Parents speak out! Waterstones is under fire for nominating “My trans teen misadventure”

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Literature is changing and some may say not for the better. Waterstones is under fire for nominating a book with an adult advisory warning, which contains disturbing cartoons promoting the transgender cause, for their prestigious children’s book award. Some parents are sharing their thoughts on this book stating that it is a dangerous book for children’s mental health and body image. Some find it seriously worrying that children have access to books like this from an early age; it is a message to vulnerable girls that the answer to dis-ease in their bodies is irreversible medication and surgery.

The Waterstones’ Children’s Book Award carries a lot of cachet, and it’s a great honor to be nominated. Books on the shortlist can expect to receive a significant boost to their sales and publicity. Keep in mind that school libraries and other organizations entrusted with making reading recommendations for children will trustingly accept this nomination as a guarantee of good quality. Stores will place the nominated books on table displays, which enjoy a large footfall of children to encourage them to browse and make a purchase.

Parents are outraged because they feel that this is not a book that should be read by vulnerable and impressionable children, and there are some strong arguments for their outrage:

• Firstly, it is written by a transgender-identified female who a few years ago reportedly crowdfunded her breast removal surgery, and now takes hormones in an attempt to resemble a man. The book entitled ‘My Trans Teen Misadventure’ appears to be nothing more than the author seeking to validate and project her own feelings
• Secondly, the book contains an adult content advisory warning on the back. Which begs the question of why it has been included on a shortlist of books for children?
• The book isn’t even a textual story, it’s in cartoon format and though it is recommended for ages 14 and over, it is inevitable that it will attract the attention of much younger children

In the book, one of the pages contains an illustration of female anatomy that encourages girls to hate on their perfectly normal and natural bodies, with labels such as ‘fatty lumps that ought to be removed’, ‘hips from hell’ and, incredibly, ‘imaginary willy.’

‘My Trans Teen Misadventure’ goes even further and publishes a one-sided promotion of puberty blockers. It features a cartoon of a child being injected with either puberty blockers or cross sex hormones by a nurse accompanied by the caption, “At last I got the key, just in time before Uni, my life was on pause, now it can start.”

Countries across the world have outlawed puberty blockers being given to children because of safety concerns, yet Waterstones is promoting a book that complains that they are no longer so easily available.

This is not literature that enlightens or inspires children. Demand that Waterstones take this book from their shortlist, and out of the reach of impressionable children.