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Sofie Formica’s family-friendly freak show
This article is dedicated to 4BC’s Sofie Formica. She used these words on Monday to describe a planned gay pride march through a children’s park and wading pool in Wynnum this weekend:
A really family-friendly innocent pride walk
Bless Sofie.
She’s either blind. Or deluded. Or both.
Because I wouldn’t want to claim that Sofie has actually paid attention to what happens at pride marches and is just blatantly lying to the thousands of people who tune in to her radio show.
That’d be uncharitable when I do not know for sure or at all if she can actually see or think. There is literally no evidence for either.
Sofie’s on radio so I have no idea if her eyes are merely painted on and the noises that she makes do not give the slightest indication that she possesses intelligence at all.
Anyone with vision and a basic grasp of reality knows that there is no such thing as a really family-friendly innocent pride walk. There’s not even slightly family-friendly and marginally tainted pride walks.
There’s just disgusting and perverted pride walks.
That’s it. That’s all there is. They are the only kind of pride walks that exist.
Sure, some are worse than others but they all come from the same sloppy sewer.
Sofie made these statements while trying to cheer up Wynnum Fringe’s Tom Oliver. And he does need cheering up. Even I’m starting to feel for him a little.
His three week festival is now a disaster – even the dudes who dress as nuns and then strip off have injured themselves (what a real pity that is) – and it seems that all Tom Oliver’s got to show for it is an unwanted and unending relationship with a lunatic Green candidate.
Christ spoke about millstones around the neck for those who scandalise kids.
But I bet no one thought that would literally involve Tom Oliver having to put up with Bel Ellis for three excruciating weeks. She’s wrapped herself around his event and neck so tight that he probably wishes he could find the real thing.
At least it would probably be quicker and more enjoyable than watching Bel Ellis try and drum up interest in the Wynnum Fringe. As bad as Bel has been over the past week, this little effort is probably the greatest stinker of them all. Each time it’s played Tom loses customers because Bel couldn’t sell candy to a kid.
View this post on Instagram
When Tom does get the courage to tell Bel that it’s not a great idea to dox local families in the name of Wynnum Fringe’s Bay Pride gay march, he might also ask her to forego the advertising as well. It’s just not helpful.
But I digress.
Sofie was trying to cheer Tom up on Monday because he was dealing with ‘fake’ flyers that were distributed advertising his gay pride march.
The ‘fake flyers’ advertising the Wynnum Fringe gay pride march.
When I say fake, it seems that these flyers were not officially distributed by Wynnum Fringe. But the content of the flyers does not actually seem to be fake at.
The three drag queens in the middle of the flyer are the very drag queens Wynnum Fringe is using as the centrepiece of its advertising campaign for a ‘family-friendly’ gay pride march.
The flyers also contain all the details of the pride march including that organisers are encouraging children to attend, details of those who support the pride march such as the Bank of Queensland, Brisbane City Council, local Labor councillor, Sara Whitmee, and state Labor MP, Joan Pease, plus details of other things that happen at pride marches.
Such as an image of a man in a leather gimp costume and dog mask kneeling next to a child along with the caption ‘Pet the Animals’.
The flyer is actually kind of funny. Maybe even hilarious.
Especially when shocked woke radio hosts and television reporters from the ABC or Channel 10 get Tom to describe the fake flyer in all its painful, truthful glory.
Here, let me moan to you all about the fake flyer that sounds like it’s just an actual flyer for every gay pride parade in the entire universe.
So while the flyers may well be fake in the sense that they are not an official Wynnum Fringe announcement, they are probably the only gay pride flyers in the world that comply with the concept of truth in advertising.
Tom Oliver should embrace this rather than sooking. He had the opportunity to have the first pride march in history that truly embraced its shame.
But, alas, he didn’t. Rudely, he also refused to thank the charitable and humble soul who provided him with accurate and entirely free advertising in letter boxes all over Brisbane’s bayside. If it was me, I’d be demanding that I least get my name put up on the Wynnum Fringe sponsor board.
