Questions are being asked of Minister for Education, Norma Foley, after a women’s group said a recommended reading list for school students on the national curriculum resources list included a book using ‘childish’ language and imagery to teach how to engage in anal sex, as well as graphically describing other sexual activities.
The Irish Women’s Lobby (IWL) tweeted a link to the website of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) where teachers were offered lists of resources for teaching school students both in primary and secondary school.
The women’s group noted that amongst the books recommended on the list was one it said that offered “detailed instructions for manually bringing men to sexual climax, anal sex and oral sex, with attendant childish cartoons.”
The book, entitled ‘This Book is Gay’ by Juno Dawson contains passages such as the following, the IWL noted: “Perhaps the most important skill you will master as a gay or bi man is the timeless classic – the hand job. The good news is that you can practice on yourself.”
The book also contains extensive instructions on “bummies” and “blowies”, with observers commenting that the mix of childish language and cartoons with graphic sexual instructions was jarring.
Here are screenshots of the actual book for those who do not want to scroll through the full book. #NCCAPorn #NCCAGrooming pic.twitter.com/akE0GlvyWk
— Irish Women's Lobby (@Irish_WL) November 28, 2022
The list was linked to by the NCCA, which is under the auspices of the Department of Education, under a section entitled ‘Self-identity and making decisions’.
While the book is tagged as being for the over-12 or ‘young adult’ category, it was noted that the ‘Rainbow Reads’ list, a project sponsored by An Post and Children’s Books Ireland, and linked by the NCCA, was actually included in all resource listings from Junior Infants onwards.
For 3rd and 4th class, for example, teachers are told that: “the resources presented in this section are suggested for teaching 3rd and 4th class pupils. These resources have been developed by state agencies or organisations with expertise in the area of SPHE/RSE. Each resource is also freely available to use in Irish primary school classrooms.”
“This resource recommends books that are suitable for children aged 0-18 years. Prior to considering a book for your class, please note the recommended age range and ensure it is suitable for the class level(s) you teach,” the NCCA tells teachers.
The IWL said that this was “not what most parents hope for when they send their children of any age to school.”
“This is not suitable school curriculum material at any age,” they wrote. “There is only one word to describe instructing children how to give orgasms & to “rub cocks”. That word is grooming.”
Parents tagged the Education Minister, Norma Foley, to express their concern with what was being recommended by the NCCA,
“As a DEEPLY concerned parent, I want to know exactly what the hell you think you are doing here?” wrote one mum. “Things have gone way too far off the rails,this is just disgusting to teach to children. They are grooming kids and it needs to stop,” said another.”
“This is a crime and totally against the childrens act of 2015 that was passed in a referendum. Parents need to stand up and if this gets into school we have a constitutional right to OPT OUT,” was yet another response.
“There needs to be serious repercussions for whomever sanctioned this,” said another.
Some responses asserted that while the book in question was included in a linked list for all classes in primary and secondary, it was labelled as being for young adults, generally understood as being for over-12s.
However, many parents agreed with journalist Eílis O’Hanlon who said:
“Those criticising anyone who raises concerns about the sexualisation of children, just because they get the odd factlet wrong, should also have a think about their priorities. It’s a minor error compared to the deliberate grooming being done to children by questionable people.”
“As we parse all this out; we have to decide – collaboratively as a society, what we deem ‘education’ as opposed to what crosses that line. That book – with its flippant, instructional approach to sex acts for over consent age only – crosses that line for me. Any many.,” wrote one woman.
“While the age bracket of 8/9 was incorrect.YA is aimed at 12-18,so still sexualization of children for most of those ages.The age of consent is 17,” another pointed out., while one Dad tweeted:
“People are pointing out that activists are successfully foisting this material onto supine administrators, who lack the bottle to stand up and question its suitability or factualness, for fear of being hounded by the woke mob .”