The publisher of a sex education and consent book aimed at adolescents has defended the title after it was taken off the shelves of Big W stores amid backlash from conservative campaigners.
Welcome to Sex, co-authored by the former Dolly Doctor and adolescent health expert Dr Melissa Kang and feminist writer Yumi Stynes, is the fourth book in a series on topics such as consent and menstruation.
Big W has announced it has stripped Welcome to Sex from shelves in its retail outlets and moved sales to online only, after staff members were abused.
“BIG W will continue to sell the parenting book ‘Welcome to Sex’ as part of our parenting range,” a spokesperson said on Wednesday.
“We know there has been a wide range of views about the book, however, it’s disappointing that there have been multiple incidents of abuse directed at our store team members in the past 24 hours.
“To keep our team and customers safe, the book will now only be available online.”
Women’s Forum Australia, a self-described thinktank that focuses on anti-trans campaigning, has led the push to have the book banned from stores and libraries.
Rachael Wong, the thinktank’s chief executive, told 2GB radio on Tuesday that “the problem with the book” was that it was teaching sex to children.
On Wednesday campaigners celebrated the removal of the book from Big W shelves and have started targeting Target and Dymocks.
Women’s Forum Australia joined the campaign against the book after a conservative podcaster posted a video of it to his social media profile.
“Big W continue to stock books that are grooming our children, exposing them to sexually explicit and highly inappropriate material,” the caption of the video read.
Women’s Forum Australia was contacted for comment.
Hardie Grant, the publisher of the book, said the content comes from 20 years of “genuine questions” that adolescents had written into Dolly Doctor, where they could ask questions about sex education.
“As well as comprehensive interviews with young people and adolescent experts about issues they are facing, particularly in an online world,” Kate Brown, managing director of Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing, said.
“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.”
The Welcome To series has sold successfully worldwide and is designed to support parents as they navigate these conversations, as well as being a resource for young people who will otherwise search the internet for answers, Brown said.
“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.”
When the book was released in May, Stynes said it was a resource for adolescents and parents who were curious about sex.
“Many of the discussions around consent, the putrid effects of porn on real-world sex, and keeping us all safe in moments of intimacy come back to teaching about sex and consent and starting that teaching young,” she said.
In a statement the Australian Classification Board said it has not received an application from the publisher or distributors to classify Welcome to Sex.
“Under the National Classification Scheme, only a ‘submittable publication’ is required to be classified. This applied to publications which are likely to be classified RC (Refused Classification) or are likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult to the extent that they should not be sold as unrestricted publications, or are unsuitable for a minor to see or read,” the spokesperson said.
The backlash follows a push by conservative campaigners in the US to ban children’s books aimed at educating kids about sex and consent.
The same tactics have been used in Australia by conservatives who campaigned the Australian Classification Board earlier this year to review the classification of the US cartoonist Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer, a graphic novel and memoir about gender identity. The board is reviewing the classification of the title.
