Thread by @HighwaterEllen

Complained to @LibrariesWest about Beyond Magenta, a book about transgender teens. Book contains a passage about a child saying they were sexually mature at six & enjoyed giving oral sex to men. Later decided they were trans.
#Safeguarding
#childrensbooks

No comment or judgment on this, no suggestion this might have been abuse or neglect, just taken as read. This was a Stonewall Honor book 2015. Six copies available, 2 billed as adult, 4 YA teen. Reviewed in School Library Journal as suitable 14+. Tagged as juvenile literature.

The book was already the subject of controversy when it was inc a schools RSE pack sponsored by Asda in 2020
mylondon.news/whats-on/famil…

I asked that the book be removed from the shelf as inappropriate & dangerous message for teens. We're in the middle of an epidemic of child sexual exploitation, eg.Telford, Rochdale, Rotherham and many, many more inc Yeovil & other towns in the @LibrariesWest catchment.

I received a response yesterday saying that the only reason a book would be banned was if it broke the law & 'Decisions will be made on the assumption that the adult reader is capable of making their own critical and reasoned evaluation...'

That would be fine but this book is targeted at teens. The catalogue classification hardly matters when the reviews and the summary clearly show it as aimed at adolescents.

I don't want censorship but I do want children, esp vulnerable children, to be protected from ideas that may lead to direct harm. That may encourage them to think sexual abuse is normal, edgy or cool. I thought the library might take safeguarding seriously too, but it seems not.

@LibrariesWest are not the only service promoting this book, it's in Brighton and Hove, many London Boroughs, Northampton, Leeds & Devon. I consider this a safeguarding breach & will be taking it further. If @SomersetLive want the full story, I'd be happy to share.

For those who want to check if available in their libraries you can check using this website, all you need is a postcode. You don't need to be a library member or identify yourself gov.uk/search-library…