proud of. I’ve also been enjoying my stint as a ‘sexpert’ alongside the release of Being A Boy." (continues)
www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/author/3544/James-Dawson.html

I have to say, I think YA has become sex heavy in general.

But the idea of a school teacher by day sex hobbyist by night doesn't really sit that well with me. I'd not want to go back to the days of morality clauses and such. But then you get these people with poor boundaries and you wonder, are their boundaries poor in other areas? What kind of judgement does this person have?

I have to say, I think YA has become sex heavy in general

Yes I find that in movies too. The stuff that qualifies to he labelled as a 12 is way too much.

All part of the chipping away of boundaries...

Lolita was an abused 12 year old child

Wasn't her mother killed in an accident while trying to rescue her? Then Humbert took the child away with him? It's not a love story for sure.

At least we get to find out a little bit more about reporting patterns, ie
who is irritated and what it is that irritates them.

This thread is showing us the way.

I never realised Juno Dawson was a primary school teacher.

James Dawson sounds like a sensible person in that clip, and hes giving sound, thoughtful advice and encouraging empathy and reflection

Eventually my dad took all my Barbies away.

"Same thing happened to Paris Lees."

Some thing happened to Jackie Green.

Eventually my dad took all my Barbies away.

Same thing happened to Paris Lees.

Susie Green describes following pressure from her husband & relationship counsellor doing the same with her "then young son" Jack's dolls and other "girly toys":

TedTalk 13 Dec 2017
'Transgender: a mother’s story'

Wasn't her mother killed in an accident while trying to rescue her? Then Humbert took the child away with him?

Yes, hit by a car while trying to alert people about Humbert's plans.

It's a bit of a lurid illustration of porn culture and the objectification of girls (children) that our society now uses the title as a byword for a sexually appealing young woman, but that's another discussion.

who is irritated and what it is that irritates them.

Yep.

YA needs to be read by all parents imo. It is a vehicle into the minds of children, we are right to be concerned about the content.

No doubt certain titles are deliberately very cheap to download too.

Dawson's impending nuptials:
www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-8078171/I-didnt-think-trans-women-like-true-love-says-Juno-Dawson.html

Nice beard.

‘I loved Barbie dolls...My parents took me to a doctor because they were concerned what I was saying wasn’t normal. Nowadays it’s more likely a professional would question if I was transgender, but this was Bradford in the 1980s and there just wasn’t the same awareness and education there is today. As I got older, I learned to hide those feelings because I was made fun of.’

Can Juno really not see it? Can Juno really not understand that there is absolutely nothing wrong with a boy liking to play with dolls? If they were action men, or teddies, then I'm guessing those dolls would've been fine!

It's insane.

The rank sexism must be obvious. Surely.

Jackie Green's parents took them to the doctor because they liked playing with dolls, too.

Is it only dolls? I'm guessing if they want to play with a toy kitchen, the sexism isn't quite as obvious, given the rise of the celebrity male chef?? Is there a list?

*Eventually my dad took all my Barbies away.

Same thing happened to Paris Lees.*

Shit - I never had barbies, and there was me thinking I was a woman. How wrong am I??!!

@BadLady You can comment on the Guardian twitter thread here...

twitter.com/guardian/status/1259801911030677504?s=21

Go for it! Comments are surprisingly tame tbh

Apparently my post wasn't "in the spirit of civil debate". Unlike every post on the rest of the site that are allowed to stand obviously.

Sickening. They've also re-written history. I'm from the same town, went to the same school. Funny, I remember it as quite diverse and middle class in the 80s.

To be honest, I don't really care about Dawson's private life. It seems Dawson has found happiness, and that's great.

Just not happy about novels overtly aimed at teens/children depicting dubious sex fantasy and drug scenes. Write for adults, Juno, nobody will care what you do, then.

People can write what they like within the law. It's up to the guardian who they promote, it's the paper I take issue with.

Hmm just sounds desperately derivative of Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie's Lost Girls.

www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Girls-Alan-Moore/dp/086166180X

Nah Monster I was deleted as I knew I would be for pointing out the obvious and I'd presume for not doing it in a naice enough way...

I'll repeat, when someone shows you who they are, believe them.

Am I allowed to say that MNHQ?

"As a young trans woman doing internet dating, you’re going to attract heterosexual men, when all they are really interested in is that you’re a very specific body type.”

Wtf does that mean? Is it the complaint I've heard, that straight men will date TW

Alan Moore, yet another misogynist.

I hadn't come across his version of Alice, MondayYogurt. An Amazon review:

'This book is widely marketed (even by Moore himself) as pornography and if I'm honest, it is. However, if you actually read the story (rather than just look at the pictures) you'll find it is a quite harrowing tale of abuse and sexual awakenings'

Abuse of women presented as porn. Groundbreaking. How daring.