A graphic book about sex advising young readers about looking up porn and sending naked selfies has sparked outrage in Australia.
The book “Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships and Being a Human” by American cartoonists and comics artists Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan says it is aimed at teens ages 14 to 17 or “whoever needs it regardless of your age. age’.
Although it contains a disclaimer, there are serious “serious legal consequences” associated with sharing nude photos of children under the age of 18. The book gives young readers further advice on how to take pictures.
“Before you send your naughty masterpieces around the world, take some time to familiarize yourself with photo editing software or apps,” the book says.
The book has sparked outrage in the US and several schools have already banned it, but it is currently available for loan from several libraries in Australia.
The graphic American sex manual “Lets Talk About It”, aimed at young teens, is available for free and can be viewed in public libraries and bookstores
The book also encourages its readers to experience pornography, calling it a “fun, sweet treat,” and also suggests experimenting with sex toys, including butt plugs.
“Just make sure any items you put there have flared bases; otherwise your hungry heinie may gobble it up and the only way to get it back out is a trip to the hospital,” say the authors.
The book features intercourse and genitals graphics, as well as chapters on masturbation and kinks.
While the book has largely remained under the radar in Australia, it has been banned by several American schools.
In Florida, the administration of Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, labeled the work “pornographic.”
Teacher and children’s author Amelia Donnelly argued that the American book, along with “Welcome to Sex,” threatens to “traumatize” children.
“There seems to be a group or trend around the sexualization of children at a younger age,” she said.
“If we expose our children and encourage children to engage in these explicit adult sexual practices, we are opening our children up to situations that will traumatize them.
“There’s a cartoon there where they actually talk about inserting objects into buttocks. For a practice like this to be promoted to teenagers is just totally inappropriate for development.”
When Angela Rojas, the mother of three, raised her objections to the book at a meeting of Playford Council in Adelaide’s northern suburbs in February, the footage had to be blurred for video streaming.
Mother of three Angela Rojas has called for the controversial book to be judged as not suitable for children
“This book should be in a restricted area and treated as a restricted adult publication,” Ms Rojas told Sky News.
“If it’s too sensitive for YouTube, too sensitive even to film and make the news, because I’m sure you have to censor this footage, why should it be unrestricted?”
Ms. Rojas first saw the book on display in a public library in the section for young readers.
On the advice of her council, she complained about this to the Public Libraries Association of South Australia.
The association’s president, Damian Garcia, responded in April that the agency does not have the authority to determine what items each public library wants to include in its collection.
Ms. Rojas also paid $790 to submit to the national rating scheme, which normally covers movies and video games rather than books, requesting that a book be given a limited rating.
The board made the decision on July 11, classifying the book as “unrestricted.”
The board noted that there had been no “notable Australian media coverage of the publication” and that complaints to the Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland or themselves were very “limited”.
“It is the opinion of the Board that this work has clear educational value and is unlikely to cause offense or harm to the person or class of persons for whom it is intended or likely to be published,” the report said.
The American book has been compared to the Australian work ‘Welcome to Sex!’ which has been removed from Big W bookshelves following a backlash from customers
Liberal National Senator Alex Antic has also called for more action by authorities.
“I don’t think a lot of people would be comfortable with this being available to minors,” he said.
The work is left to citizens and concerned parents and that doesn’t seem right.’
Sky News Australia found that the book is available in 36 public libraries across Australia, some of which hold multiple copies, and can be found at major booksellers such as Dymocks, Angus & Roberts and QBD Books.
A spokeswoman for MS Rowland said the Classification Society is ‘independent of the government and the minister cannot direct its decision-making processes’.
However, the spokesperson said updating publication guidelines would be considered part of the classification scheme reforms announced in March.
Welcome to Sex, by advice columnist Dr. Melissa Kang and ABC personality Yumi Stynes, was pulled from the Big W bookshelf in July, with the retailer claiming their staff had been threatened for displaying the book.
It remains for sale online for Big W, as well as other major retailers and booksellers.
Penguin, the Australian publisher of Let’s Talk About It, has been approached for comment.