And then he went running off to Sofie and Channel 10 and the ABC where they all asked Tom with hushed tones to describe actual images of kids at gay pride events doing things that everyone is pretending will not happen at all in Wynnum this weekend.
The audience to all of these interviews simply rolled its eyes and yawned. No one but the presenters is being fooled here.
So, for the benefit of Sofie Formica, here are some images of really family-friendly and innocent pride walks here in Brisbane. This year.
I could have gone digging up dirt from Sydney’s Mardi Gras or Melbourne or Los Angeles or New York over many years. Yes, that stuff is disgusting. But I don’t have to.
We have our own home grown and local vomit-inducing muck here. All of these images are from daytime Brisbane Pride while it was ‘family friendly’ and ‘age appropriate’. And they are just a few weeks old.
These are the people who are being encouraged into Wynnum this weekend. I’m willing to bet most people in the area would describe it as a freak show.
Sofie, only weirdos think this stuff is family-friendly or innocent. Normal people don’t want this crap anywhere near their children…
Wynnum Fringe: tension certain, violence possible after Pride sponsor & Green candidate unleashes mob intimidation campaign
Unfortunately, there will be high tension in Wynnum in Brisbane’s bayside this Sunday and it may spiral into violence.
The local Greens candidate, Bel Ellis, has doxxed a large Catholic family, put photos of their house online and urged a gay mob to show up at their front door at 11 am on Sunday.
Why? Because Ellis is incensed that this family has dared to oppose the Wynnum Fringe/Bay Pride gay march through a local children’s park and wading pool which will kick off an hour later.
Given this is the type of behaviour that has occurred at other ‘family friendly’ and ‘age inclusive’ gay pride events in Brisbane this year, it is not surprising that there is considerable community concern about the pride march planned through Wynnum this Sunday:
Men in leather dog gimp masks play with large lego blocks and a connect 4 set in front of a boy at the Brisbane Pride event in October 2023.
Ellis admits that she has been visited by Queensland Police over her social media posts. However, she refuses to apologise or to call off her intimidation campaign. Instead, she now thinks that she is being clever by organising a ‘glittery gay picnic’ directly across the road from this house which also happens to be away from the route of the planned pride march.
In other words, Ellis and any thugs who answer her call will go out of their way to turn up at this family home. The only reason to meet there is to intimidate a specific large Catholic family and Ellis has made that reason very clear in her numerous social media posts.
Ellis is a sponsor of Wynnum Fringe/Bay Pride through her business ‘The Little Gnome’ bookshop and cafe. She has also received support from local Bay FM radio presenter and Bay Pride promoter and organiser, Callum Cantrill.
Cantrill has liked and provided supportive comments on two Instagram posts made by Bel Ellis in the past week which specifically reference this Catholic family’s home and which remain online as at the time this article was published.
Bay Pride organiser and promoter, Callum Cantrill, supported a video post from Bel Ellis in which she stated: We’ll be right out the front of your house, buddy!
Bel Ellis has even publicly invited Wynnum Fringe organiser, Tom Oliver, to join her mob outside this family home.
Wynnum Fringe/Bay Pride sponsor, Bel Ellis, has publicly invited Wynnum Fringe organiser, Tom Oliver, to join her mob outside a large Catholic family’s home this Sunday.
Ellis’ public invitation contains this wording: you know where to meet me.
This appears to indicate that Ellis has also privately communicated to Tom Oliver her plans for this Sunday, although given Ellis’ history of blatant mistruths it may instead be a deliberate attempt to falsely portray support from the Wynnum Fringe organiser. This webpage certainly hopes that the latter scenario is the case.
This webpage has personally contacted Tom Oliver by social media and via his official Wynnum Fringe channels and is aware of other direct communications made to him. Oliver has also received hundreds of emails since this website’s campaign commenced yesterday evening calling on him to condemn Bel Ellis’ outrageous behaviour.
