Hey, School Board, Leave Our Kids Alone!

School boards across America continue to make national news for all the wrong reasons. Now, the Hudson School Board in Hudson, Ohio is getting its 15 minutes of fame after one concerned dad dared to challenge members on explicit content contained in the book “Gender Queer.”

The dad read portions of the graphic novel titled “Gender Queer” that his two teenage boys found in the High School library at the board meeting. The dad prefaced his comments by making it clear he was NOT there to discuss sexuality. He is simply a caring father that wants to talk about the content his sons are being exposed to at school. 

“I’m going to read you a little bit of what is accessible to my boys.”

“I got a new strap- on harness today.”

“I can’t wait to have your c**k in my mouth.”

You can watch this brave dad dare to challenge the Hudson School Board on Facebook HERE or in the tweet below. Warning: the video contains graphic language (which only serves to underscore his point).

Of course, if social media chooses to censor the school board video (or my story) on the basis of this language – what does that say about the content being made available to our kids?

Award Winner?

“Gender Queer” is written by Maia Kobabe, who uses the binary pronouns e/em/eir.

Common Sense Media rates the book 16+ and gives “Gender Queer” its strongest rating for sex-related content. The parent guide notes there is “lots of frank talk about and pictures of sexual activity” and that the book’s “pictures clearly show what’s happening but aren’t meant to arouse.”

The novel includes an illustration depicting Kobabe at 14 years old fantasizing about an older man touching the penis of what appears to be a young man or boy. The image is specifically called out by Common Sense Media though made less scandalous – a “fantasy image.”

Explicit but not erotic illustrations of sexual activity include masturbation, oral sex, sex toys, kissing in an implied sex position, erections, and a fantasy image of a man holding another’s penis.

It’s argued that the drawing is based on an Ancient Greek pottery cup that contains erotic sketching on display in a museum in Oxford, England. Seemingly to try to argue that both depictions are of the same vein.

Like many parents across the country, the Hudson, Ohio, dad isn’t concerned about the sexual aspect of the writing. As he put it, 

“I don’t care if it was heterosexuals; it’s filth.”

“Filth is filth and you’ll never change my mind on that.”

Hudson School Board Battle Over Books

This isn’t the first time books have been brought up by a concerned parent at a Hudson School Board meeting.

Last year, parents and even the Mayor wanted this book, along with others, removed from the public school libraries.

The Mayor was so upset by what he had seen he argued that members of the school board belonged in jail for allowing such material to be accessible to teenagers. 

In response, the school board reviewed three books last year under scrutiny by parents. 

The first book was “A Girl on the Shore” by Inio Asano. The book discusses sexual exploration between two ninth-graders with explicit detail on oral sex and intercourse accompanied by manga-style drawings.

“A Girl on the Shore” is Japanese manga – basically a graphic novel – and was serialized by “Manga Erotics F” according to Wikipedia.

This ‘book’ was not put back in circulation because the school board found it to be,

“Pervasively vulgar and lacked educational suitability.”

Hudson School Board Reviews Book At Odds In Texas 

“Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison was allowed back in circulation because it was found to be “…well-written…” and illustrated what it’s like to be a poor gay Mexican. This book has undergone scrutiny in other states, notably by a Texas mother who read the novel at a school board meeting. 

“Not that it really matters, in fourth grade at a church youth group meeting out in the bushes, I touched Doug Goebbels’ d**k, and he touched mine. In fact, there was even mouths involved.”

Later in the book…

“What if I told you I touched another guy’s d**k? What if I told you I sucked it? I was ten years old, but it’s true. I put Doug Goebbels’ d**k in my mouth. I was in fourth grade, it was no big deal. He sucked mine too. And you know what, it wasn’t terrible.”

It is a big deal for anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, or ethnicity, to perform oral sex in the fourth grade with anyone, irrespective of their sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, race, or age, for that matter. Anyone who says otherwise can go ahead and maintain a 1,000-foot distance from my kids.

“Gender Queer” is still under review.

