Author/illustrator of 'Grandads Pride' chosen as artist for the Summer Reading Challenge

[RolledDahl]

Anyone here work in a Library?
For those of you who don't, you may know that every summer we promote the Summer Reading Challenge from the Reading Agency. It's a lovely way to encourage children to keep reading over the summer holidays.

This year the Reading Agency have chosen Harry Woodgate as the illustrator - he is the author of the controversial book Grandad's Pride, which included images of fetish wear...many of you may remember the concerns over some of his illustrations.

I shouldn't be surprised, knowing how captured the literary (& library) arena is in general, but it does seem to be a very deliberate decision.
And I'm not entirely convinced that his use of baby blue and pink as predominant background colours in the posters was completely accidental 😒

Are you ok with it for your dc? When young that is

If it’s only for a select few who make the decision and are ok with it it doesn’t need to be written into children’s books.

No I wouldn't take my little kids to it. Only if they seemed interested and wanted to go after about 9/10.

I’m a library worker, I didn’t realise it was the same illustrator who drew Grandads pride.
I think the illustrations for this year are mostly good but yes I would question the reasoning behind using an illustrator who’s had recent controversy, as someone else has pointed out, children’s literature in general and the reading agency specifically are captured.
One of the characters is a girl in a hijab which I’m not too keen on.

Everyone knows that including a picture of a man wearing fetish gear in a book aimed at small children is inappropriate.

Some people pretend not to understand it.

To quote a tweet that gained a lot of traction some time ago: "It's amazing how much leftist discourse is just them pretending not to understand things, thus making discourse impossible."

JFC. I'm against cancelling authors and illustrators okay?

Countless GC authors and illustrators have been cancelled for wrong think etc

This is just the other side of the coin. It is not proportinate to ban an illustrator from children's publishing for this one illustration.
The motives of the Summer Reading Challenge are to get children reading. The artwork they've chosen is perfectly acceptable if not to my taste.
If you'd seen the number of complaints about children's books I've had to deal with over the years, you'd understand or perhaps not.

Ok so why have it in a book aimed at ages younger than that?

I guess because it's a way to show what to expect in a way that's non threatening? I really don't know.

I don't love the pic but if it was of a woman wearing a skimpy costume for whatever reason it would be the same. I guess I'm imagining a very little kid wouldn't notice it and doesn't know the sexual context. And that people who don't want their kids exposed to it wouldn't buy and read them a book about Pride.

I guarantee that if a children's illustrator had included an illustration of a man in BDSM gear for a book written 20 years ago, he would have been told to scrap it and draw something else. At the very least. He probably would have been quietly "looked into" or quietly dropped after that. If it would have been wrong then, why is it acceptable now? I wonder what's changed?

Perhaps it's because it's ubiquitous now.
Perhaps it's because activists have infiltrated everything, including publishing.
Perhaps it's because Pride was taken over by people who decided that we all wanted to see their fetishes.
Perhaps it's because Pride was taken over by people who decided that they were entitled to force their fetishes on everyone else, including children.
Perhaps it's because there are forces at work trying to groom children (don't pretend there aren't).

or

Perhaps it's because no one feels able to say "no" to entitled men anymore because you'll lose your livelihood and/or become a target for groups such as Bash Back.

Or all of the above.

Imnobody4
Presumably you want all men dressed like this prosecuted.
I just think there's justifiable criticism and then there's hysteria.

I agree, and concluding
Presumably you want all men dressed like this prosecuted
is an excellent example of hysteria

It's disappointing that bringing children to a Pride march now has to be a judgment call for parents of young children because they know there are going to be people there wearing - or not-quite-wearing - inappropriate fetish gear, exhibiting sex toys etc.

It has moved so far away from its lesbian and gay roots, it really should be re-branded as just a Grand Day Out for anyone at all.

Sadly you seem as unable as the author is to understand the boundaries of appropriate material for young children. That is a grave concern.

Do you how men sexually attracted to children use grooming and conditioning? It’s not all aimed at the children. Adults with responsibility for children and parents are the target and are quite clearly susceptible to it as you perfectly demonstrate.

