♡»» Should There be LGBTQ+ Content in Childrens' Books? What About Religious Content?

[Sai :), Assistant Moderator]

so scenes where the characters are obviously having sex shouldn't be allowed, but if it isn't prevalent or descriptive in the least, then it should be available to like high school. like the fault in our stars has a sex scene, but there's absolutely zero description at all. if you've read the book you'll get what im talking about. so if it's like that, then i don't have much problem opening it up to older kids.

If it's like kissing stuff, then I think middle school is ok. As long as the kissing doesn't get too graphic, like full-on making out to the point where you might as well be having sex, it's fine for middle schoolers to read. honestly though, I wouldn't give elementary school any of this stuff.

lmao why does this look like some teacher's grading rubric

[Ella✨(booktrovert)]

Sai :) wrote: "so scenes where the characters are obviously having sex shouldn't be allowed, but if it isn't prevalent or descriptive in the least, then it should be available to like high school. like the fault ..."

yeah. ALSO I FINISHED THE FAULT IN OUR STARS IT WAS SO GOOOOOOOOD

[Ella✨(booktrovert)]

oop I'm off topic again...

[butterfly is back (barely, mostly on insta)]

Lol i had full on smut in my hs library 😂😂

[Sai :), Assistant Moderator]

Ella✨(booktrovert) wrote: "Sai :) wrote: "so scenes where the characters are obviously having sex shouldn't be allowed, but if it isn't prevalent or descriptive in the least, then it should be available to like high school. ..."

I KNOW RIGHTTTTT 😍😍

[Dead $mile ⚠︎︎♡Freaky Girl♡⚠︎︎ [Nimona]]

We don't have a super weird messed up skool (like wut is kinda goin' on here) but the school's books include MANY SEX STUFF
Example from a book meh friend showed me and only that scene (WARNING: EXPLICIT) "She was so h0rny to try out that c-m that she got" (or something like that BUT I REMEMBER THOSE WORDS)
Also, it was a guy talking soooo yeah, but still T^T

[Dead $mile ⚠︎︎♡Freaky Girl♡⚠︎︎ [Nimona]]

I'm fine with CERTAIN explicit stuff (and I admit it) but AT A MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARY WHERE 6TH GRADERS CAN ALSO READ IT?!?!?! NOOOOOOO!!!! So yeahhh, I'm TrAumATIzeDDdddD lol

[butterfly is back (barely, mostly on insta)]

Most of my explicit content reading WAS in 6th grade 😂😂

[Dead $mile ⚠︎︎♡Freaky Girl♡⚠︎︎ [Nimona]]

MidnightButterfly wrote: "Most of my explicit content reading WAS in 6th grade 😂😂"

I think I first read an EXPLICIT thing in 4th grade (it wasn't super explicit but still lol)
Ehh, I didn't mean that 6th shouldn't and "can't" read stuff like that although I would warn them ofc

[butterfly is back (barely, mostly on insta)]

Yeah, no it isnt good. It was restricted in my school library but i had permission to read older for my grade

[Dead $mile ⚠︎︎♡Freaky Girl♡⚠︎︎ [Nimona]]

MidnightButterfly wrote: "Yeah, no it isnt good. It was restricted in my school library but i had permission to read older for my grade"

OOooppp......After me taking the monthly or so online reading test, I learned that I can read at "College Reading Level" which is pretty gud but I've heard of things in books and read things I prolly' shouldn't have T^T lol but it's fun to read SOME spicy sometimes XDD

[Dead $mile ⚠︎︎♡Freaky Girl♡⚠︎︎ [Nimona]]

MidnightButterfly wrote: "Yeah, no it isnt good. It was restricted in my school library but i had permission to read older for my grade"

No it isn't that gud and it's certainly not educational to readers if the book mentions sex and moaning and shit like that :/

[Austin (Weird)]

Sai :) wrote: "so scenes where the characters are obviously having sex shouldn't be allowed, but if it isn't prevalent or descriptive in the least, then it should be available to like high school. like the fault ..."

^^^^

[l i z [save the sharks‼️]]

Ella✨(booktrovert) wrote: "oop I'm off topic again..."

ahhahhha this is literally me lol

[Pierce Samuel ✞︎ (My Girlfriend's Ver.)]

