This week, the sex education and consent book, Welcome to Sex, was pulled off Big W shelves to protect its employees.
The decision came after critics of the book abused Big W employees for its contents. The book is aimed at 12-to-15-year children, described as a “no-silly-questions guide to sexuality, pleasure and figuring it out”.
Big W will however continue to sell the book online.
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On today’s episode of The Briefing, we’re joined by co-author Yumi Stynes who explains why she wrote the book and what she hoped it would achieve.
Yumi wasn’t expecting controversy from the book which is the fourth instalment of the Welcome to series, but campaigners are arguing its ideological and inappropriate and kids shouldn’t be taught things like anal, penis size and scissoring.
So, who are these critics and what does Yumi have to say in response?
“Leading these kinds of charges are cookers. They’re people who are anti-LGBTQI and they’re anti-trans activists.
“Anything that kind of speaks truth to those people is a threat, and so they’re trying to tear it down.
“The sooner we educate our children, the more protected they’ll be and this has been backed by a lot of research.
“The earlier they get sex education, the later they’ll have sex. And the more likely they are to have happy, fulfilling and consensual sex lives in the future.”
You can hear everything Yumi has to say about the books and the importance of educating children about sex, as well as her thoughts on Big W’s response in today’s episode of The Briefing.
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