Unfortunately, Oliver has refused to answer any questions or to even respond to these communications regarding his sponsor’s dangerous statements or the fact that Bel Ellis has personally invited him to join her mob outside this family home.
However, Tom Oliver has found time over recent days to give numerous interviews to woke outlets like the ABC and Channel 10 to complain about community opposition to his gay pride march. He claims that this opposition is bullying – which he says that he opposes – and that he is compelled to call it out.
That seems a little hypocritical to say the least.
Let’s be clear about what is happening here: Bel Ellis is engaged in a vicious intimidation campaign against a large Catholic family, pure and simple. It is backed by an implicit threat of mob violence and the public support of some gay pride march organisers.
It is disgusting. It is unacceptable and totally contrary to Australian values. It cannot be tolerated. As such, it is completely unsurprising that the Greens continue to back their candidate in. This party represents crazy.
Let’s also be clear: Tom Oliver cannot pretend this problem away and his continuing silence now verges on complicity.
Oliver, at the very least, needs to understand that his failure to act in these circumstances will only exacerbate tensions over the weekend. If Sunday spirals out of control it will be in no small part due to Oliver’s ongoing failure to rein in his rogue sponsor and condemn her dangerous and explosive statements.
The Queensland Police are already involved and their involvement will only need to escalate unless sensible decisions are taken between now and Sunday.
The Greens candidate and event sponsor has openly set the wheels in motion for religiously-motivated mob violence and the specific targeting of Christian family homes. Who knows what the people she is encouraging will do, but none of it will be good.
There will be an understandable reaction to this intimidation campaign. It represents a radical shift in the way political and social differences are resolved in Australia. Conservatives cannot even protest. Woke crazies, however, will turn up at your house.
It is entirely reasonable for other conservative and Christian families to form the view that if gay activists across South East Queensland are allowed to assemble outside a family home in Wynnum that similar actions will be taken against other families in the greater Brisbane area. It is entirely reasonable, also, for these families to form the view at this point in time that the Queensland Police are unwilling or unable to prevent this from occurring. Bel Ellis’ map and photo of this home remains online, as does much of her inflammatory rhetoric.
To be honest, I get the impression that neither Tom Oliver nor the Queensland Police fully comprehend the level of community anger or concern that Bel Ellis’ intimidation campaign has stirred.
Good people in Wynnum at the very least are likely to take precautionary actions to protect their family, friends and property from a deranged and unhinged mob of blue-haired crazies on testosterone supplements who may turn up in their front yard this Sunday.
On top of all of this remains ongoing community concern over what many view as an inappropriate gay pride march which will ramrod its way through a local park and children’s wading pool in the middle of a Sunday. There will be a protest against this situation as well and those who wish to express their concerns over this event are well within their rights to do so.
A flyer promoting a protest against the Wynnum Fringe/Bay Pride march through a children’s park and wading pool in Wynnum this Sunday.
With this tension, heated clashes are almost inevitable, especially around homes. Violence is not out of the question.
Tom Oliver’s sponsor, Bel Ellis, has organised for a mob of hissing baboons to descend upon Wynnum this Sunday from all over South East Queensland with a single intent of intimidating one local family. Oliver knows about this but has been silent throughout.
Promotional imagery for Wynnum Fringe showing Bel Ellis (left) and Tom Oliver (right) taken in September 2023.
It is his sponsors who have threatened and intimidated. It is his sponsors who have doxxed a local family. It is his sponsors who are organising a mob to converge at the front of a family home. There will be an understandable reaction to this on Sunday.
If Tom Oliver was sensible he would cancel the event that is being used as a pretext to bring the mob to Wynnum. He would cancel his pride march. However, that would take courage and maturity.
Given Tom Oliver has not even had the courage or maturity to even condemn the call by his sponsor to congregate at the front of a family home (c’mon Tom that bit is not even hard – it’s a no brainer), it seems that Tom will not have the courage or maturity to do the hard bit either: cancel his divisive and now high-jacked gay pride march.
