Backlash to an explicit book written for children was so intense that a chain of stores in Australia had to remove it from its shelves, news.com.au reported Tuesday.
“Welcome To Sex: Your No-Silly-Questions Guide To Sexuality, Pleasure And Figuring It Out” explains oral sex and includes pictures of someone getting a “hand job.” The book also has a chapter discussing “sexual and gender identities” and another chapter answering the question, “What’s actually going on when you have an orgasm?” Amazon sets the reading age for the book as 14 and up.
A spokesperson for Big W, a chain of discount stores in Australia, told the outlet they had to pull the book from their stores’ shelves and make it exclusively available online. (RELATED: Drag Star Developed ‘Black Welts’ On Genitals Through ‘Tucking’ Recommended To Kids)
“BIG W will continue to sell the parenting book, ‘Welcome to Sex’ as part of our Parenting range,” the spokesperson said. “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 be available to customers online only from later today,” the spokesperson added.
Good news! Big W have announced they will be removing all physical copies of the book “Welcome to sex” from stores.
But I am appalled to hear that workers at Big W stores across the country are being abused.
While I certainly understand the disgust and anger some people are…— Primod (@chrisprimod) July 18, 2023
Some critics called for boycotts of the chain after podcaster Chris Primod posted an Instagram video flipping through the book’s pages and showing several graphic photos depicting various sex acts.
One of the book’s authors, Yumi Stynes, addressed the backlash she believed the book would face in an Instagram post two weeks before its release.
“YES, it’s frank, and YES, it talks about stuff that parents might find embarrassing,” Stynes said. “Research shows that kids don’t necessarily want to talk about sex with their parents.”
“And before you ask ‘what age, exactly?’ It depends where your kid is at in maturity. Roughly 10-15 years old but I’d be happy with a mature and smart 8-yo having a flick through,” she added.
