Nursery withdraws book Gay Pride book after gay activists complain

Now gay rights campaigners complain about controversial book Grandad’s Pride that upset four-year-old girl’s parents – as nursery agrees to withdraw it from lessons

• The nursery’s chair of trustees has apologised to the parents for distress caused 
• One image shows a man wearing a leather cod-piece, dog collar and garters

A nursery has withdrawn a Gay Pride book which led a couple to withdraw their daughter from nursery – after receiving complaints from homosexual campaigners too.

Will and Maria Taylor, of Hull, East Yorkshire, pulled their four-year-old daughter from a pre-school nursery after they claim they were branded bigots for objecting to ‘two images of men in leather bondage gear’ in the pages of Grandad’s Pride.

One image shows the illustration of a partially nude man wearing a ‘studded dog collar around his neck and knee-high boots’, with a ‘leather cod-piece moulded tightly around his crotch along with garters running down his thighs’. 

Andy Train, chair of Hull’s LGBT+ Forum, slammed the depiction of the gay man ‘stereotypical’.

He said: ‘I was surprised to see this illustration. I think the illustrator of the book was given carte blanche. It’s a bit stereotypical.

Will and Maria Taylor were horrified when they spotted the illustration of a man wearing a ‘leather cod-piece moulded tightly around his crotch along with garters

Will and Maria Taylor, of Hull, East Yorkshire, were horrified when the spotted ‘two images of men who are partially naked in leather bondage gear’ in the pages of Grandad’s Pride

‘An illustration showing a family waving a trans flag, for example, may have been a better choice.

‘People are free, within the realms of the law, to dress how they want at Pride event.

‘Some people do attend Pride events wearing that kind of clothing but that tends to be abroad. The weather here rarely lends itself to dressing in a revealing way.’

Another illustration featured a trans man with ‘top surgery’ scars, sparking a furious reaction from parents who claim that it encourages body modifications too early. 

‘Top-surgery’ involves either the removal or augmentation of the breasts, which if undergone by a trans man means breast tissue is taken out and the chest is contoured to emphasise the pectoral muscles. 

When another parent alerted them the couple complained to the nursery, expecting an apology, they claim staff defended the images.

Now, the nursery’s chairwoman of trustees has apologised to the Taylor family for the distress caused. 

She added a thorough investigation had taken place; leading to the decision to withdraw the book. A ‘comprehensive audit of all other books’ was also underway. 

A picture of a trans man with ‘top-surgery’ scars is depicted in the controversial book 

The author and illustrator of the book Harry Woodgate uses they/them pronouns 

‘Grandad’s Pride’ is the creation of Waterstones children’s book winning author and illustrator Harry Woodgate – who uses they/them pronouns. 

The book, which has a 4+ reading aged, tells the story of Milly spending the summer in Grandad’s cottage by the sea.

When Milly is playing in the attic one day, she unearths Grandad and Gramps’ old Pride flag. When Grandad explains to Milly what Pride is, he and Milly plan a Pride march in the village.

A slew of parents have taken to social media to complain about the book’s subliminal messaging claiming it is recommending sexual fetishes and body modifications too early.

It comes amid growing concern over the sexualisation of children, with parents protesting outside Drag Queen shows for youngsters, demanding access to lesson plans on gender being taught in the classrooms, and a theatre show that normalised sex to children as young as five.

When the couple approached Genesis Pre School in Hull with their concerns over the overtly sexualised images and claim staff refused to apologise for stocking the book

This week, the couple criticised Genesis Pre-School for refusing to issue the expected aplogy for exposing their daughter to the images.

Mr Taylor said: ‘They called me offensive for even raising the issue. I was having none of that because there’s nothing offensive about raising a safeguarding concern.

READ MORE: Parents remove their four-year-old daughter from pre-school after she was shown ‘Grandad’s Pride’ book featuring men in bondage gear and trans ‘top surgery’ that was written by winner of Waterstones Children’s Book Prize

‘We have got two images in this book which are erotic and sexual in nature. I don’t know what planet they’re on but you do not show four-year-old children pictures of men in leather fetish gear.’

‘They did not use the word ‘bigot’. But from their use of the word ‘offensive’ and their constant focus on the rest of the book, which was about celebration of Pride, they seemed to be heavily implying I was some kind of transphobe or homophobe.

‘Genesis Pre-School said, ‘You know it’s erotic, we know it’s erotic. But that’s just our opinion because we’re grown-ups. A child would not understand it to be erotic’.

‘Just because a child does not understand what is going on or what it means doesn’t mean it’s appropriate.’

He maintained he had ‘a long, positive history’ with the LGBT movement and had volunteered at local Pride events, adding: ‘I’ve been to gay bars and clubs more times than I can count.’

Andersen Press, which publishes Grandad’s Pride, said it stood by its author and illustrator Harry Woodgate, adding the illustrations were ‘a faithful representation of Pride celebrations’.

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