Tom Oliver’s failure to condemn Bel Ellis days ago has allowed this situation to fester. It is now getting beyond his ability to control. Sunday is unlikely to be a pleasant day in Wynnum.
And however it plays out, violent mobs will be watching and learning about how much they are allowed to get away with. And conservative families across South East Queensland will be forming opinions about whether law enforcement really will protect them and their homes. So much for Wynnum Fringe bringing the community together…
Wynnum Fringe/Bay Pride Sponsor Calls for Gay Mob to Descend on Family Home in Brisbane
Here’s the deal: a key sponsor of the Wynnum Fringe and Bay Pride, Bel Ellis, is threatening a large family and attempting to intimidate them because they do not support a gay pride parade through a children’s park and wading pool.
Ellis, who also happens to the local Greens candidate for upcoming Brisbane council elections, is organising a gay mob to turn up at this family’s home this Sunday. Despite a visit from the police, Ellis continues to publish this family’s home on her social media channels and is encouraging as many LGBT bullies as possible to meet at the front of this property at 11 am this Sunday.
That’s bad enough.
Worse, an actual organiser and promoter of the Bay Pride gay march is onboard with this harassment. Callum Cantrill, from Bay FM, has liked Ellis’ posts calling for a mob to turn up right out the front of this home and given her campaign his full support. He claims it is a campaign of inclusivity.
Tom Oliver, who is organising the entire Wynnum Fringe festival, is well aware of this intimidation campaign. He’s even been invited by Ellis, the sponsor of his Bay Pride march, to meet her out the front of this family home. Oliver claims he is against bullying but remains silent about the intimidation campaign unleashed by his gay pride sponsors on the local community. He has refused to answer questions from this webpage.
You can see the details in this video – I especially like the part where I prove that Bel Ellis has lied through her teeth about her calls for people to turn up at this home:
Send an email to Tom Oliver today, telling him to cut his rogue sponsor loose and to end his divisive plan to bring the Mardi Gras to a suburban park and children’s wading pool.
End the Wynnum Fringe/Bay Pride intimidation and gay pride march
If only Albo practised what he preaches
On Saturday night, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gave a teary, solemn and sombre speech to the Australian nation after his ridiculous ‘Voice’ proposal was resoundingly pummelled from one end of this land to the other.
And in that speech two things were apparent.
Firstly, Anthony Albanese had no idea why Australians overwhelmingly voted no.
Secondly, Anthony Albanese unwittingly explained with great precision why Australians overwhelmingly voted no.
So that means Albanese is either dumb. Or he just doesn’t believe what he says. You can work that bit out yourself and I’ll just unravel the two points above.
It was crystal clear that Head Honcho Albo had no idea why Australians voted no when he blamed the result on Peter Dutton’s lack of bipartisan support for his ‘modest’ constitutional amendment to entrench racial division into our nation’s DNA while massively expanding Canberra’s left-wing bureaucratic class and power base.
Anyone who thinks Peter Dutton could have convinced Australians to vote yes has massively underestimated the political power of the Leader of the Opposition.
If Albanese really thinks Dutton’s lack of support is the key reason his referendum proposal was rejected then, yeah, he has no idea why Australians voted no.
That’s point one done.
And it only takes about 30 seconds of Albanese’s speech to prove point two. That’s all.
Even better, it’s also the first 30 seconds of his speech.
Exactly 18 seconds into his speech, our emotional Prime Minister said this:
“When we reflect on everything happening in the world today we can all give thanks that here in Australia we make the big decisions peacefully and as equals with one vote, one value.”
He finished that quote 15 seconds later.
And if our red-eyed Prime Minister had stopped his speech right then and there he would have said everything that needed to be said to explain why Australians voted no.
Australian democracy has worked for over a century precisely because it is based on the idea that each person gets an equal say in the way our nation is governed.
The whole entire point of the Voice referendum was to radically change this system and insert a new chapter into the Constitution which would give one racial group a second vote for a taxpayer-funded body which could directly influence both the parliament and the executive on their behalf.
