What makes someone a boy and what makes someone a girl?
Westford Public Schools want eight-year-olds to know the answer to that question.
However, the answer they want children to know doesn’t concern genitalia and chromosomes.
The school district sends elementary school parents a list of student resources to supplement the district’s Human Growth and Development curriculum. The district says that it’s a list of books and web sites compiled to further educate children on the topic.
One of those books is Sex Is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings and YOU by Cory Silverberg, according to information obtained through a public records request by NewBostonPost.
The school district recommends the book to children ages 8 to 10.
The book teaches children that a person’s biological sex doesn’t necessarily match a person’s gender identity and that a person’s gender is not clear at birth. It also tells children that there are more than two genders.
The book shows children drawings of both male and female genitalia and clarifies afterward that not all men have the same genitalia and not all women have the same genitalia.
“Now that you know more about the middle parts, you might be curious about who has which part,” the book says. “After all, we keep these parts covered, so you can’t tell just by looking at a person. Most boys are born with a penis and scrotum, and most girls are born with a vulva, vagina, and clitoris. But having a penis isn’t what makes you a boy. Having a vulva isn’t what makes you a girl. The truth is much more interesting than that!”
The book explains to the children that they can change their gender identity.
“Maybe you’re called a boy but you know you’re a girl,” it says. “You know how girls are treated and what they do. That’s how you want to be treated and what you want to do. Maybe you’re called a girl but feel you’re a boy. You know how boys are treated and what they do. That’s how you want to be treated and what you want to do.”
In a letter that went out to the parents, the school district praised the book for offering a modern take on sex education, describing it this way:
A comic book for kids that includes children and families of all makeups, orientations, and gender identities. Sex Is a Funny Word is an essential resource about bodies, gender, and sexuality for children ages 8 to 10 as well as their parents and caregivers. Much more than the “facts of life” or “the birds and the bees,” Sex Is a Funny Word opens conversations between young people and their caregivers in a way that allows adults to convey their values and beliefs while providing information about boundaries, safety, and joy. The eagerly anticipated follow up to Lambda-nominated What Makes a Baby, from sex educator Cory Silverberg and artist Fiona Smyth, Sex Is a Funny Word reimagines “sex talk” for the twenty-first century.
Although the school district recommends the book to children ages 8 to 10, Massachusetts Family Institute communications director Mary Ellen Siegler told NewBostonPost that it’s not something children in that age range should be reading.
Here is what she said by email:
The book “Sex is a Funny Word” is a prime example of what’s called a “sex positive” approach to puberty and sex education. The term “sex positive” is a euphemism to describe the normalization and promotion of sexual pleasure for children. It is the underlying philosophy of comprehensive sexuality education or CSE for short. CSE curriculum and resources like this book are used in schools all over the Commonwealth. Parents are waking up to the danger of these types of so-called sex ed resources. They see how they influence their children toward early sexual debut and expose them to harmful ideas about gender identity. “Sex is a Funny Word” includes crass illustrations of nipples, anuses, erect penises, kids masturbating in the bathtub, and more. It also discusses feeling sexy and the enjoyment of being naked. Responsible adults intuitively understand that this kind of content is not age appropriate. It is grooming.
Westford Public Schools superintendent Christopher Chew could not be reached for comment on Wednesday this week.
New to NewBostonPost? Conservative media is hard to find in Massachusetts. But you’ve found it. Now dip your toe in the water for two bucks — $2 for two months. And join the real revolution.