Please read up about this before you attempt to justify this big red flag further.

That’s a worry. As per my previous post, adults are one of the targets for grooming and conditioning into blurring the boundaries between adults and children for sexual purposes.

I agree it's a real shame what has happened to Pride. There needs to be a strong pushback.
The hysteria comes in calls to prevent an illustrator illustrating children's books and promotions because of one ill-judged illustration. I don't agree with cancellations.

Yes this

Just tried to spell check this. A I refused - inappropriate content]

I take it this was the inappropriate content for the spellchecker.

I'd agree if he drawn a man leading another man wearing a dog collar.

Unfortunately this happens irl at Pride and despite knowing and welcoming this they advertise it as family friendly. What does that tell you about Pride?

And then we’re ‘surprised’ to learn that of approx 2700 Pride officers (270 Pride marches, 5-10 officers per march - assuming they are all male to be on the safe side), there are 8 convicted as child sex offenders/rapists. Yet many people wave it away and accuse us all of being ‘pearl clutchers’ and ‘anti LGBTQ’.

“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
― George Orwell, 1984

But that's exactly what happened to Rachel Rooney. My point is that drawing a grandad in fetish gear hasn't affected his popularity at all, while gender critical women have been "cancelled".

I thought it was BDSM. As to dog collar I know it happens at Pride which is why there needs to be pushback by the organisers and LGB people. I support the latter who are challenging Pride in its current incarnation.

Do you think parents should have a free choice to expose their children to sexualised fetish gear, sex toys and men wearing discernible butt plugs?

Do you think that if Pride chooses to welcome those men, they should simply not advertise as ‘family friendly’?

Have you assumed that there are no naked penises on show at Pride? I have seen photographs of men with their penises out at Pride events. London Pride does have a no nudity rule, I can’t see one for Brighton Pride, but it sells tickets for children of all ages.

Do you know any father who, knowing the illustrations that the book contained, would want to read it to, and explain it to, his three or four year old child? Because children see things, then they ask questions about things they don't understand. And, from my experience, good men will see things for what they are, and would be horrified at having to explain something like that illustration to their child. I've seen it in a male cousin, just newly a father, wanting to protect his baby from everything. I thought he was clueless. Turns out he was not. I think most decent men know exactly what's right or wrong when it comes to children.

Now, do you know any father who would see that illustration and think that was appropriate for children?
If so, do you think that's right?
If not, then why are you excusing the man who imagined the image in the first place, then drew it, then submitted it for publication? For a children's book.

If he could do it again, do you think this man would continue to "imagine" and "draw" illustrations just like that one, for children's books?

Would you be uncomfortable if he were allowed to keep doing so, and then did so?

How many of these kinds of illustrations would he need to draw before you decided you weren't comfortable with them?

ed. for spelling

One issue here as well is the ‘no debate’ mantra of trans (not all I realise).

The verbal gymnastics of people trying to justify images such as the one being discussed is baffling. All to no offend trans identities. Use of the term gender to circumnavigate’you cannot change sex’. Use of affirming language and quite infantile language to discuss trans healthcare and surgeries. Always ‘top surgery’ or ‘bottom surgery’ never the gruesome reality of a double mastectomy, removal of male genitals etc. This is one social contagion that for me has preyed on the vulnerability of many young people making them feel they ‘belong’ to something which is rainbow colours and safe.

I may be wrong but I am not sure this period will reflect well in history. An interesting thread

Do you remember the strip club for mothers and toddlers? Cava Baba rave or something. And The Family Sex Show.

There are large and often uneasy overlaps between ' sex positive' and 'feminism' and 'family'.

Many people, most people, will be unaware of the problems.

There are always people on the look out for ways to keep blurring those boundaries and widening the overlaps.

Always naivety.

Always criticism of women who point out the problems.

At this stage I dont think this triangle will ever change.

How do children benefit from perceiving men in fetish gear as ‘non threatening’?

Can you see any possible issues with teaching children that men wearing fetish gear in public are perfectly harmless?