An educational book on sex, sexuality and gender identities aimed at young people has been taken off the shelves of Big W after a concerted effort by a conservative male podcast and an anti-trans group based in Sydney.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson from Big W said there had been “multiple incidents of abuse directed at our store team members in the past 24 hours,” and for that reason, they were pulling the book — “Welcome to Sex,” from its shelves.
“To keep our team and customers safe, the book will now only be available online,” the spokesperson said.
The book, written by adolescent health expert Dr Melissa Kang and feminist journalist and presenter Yumi Stynes, is the fourth book in a “Welcome To You” youth series published by Hardie Grant.
The other books in the series explore issues including consent, menstruation, emotions and relationships.
Last Sunday, Chris Primod, host of conservative podcast The Primodcast, posted a video to his socials, showing him flipping through the pages of the book, stopping to point out the pages on fingering, anal sex, penis size and scissoring.
“How can anyone think they’re not coming after the children after seeing books like these for sale openly in Big W?” Primod said in the video.
Primrod, who identifies himself as “Co-founder of 5 humans” on his socials, accompanied the video with a caption: “Big W continue to stock books that are grooming our children, exposing them to sexually explicit and highly inappropriate material.”
The conservative group, Women’s Forum Australia, picked up on Primrod’s post and began pushing for the book to be banned from shops and libraries.
Women’s Forum Australia CEO, Rachael Wong, told 2GB radio on Tuesday that the removal of the books from Big W’s shelves was a “phenomenal outcome” and thanked “all the parents who got out there and sent messages and made calls.”
“Across the western world, there is a movement to sexualise children and break down their barriers and it’s so dangerous and so harmful,” Wong said. “It’s not appropriate for the age group that it’s targeting at.”
The campaigners are now attempting to reach out to Target and Dymocks, requesting they remove the book from their shelves.
Kate Brown, managing director of Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing, defended the book as a resource for young people.
“As well as comprehensive interviews with young people and adolescent experts about issues they are facing, particularly in an online world,” she told The Guardian.
“Every young person develops at their own rate, and parents and caregivers are encouraged to make their own decisions about what is appropriate to share with their family.”
“Buying this book is a positive choice for parents and teens who are looking for guidance on a subject of genuine importance,” she said. “We have published it for an audience who want that option.”
Earlier this morning, Stynes said on her socials she is “really proud” of the book.
“It was authored by myself and Associate Professor of Adolescent Health, the revered and (extremely) intellectually and academically rigorous Dr Melissa Kang,” she wrote. “As part of our research we interviewed stakeholders in preventing sexual abuse, educators who go into schools to talk about sexual safety, sexologists, therapists, frontline doctors, nurses and many, many teenagers.”
When the book was released in May, Stynes said the book is “…for young ones who aren’t necessarily practising any partnered sexual activities but who are curious enough to google”.
“YES, it’s frank, and YES, it talks about stuff that parents might find embarrassing. Research shows that kids don’t necessarily want to talk about sex with their parents. It’s common. But parents? I hope this is a reassuring resource that you can slap down on your kid’s desk feeling confident that this info is setting them up for safer, happier lives.”