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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has admitted that some of the sex education books leading to controversy in recent months are not “age appropriate.”
Speaking to the Journal.ie in New York on Tuesday during the UN SDG Summit, Varadkar was asked about the recent controversy surrounding certain contentious recommended sex education books, which many have argued are inappropriate. He replied that such books which are recommended for children and teens do have to be “age appropriate.”
“I think there have been one or two examples where they weren’t, quite frankly,” he said.
“And I definitely think that sex education has to be age appropriate.
“But I do think it’s really important that it happens. Because children will learn about these things anyway, either learn about them from the internet or in the schoolyard, or they learn about them from their parents and their teachers.
“And I would much prefer the parents and teachers, talk to kids about sex, relationships, all of those things, around the same time they’re starting to hear about them in the schoolyard or from the internet, and I’m not sure if that’s always the case. I think that’s important.”
Though the Taoiseach did not name any books specifically, much controversy has surrounded the book “This Book Is Gay” in particular, which was written by a transgender author named Juno Dawson.
As previously covered by Gript, this book features graphic sex tutorials about bringing men to sexual climax, as well as detailed explanations of how to perform anal and oral sex. These descriptions are featured alongside cartoon illustrations.
“Perhaps the most important skill you will master as a gay or bi man is the timeless classic, the hand job,” the book reads.
“The good news is, you can practise on yourself.”
It also claims that “porn is fine and fun” and that “the prostate gland (located just up your bum) feels amazing when massaged), adding: “Lots of men, gay or straight, like how this feels.”
The inclusion of the book in a recommended reading list put together by the Department of Education and the HSE for the SPHE Junior Cycle curriculum – typically 12-15 year olds – caused major backlash from parents, leading to the book to be removed from students’ sex education resources earlier this year.
‘Highly sexual’ book to be removed from students’ sex education resource https://t.co/4kfVpTKnRE
— The Irish Times (@IrishTimes) April 6, 2023
The book has also been included in libraries, such as in Cork Library, where it is displayed among children’s “A,B,C” picture books aimed at babies and toddlers.
Cork City Libraries has disabled comments on a post which features explicit anal sex material about next to colourful children’s “A,B,C” books aimed at 3-year-olds.#gript https://t.co/XLQeVvCznN
— gript (@griptmedia) February 6, 2023
Since the start of the year, multiple librarians around Ireland have spoken out against the book’s presence in the children’s section of libraries.
Another librarian has spoken out to say that sexually explicit books should not be included in the 12-17 year old section of the library saying the media has "lazily" branded parents who object as "far-right" while "ignoring the content of the books".https://t.co/bRMKSjqve9
— gript (@griptmedia) August 22, 2023
However, to date numerous Government Ministers have pushed back on protests against the book, with Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe last month saying that libraries are “the last place” people should protest.
“For me, libraries are cradles within which we grow understanding, we grow empathy, and we develop ourselves, both as individuals, families and communities,” he said.
“They are the last places in which protest should happen.”
WATCH: Minister Paschal Donohoe has condemned the recent series of protests at libraries against sexually-explicit books in sections for under-18s, such as the controversial book “This Book Is Gay” by Juno Dawson.#gripthttps://t.co/N48RJpxM1M
— gript (@griptmedia) August 15, 2023
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