A couple in Hull have withdrawn their four year-old daughter from a pre-school after discovering that pupils there were being taught from a book called Grandad’s Pride, which depicts men in leather bondage gear and a trans man with ‘top-surgery’ scars. The Mail has the story.
Will and Maria Taylor, of Hull, East Yorkshire, were horrified when they spotted “two images of men who are partially naked in leather bondage gear” in the pages of Grandad’s Pride.
One image featured trans men with ‘top surgery’ scars, sparking a furious reaction from parents who claims that it encourages body modifications too early.
‘Top-surgery’ involves either the removal or augmentation of the breasts, which if undergone by a trans man means breast tissue is taken out and the chest is contoured to emphasise the pectoral muscles.
Grandad’s Pride is the creation of Waterstones children’s book winning author and illustrator Harry Woodgate – who uses they/them pronouns.
When the couple approached Genesis Pre School in Hull with their concerns over the overtly sexualised images, they were shocked when the school refused to apologise for stocking the book.
The book, which has a four plus reading aged, tells the story of Milly spending the summer in Grandad’s cottage by the sea.
When Milly is playing in the attic one day, she unearths Grandad and Gramps’ old Pride flag. When Grandad explains to Milly what Pride is, he and Milly plan a Pride march in the village.
The BookTrust, which promotes children’s reading, has already warned parents: “The illustrations in Grandad’s Pride include realistic depictions of what a Pride march might look like, including a person dressed in adult leather wear and some images which are culturally sensitive.
“Parents and carers should read the book before sharing.”
The couple accept a staff member had checked with Maria whether she was okay with the contents. But she did not notice the images at first.
One image shows the two men in fetish gear kissing during a Pride march while another marcher holds up a sign saying “All You Need Is Love”.
When another parent alerted them the couple complained to the nursery, expecting an apology. When staff defended the images, the couple decided to remove their four year-old daughter.
Will said: “We identified two images of men who are partially naked in leather bondage gear. One has a leather cod-piece moulded tightly around his crotch along with garters running down his thighs.
“He also has a studded dog collar around his neck and knee-high boots. Both have various leather straps around their bodies and studs/spikes.
“The main and most immediate concern is that children have been exposed to at least two age-inappropriate sexual or erotic images of a man in what can only be reasonably described as ‘bondage/fetish/BDSM’ gear.
“When we went to the nursery to raise concerns about the book, to be honest, we expected staff to instantly apologise and that would be the end of the matter. But the safeguarding lead began to defend the images.
“They argued the children would not understand or perceive erotic or sexual images. Staff claimed the image was just portraying ‘dress-up’ and would not be perceived as erotic by a child as they have no idea what ‘erotic’ is.”
The staff denied the images are erotic, telling the couple: “That’s just your opinion.”
Mr. Taylor continued: “That was no justification in our eyes. Arguing with us over the appropriateness of these sexual images quickly damaged the trust we held for the nursery team. At this stage I was concerned and took our daughter out of the nursery.”
Will argues that a child’s lack of understanding is no justification in exposing children to sexualised imagery.
He said: “It seems those with safeguarding responsibilities are basing their decisions on what is safe and appropriate based on whether the child will recognise the risk for what it is.
“To be clear, the ’perception’ of the child is not the arbiter of what is age-appropriate or safe, regardless of their level of understanding.”
Will says he and Maria have been branded ‘bigots’ for taking their stand. He added: “The staff felt I was being bigoted and I was not having that.”
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