If Albo’s pet project got up he would never be able to start any political speech with his words above again.
Australia would not make the big decision as equals with one vote, one value.
Australians rightly rejected Albo’s racially divisive plan for unequal political power based on skin colour. That alone was enough to sink it.
But anyone with a modicum of foresight could also see that any ‘Voice’ would simply become a massive bureaucratic monster.
To have the power to make ‘informed’ representations to Executive Government, any Voice would need researchers and liaison officers and analysts and representatives with staffers and social media communicators and public relations officers.
It would also massively expand the powers of the Commonwealth over the states.
In short, any ‘Voice’ would simply become a mechanism to recruit, fund, train, promote and publicise another army of left wing activists.
No wonder Canberra voted for it. A vote for the Voice was a vote to massively increase the power of Bizarro Land.
Australians look at Canberra and see a vast sucking maw storing huge reserves of fat and blubber gained by feeding off the carcass of the rest of Australia.
And on Saturday Australians said no more, including large numbers of Aboriginal people who also know this: they already have a voice.
They exercised theirs, like all other Australians, on the weekend. And that’s how it should be.
*****
Marcia Langton told us that if Australia voted no we wouldn’t get another welcome to country.
Most Australians found those terms to be acceptable and it is important that Langton keeps her end of the bargain.
The good professor should proudly reflect on the critical part she paid in convincing Australians to vote no.
The deal was made a good deal better later on Saturday night when it was revealed that key Voice campaigners were responding to the Australian public’s generous vote against racial division by huffing that they’d shut up for a week and fly the Aboriginal flag at half mast.
It was almost too good to be true.
Thanks fellas. Go hard in mourning I say. In fact, perpetual silence and taking the flags down for good is something all Australians could get behind…
Australian councils lend child porn comics to children
***** WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS IMAGERY THAT IS PORNOGRAPHIC & OFFENSIVE *****
THIS IMAGERY IS REPRODUCED FROM CHILDREN’S BOOKS FOUND IN LOCAL LIBRARIES ACROSS AUSTRALIA. IT HAS NOT BEEN ASSESSED BY THE AUSTRALIAN CLASSIFICATION BOARD DESPITE BEING WIDELY AVAILABLE FOR MANY YEARS.
THIS WEBSITE HAS PUBLISHED REDACTED COPIES OF THIS IMAGERY IN ORDER TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO PARENTS ABOUT THE CONTENT THAT COMMONWEALTH, STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ARE HAPPILY ALLOWING CHILDREN TO BORROW.
This is Ken Akamatsu.
Japanese child porn cartoonist and advocate, Ken Akamatsu.
And this is what you need to know about this bloke.
Firstly, he successfully campaigned to exempt cartoons from child pornography laws in Japan, claiming that these comics did not hurt anyone.
Secondly, he defended cartoons of child pornography for a very good reason: he makes a living drawing sexually explicit pictures of underage girls.
And thirdly?
Well, thirdly, local governments across Australia have made Ken Akamatsu very rich by purchasing his child porn comics by the boatload, importing them into Australia and then lending them to your children.
If you know these three things, you know all that you need to know about Ken Akamatsu.
And you should then be able to use this information to extrapolate and form a reasonable judgement about whether local libraries are safe spaces for your children.
If you’re having trouble, let me give you a hint: Ken Akamatsu’s books are porn for children and they also contain child pornography. And that means that the creepy old dude flicking through the kids’ books beside your daughter is very, very creepy indeed.
So let’s unpack each of these three facts. Because they are facts. They are all true. This is real. Remember that when some rainbow lanyard-wearing librarian claims otherwise, or if some councillor or local politician pretends that you are the weirdo.
1. Ken Akamatsu lobbied the Japanese government to legally protect cartoons of child pornography
In 2014 Japan made it illegal to possess child pornography. However, these laws exempted cartoons depicting child abuse.
Ken Akamatsu led the campaign to keep child porn cartoons legal, telling CNN that:
“Actual children suffering and crying is not acceptable. But manga doesn’t involve actual children. So there are no actual victims.”