Personally, my MS had a parent signature required if you wanted to check out any book above a PG rating I'm pretty sure (Like anything above middle grade basically)

I can't speak for highschool and if mine does it (Our library is in the middle of being rebuilt, I haven't been able to go pick out a book yet <\33), but I'd expect the same things.

[jenoodle✮⋆˙]

I think it would be nice if they let the parents know on the back the content of the book! That way if the parent doesn’t want the kid to be reading something that has LGBTQ in it then they can simply put the book back on the shelf, and not make a big deal about it. Everyone has their preferences and some people follow religions that don’t allow that so if they don’t want to read it or have their kids read it that can be okay

[gia]

i think it all depends on what the parent/guardian decides to expose their children to x

[˚₊‧⁀➷Chadlotte˚₊‧⁀➷ BANANA LECLERC]

Back in this topic be cause i forgot what i said before,
As long as there's no like sex scenes in the book or anything relating to that, i dont see why not

[butterfly is back (barely, mostly on insta)]

First I was introduced to "snogging" was Harry Potter at 7 lol
Like, idk. I feel like sexual or even kissing should be for middle grade books

[Sai :), Assistant Moderator]

yeah i agree, lmao i made a whole rubric earlier but i think you should be in middle school before there's anything sexual at all in your books.

and lmao this is kinda random but your pfp is awesomeee

[butterfly is back (barely, mostly on insta)]

THANK YOU

[butterfly is back (barely, mostly on insta)]

LMAOOOOO

Lol, i guess, i mean i saw in peppa pig they had like a 2 second shot with 2 mums in frame

[Sai :), Assistant Moderator]

they did? well honestly even if they did i couldn't remember it's been a while since i watched peppa pig lmao

[butterfly is back (barely, mostly on insta)]

In the newer episods lol

[l i z [save the sharks‼️]]

ray ੈ✩‧₊˚ (semi-hiatus till summer) wrote: "that’s why I put “age-appropriate” in bold because last time I was in a debate like this someone accused me of promoting “gay porn in children’s books” 💀
no like I’m advocating for “heather had two mommies” over here not gay men raw-dogging in a pre-k book 😭 jesus mary and joseph ya’ll who do you think I am 😭"


THIS

[Pierce Samuel ✞︎ (My Girlfriend's Ver.)]

Like I read a picture book called "A boy named Penelope", and it is just like what it sounds like. It was a wholesome, easy to comprehend story about a trans boy

It didn't cover things like:

HRT, Surgeries, Grooming, Genitalia, or anything like that.

All that was covered was this little boy changing his hair and clothes, and his family being supportive of that fact. If you don't want your child to read that, fine. NO ONE is forcing you to, but as a kid, if I read that, it would've been so much easier to express how I felt, instead of just being labeled as a "tom-boy"

[ash ³³ ᵈᵘ ᵈᵘ ᵈᵘ]

lol i remember being a kid, and me and my dad were home alone so we decided to put on a movie, and we chose this one kids movie and had no idea what it was about and it was only like halfway throught my dad was like hey thats jesus and i was like 7, hindu, had no clue about the story of jesus and i was like father what that's clearly a poor person

[butterfly is back (barely, mostly on insta)]

Lol what 😂😭 thats kijda insane lmao didnt you learn of jesus in school by that age?

[Pierce Samuel ✞︎ (My Girlfriend's Ver.)]

ashes and diamonds wrote: "lol i remember being a kid, and me and my dad were home alone so we decided to put on a movie, and we chose this one kids movie and had no idea what it was about and it was only like halfway throug..."

LOLL HELP??? That is actually so funny lol

[Becccccakk ~you love me~]

I personally believe that children should not learn about lgbtq+ until later in their life. They should not be focusing on changing their gender and dating the same gender as theirselves. When I was a kid, I was still wondering why the moon was following me while I was in a car. Now kids are wondering when is the nearest time to change their gender, or when they will ask out the same gendered person. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with lgbtq+ people, I just do not believe that kind of content should be exposed with children at such a young age. I believe that if you feel like you are not being appreciated enough as the gender you are, or how you feel, you can talk to people around you. All schools have counselors, if you want to express your feelings differently, do it later in life, not when you still have a lot to learn about the world.

