Announcer Yumi Stynes has revealed that her eight-year-old daughter “browsed” through her controversial children’s book Welcome to Sex and was not “exhausted” by the graphic content.
The book, written by Stynes in collaboration with Dr. Melissa Kang, advice columnist for teen magazines, includes descriptions and illustrations of masturbation, oral sex, “scissoring,” and other acts.
Stynes has previously said that Welcome to Sex was aimed at 10 to 15 year olds, but drew further backlash by suggesting that a “mature eight year old” could flip through the book.
In an interview published Sunday, the radio host said her eight-year-old daughter had been flipping through the pages of Welcome to Sex during a trip to the beach.
Announcer Yumi Stynes has revealed that her eight-year-old daughter has ‘browsed’ through her controversial Welcome to Sex children’s book and has not been ‘extrapolated’ by the graphic content
“This is something I was hesitant to mention,” she told commentator Peter FitzSimons in his Sun-Herald column Five minutes with Fitz.
‘I haven’t told anyone else because I don’t want to drag my own child into the bull***t of the stove.
“But I took the book to the beach, and my own eight-year-old flipped through it and I looked at her. She wasn’t grossed out, she wasn’t trying to decipher things that were well above her pay grade.
“She just flipped over it.”
Stynes said the storm over Welcome to Sex started “between the stoves on the net” and was then picked up by Ben Fordham on his 2GB radio show, “in which the outrage went mainstream.”
“I stand by what I said, which is, ‘It depends on where your kid is growing up,'” Stynes told FitzSimons. “About 10 to 15 years old, but I’d be happy with a mature and smart eight-year-old just browsing.”
The derogatory term “cooker” generally refers to a conspiracy theorist who shares far-right or unhinged views on social media and can also mean a simpleton.
Stynes has previously said that Welcome to Sex was aimed at 10 to 15 year olds, but sparked a backlash after suggesting that a “mature eight year old” could flip through the book
Welcome to Sex was removed from the bookshelves of Big W and Dymocks, but has become a bestseller on the Amazon website.
When the fury over the explicit content first erupted in July, Stynes said, “I’m really proud of Welcome to Sex,” noting that no one was forced to read it.
“If you don’t want your kids to read it, you REALLY don’t need to buy it for them,” the ABC host posted on Instagram.
Stynes also posted multiple screenshots to Instagram of rape and death threats she’d received since the release of “Welcome to Sex: Your no-silly-questions guide to sexuality, pleasure and thinking it all out.”
A 23-year-old eshay rapper who sent Stynes gruesome messages threatening assault has pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to threaten, harass or insult.
Eli Engwicht, who claimed he found the book offensive, told Stynes in one post: “I want you to be torn limb by limb and tortured for hours.”
Stynes also received messages of support from defenders after she posted a video of a bookstore stocking Welcome to Sex.
“People are mad because you’re ruining their ability to prey on kids,” @oneangrymotherfrocker posted alongside the bookstore video.
Another woman posted: “These are the people who will deny that child sexual abuse has taken place in their family. Or look the other way.’
Welcome to Sex was available in children’s sections or on the bottom shelves of major stores, and featured descriptions of men as “penis owners” and women as “vagina owners.”
The book was first launched by Stynes in May, but then conservative podcaster Chris ‘Primod’ Issa sparked outrage by uploading an Instagram video that went viral.
“How can anyone think they’re not after the kids after seeing these kinds of books openly for sale in Big W,” he said.
Social media users expressed their anger, one wrote ‘Really? Should We Teach 11-Year-Olds Different Sex Positions? This book is a big no from me.’
But others jumped at the authors’ defense, calling the response a “moral panic.”
One parent said, “I can’t wait to buy this. Your period book took away the anxiety for my 10 year old daughter (and me!) so much. Forever grateful.’
The book, written by Stynes in collaboration with Dr. Melissa Kang, advice columnist for teen magazines, includes descriptions and illustrations of masturbation, oral sex, “scissoring,” and other acts.
Before the book came out in May, Stynes told website Mamamia that she hoped the work would help parents talk openly about sex with their children.
“I think a lot of parents have inherited shame from their own parents and from our culture and society as a whole,” she said.
“I think it’s partly a shame about smelly bodily fluids, but parents are also worried about saying the wrong thing.
“Worry about planting an idea in their head that wasn’t there before and then just making it worse!”
Stynes added, “A lot of the problems parents have with this kind of chat is just not knowing what to say and how to say it.”
“It’s a very rigid muscle that most of us have,” she said.
She hoped the book would be a “trusted resource” that would prevent parents from tripping over saying the “wrong thing or saying something based on sexism or bad science.”
Yumi Stynes defended her controversial children’s book Welcome to Sex (left) after it was pulled from shelves at Big W, saying ‘If you don’t want your kids to read it, don’t buy it’