School Board Priorities

When asked if the graphic novel is too graphic, Kobabe insists it is “integral” to showing readers an experience growing up outside of cisgender and heterosexual norms. They add, “We need to reduce the shame” about sex among teenagers. 

Kobabe isn’t the only one that feels sex needs to be a normalized subject in schools. For example, the 2021 Fairfax County Youth Survey asked 12 year olds the following questions:

• How old were you when you had sexual intercourse for the first time?
• Have you ever had oral sex?
• The last time you had sexual intercourse, did you or your partner use a condom?

Without revealing too many personal details about myself, I can honestly say when I was 12, I was not participating in any of those activities.

However, if I had taken a survey like this, it surely would’ve been the talk of the school. All the students would’ve been comparing answers and bragging.

More than likely, exaggerating their responses leading to the inevitable pressure to make sure that your answers in the future match whatever the ‘cool crowd’s answers were.

How very Cruel Intentions of Fairfax County.

School Curriculum Being Sexualized

This goes further than just a survey. Curriculum has been built to discuss various sexual-based topics.

Two of my personal favorites are the very friendly-looking “Gender Unicorn“ and the cleverly named “Genderbread Man.”

The “Genderbread Man” is the brainchild of the Safe Zone Project group. While the website claims to provide a free curriculum meant for college and universities, there is mention that the curriculum can be tailored to any age group or demographic.

So anyone who thinks that the “Genderbread Man” is meant to appeal to college-age students over elementary and middle school students can buy a bridge that I have for a sale.

Data from the Curriculum Associates iReady platform found that students only learned 67% of what they should’ve learned in math for their given grade and 87% for reading. Essentially, students lost three months of mathematics and a month and a half of literacy.

Horace Mann Educators Corporation surveyed 941 educators. Of the educators, 57% reported their students are behind by more than three months in their social-emotional progress. Nearly a third of the educators expect their students will need to repeat a grade.

With so many struggling emotionally and academically from the poor decisions of lawmakers and administrators during COVID, we should focus more on math, reading, and essential social engagements and a little less on encouraging sexual comfort among teenagers. 

Mid-Term Consequences

“I feel your job as educators and administrators is to protect our children from pornography.”

This video comes on the heels of the launch of the Pink, Blue, and Purple elementary school curriculum in New Jersey. The curriculum teaches second-graders that they can be born with “what some call boy parts” and feel like a girl and vice versa. 

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy finally came out with a milquetoast response to the outrage over the new curriculum. He is willing to “entertain” the proposed gender identity lessons and that parents should have some say in the matter.

Governor Murphy missed my article on how unpopular gender ideology is in classrooms and media. 

Read more about that here: Why This House of Disney Fans Canceled Disney and Said Goodbye to Mickey

While historically, mid-term elections always spell losses for the dominant political party, this mid-term cycle shows signs of a Red Tsunami. New Jersey hasn’t learned from the Virginia elections last year. Jeff Roe, one of Governor Glenn Youngkin’s leading strategists, said during the campaign last year, 

“Voters will tolerate a certain level of woke bulls*** in their lives, but draw the line when it screws with their kids.” 

Education has predominantly been a Democratic Party issue and has recently become the star of the Republican Party. Suppose school boards and education special interest groups don’t get wise. In that case, parents will show up in droves to vote for Republicans. 

“Gender Queer” Is No “Great Expectations”

In high school, I had to read many books that I didn’t enjoy. I couldn’t care less about Pip and Estella in “Great Expectations.” I always felt “Hamlet” was a bit of a long-winded crybaby, although perhaps not as wordy as Polonius (you’re welcome, Shakespeare nerds).

And to this day, the very mention of reading the books or watching The Hobbit movies puts me into a deep slumber. However, these books discussed complex topics and expanded my mind and social IQ.

I loathe book burning and universal book banning; our public school libraries should be filled with age-appropriate books that expand young minds. I never did like Dickens, Hemingway, or Tolkein…but they weren’t filth.

“Gender Queer”…is filth. And you’ll never change my mind on that either.