~Again, I have no hate for lgbtq+ people, I have friends that are trans, gay, lesbian, etc.. ~

[✦Artemis✦]

(I didnt back read Y^Y)

i think lgbtq+ stuff and religious stuff in children's books. i think they should be introduced to lgbtq stuff at a erarly age to know its ok and also be introduced to religious stuff so they can have open minds about the world. i don't think you should push a religion on any child even if your religious but open them to religious stuff at a early age so they can decide for themselves what they want to believe in/not believe in.

[Pierce Samuel ✞︎ (My Girlfriend's Ver.)]

Becccccakk ~you love me~ wrote: "I personally believe that children should not learn about lgbtq+ until later in their life. They should not be focusing on changing their gender and dating the same gender as theirselves. When I wa..."

Mate, saying "I have gay friends!!!" doesn't make you less homophobic? I'm not saying you ARE homophobic at all, but saying "I have gay friends" doesn't excuse what you say.

I honestly think if someone thinks that a child having a crush on a different gender is normal, but the same gender is not, then they're homophobic. Like. I have crushes as a kid? On girls and guys. It wasn't weird for me though, and I wasn't even introduced to the concept of being gay. I just knew I like the girl on my softball team, or the guy who sat Infront of me in class. At most I was like "Omg I want to hold their hand!!"

Like be so fr. AND, I was also wondering stuff like:

- Why is the moon out in the morning?
- Why does my little brother next shut up?
- And other things that little kids wonder.

I wasn't even wondering if I liked the same gender, I just knew two things:

- I wanted to wear the same clothes as my brothers
- I had crushes on two genders, and that wasn't weird to me.

[butterfly is back (barely, mostly on insta)]

I didnt even know what a crush was until middle school lmao and thst was when j learnt of gay crushes and opposite sex crushes 😂😂 so no, kids shouldnt be having crushes but ive heard some odd stories of kindergarden experiences :/

[Pierce Samuel ✞︎ (My Girlfriend's Ver.)]

I think that religious stuff and queer stuff should be in childrens books if the author chooses, but to a moderated amount:

- Wanna feature a character with a hijab in your childrens book? Go ahead, no one is stopping you, love the representation!
- A character has a cross around his neck? Good for him!
- The mention of character's bar/bat mitzvah? Awesome!!
- A character has two dads? A little kid reading that might also have two dads.
- A boy character has his nails painted? No harm in that!!

Like genuinely representation like that, when it's done right, isn't hurting anyone!!

[butterfly is back (barely, mostly on insta)]

When the book has no plot and is solely about rep and the characters only personality is their ethnicity/sexuality/religion etc that becomes an issue

[Barnette ⋆˙⟡ , Creator, Head Moderator]

MidnightButterfly wrote: "I didnt even know what a crush was until middle school lmao and thst was when j learnt of gay crushes and opposite sex crushes 😂😂 so no, kids shouldnt be having crushes but ive heard some odd stori..."

Wait why shouldn't kids have crushes? It's an entirely natural thing, I had plenty when I was in kindergarten+

[butterfly is back (barely, mostly on insta)]

No like if it happens fine as in you shoukdnt be like exposed to oh this is how you love someone i didnt even know what boyfriend or girlfriend meant lmao

[gia]

I think yes if its subtle. but if its too forced onto the kid no lol

[Pierce Samuel ✞︎ (My Girlfriend's Ver.)]

MidnightButterfly wrote: "No like if it happens fine as in you shoukdnt be like exposed to oh this is how you love someone i didnt even know what boyfriend or girlfriend meant lmao"

That's lowk you.. I had 4 older siblings, my sister was dating when I was learning my ABCs 🤷

[Pierce Samuel ✞︎ (My Girlfriend's Ver.)]

MidnightButterfly wrote: "When the book has no plot and is solely about rep and the characters only personality is their ethnicity/sexuality/religion etc that becomes an issue"

I kinda disagree. Like, there are books to educate folks about certain things like that!! So they don't feel othered. Like, I heard of this one about teaching kids that kids with disabilities shouldn't be othered. This is extremely important for kids with disabilities to learn that they shouldn't hate themselves for that, and so that other kids don't bully them for being different.

But again, a parent can choose to let their kid read that or not, but you shouldn't restrict books like that just because you believe that kids aren't emotionally mature enough to understand that being different is something that happens and is okay (As long as it is taught in a age-appropriate level)

[Sai :), Assistant Moderator]

MidnightButterfly wrote: "I didnt even know what a crush was until middle school lmao and thst was when j learnt of gay crushes and opposite sex crushes 😂😂 so no, kids shouldnt be having crushes but ive heard some odd stori..."

lmao i doubt those were actual crushes. when i was in elementary school a crush was simply the only sane person in your class full of idiots

[Sai :), Assistant Moderator]

lizzie ౨ৎ wrote: "I think yes if its subtle. but if its too forced onto the kid no lol"

yeah, like just simple representation. people often don't realize how far representation goes. when i was in elementary school, i really wanted to be a teacher, but since all of the teachers in my school were white (and mostly still are, even though my city is mostly non-white), i thought that it would be weird to have an indian teacher and isolated myself from my dream. i can easily imagine another kid going through the same experience. representation makes you feel less alone, acknowledging your existence, however simply it is done.

[Emma Klingler]

Sai :) wrote: "MidnightButterfly wrote: "I didnt even know what a crush was until middle school lmao and thst was when j learnt of gay crushes and opposite sex crushes 😂😂 so no, kids shouldnt be having crushes bu..."

@Sai why is that facts? lolll

[quynh~vi! ᯓ★ (s.ia)]

there’s so many kids out there that feel weird or wrong for feeling attraction to people of the same sex or people that aren’t the typical ‘straight attraction.’ it would’ve taken me so much less time to do go fire myself out if i knew that was something that existed. there’s lgbtq kids, so why can’t there be lgbtq kids in books? besides, lgbtq relationships are extremely easy for kids to understand. it’s not rocket science, it’s just love.

[Sai :), Assistant Moderator]

sieraqvt🇻🇳 semi-ia (school) wrote: "there’s so many kids out there that feel weird or wrong for feeling attraction to people of the same sex or people that aren’t the typical ‘straight attraction.’ it would’ve taken me so much less t..."

so well said!!!

[sophia_thesecond (jacks ver.)]

ok so I kind of have a mixed opinion on this. as a Christian I don't support lgbtq or believe it's right, but obviously I'll be respectful, but anyway because I have that belief I don't think they should be in books.

but if I'm putting my beliefs aside, then I don't think it really matters because not everyone has to get a children's book with that in it. same goes for religious books. there's children's books that are made for Christian families and children the same way that there are those for lgbtq families.

I do think that maybe it could be marketed that it has that kind of content in it so if someone doesn't want that they'll know

[Potato]

sieraqvt🇻🇳 semi-ia (school) wrote: "there’s so many kids out there that feel weird or wrong for feeling attraction to people of the same sex or people that aren’t the typical ‘straight attraction.’ it would’ve taken me so much less t..."

Seriously, when I was little I saw a gay couple on TV and I asked my mom about it. She asked me why I thought it was weird, because if a woman and a man could love each other, why can't two men or two women love each other? It didn't rock my world or make me lesbian, it just made sense.

[Potato]

sophia_thesecond (percy jackson ver.) wrote: "ok so I kind of have a mixed opinion on this. as a Christian I don't support lgbtq or believe it's right, but obviously I'll be respectful, but anyway because I have that belief I don't think they ..."

That's an awesome way to look at it. I support lgbtq but I have a lot of friends who don't really and that's okay. It's very much an "agree to dissagree" situation, and everyone is just chil lol.

[Barnette ⋆˙⟡ , Creator, Head Moderator]

Potato (I'm backkkkkk) wrote: "sieraqvt🇻🇳 semi-ia (school) wrote: "there’s so many kids out there that feel weird or wrong for feeling attraction to people of the same sex or people that aren’t the typical ‘straight attraction.’..."

I love your mom for that 😭

[Sai :), Assistant Moderator]

sophia_thesecond (percy jackson ver.) wrote: "ok so I kind of have a mixed opinion on this. as a Christian I don't support lgbtq or believe it's right, but obviously I'll be respectful, but anyway because I have that belief I don't think they ..."

honestly yes, i like the marketing idea too