Yes, Akamatsu was comfortable giving that quote to one of the largest media outlets in the world.
So, yes, it is an absolute fact that Ken Akamatsu campaigned to keep kiddy porn comics legal in Japan. That’s just the kind of guy he is.
Australians could point their finger and condemn Japan for its disturbing protection of child porn cartoons. But we’d be hypocrites because Japanese child porn can be found across our nation’s libraries and book stores.
2. Ken Akamatsu draws child pornography
Ken Akamatsu began publishing his manga cartoon comics in 1993. He has produced four main series: A.I. Love You, Love Hina, Negima! Master Negi Magi and UQ Holder!.
These four series were published routinely in a comic format but are most well known in Australia in a number of book-sized anthologies.
You have probably walked past them in your local bookshop or library and seen something like this:
If you pulled one of these books out, you might see a cover like this:
I’ve partially blurred this image. The unredacted and explicit real thing be found on the Geelong library website. It’s also proudly displayed on the Dymocks Books website as well.
And if you opened these books up you will find imagery like this:
That’s from A.I. Love You.
This series is about a boy at high school who manages to turn his computer programs into women.
They’re from Love Hina.
This series is about a male university student who manages an all-female dormitory, including a thirteen year old girl who develops a crush on him.
They’re from Negima.
This series is about a ten year old boy who teaches magic to a class of girls, many of whom become sexually attracted to him.
They’re from UQ Holder!.
This series is about a group of often naked and sexually active superheroes, some of whom are only 15 years old.
There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of similar images contained in the 88 comic book anthologies written by Ken Akamatsu that can be found across Australian libraries.
There can be no denying that most Australians would understand that these images are intended to depict underage girls in sexually explicit poses, naked or engaged in sex acts. In other words, these images are what most Australians would understand to be child pornography cartoons.
Most Australians would expect that people who draw this stuff or hand it to kids would be arrested and sent to jail.
Instead, as detailed below, librarians across Australia loan this stuff out daily and publicly to children and then get access to information about where they live. If that sounds creepy it’s because it is.
3. Local governments loan Ken Akamatsu’s child porn to children
Your local library will almost certainly have a copy of Ken Akamatsu’s ‘work’ or something like it.
If you don’t believe me, go to your nearest council library and ask to be shown the ‘Young Adult Graphic Novel’ section.
You’ll be directed to a huge shelf containing picture books for 12 to 18 year olds, many of which contain imagery similar to that shown above.
Specifically in relation to Ken Akamatsu, if you live in Brisbane you could today borrow one of the 137 copies of the 45 different Ken Akamatsu books that it has purchased.
Put another way, Brisbane City Council has spent thousands of dollars buying child porn cartoons from a Japanese pervert which it then lends to our children. And adults who happen to find the kid’s section of the library interesting can also borrow these books as well. Brisbane City Council libraries do not discriminate.
You’ll also find Akamatsu’s books in many other councils across South East Queensland, including the Gold Coast, Moreton Bay, Logan, Ipswich, Noosa and Gympie and even in Townsville and Gladstone (Scenic Rim removed its copies after I complained).
And you can find them in places like Geelong, Penrith, Adelaide, Canberra and even in Kununurra. Akamatsu’s books are everywhere and Australia’s local governments have made him a wealthy man.
Thank you for paying your rates and exorbitant council fees.
And next time you read a newspaper article about a child care worker who has raped hundreds of children, ask yourself this: is this really a surprise given local governments across this nation have imported thousands of child porn books from a single Japanese child porn cartoonist?
Sutherland Shire Councillor Jen Armstrong defends paedophile imagery as a ‘courting scene’
Sutherland Shire Councillor Jen Armstrong has done things that most others have not.
She started a charity handing out beauty products to domestic violence victims. For that she ended up being named NSW Woman of the Year in 2016.
She gives out advice about raising ‘non-binary’ children. For that she ended up in the newspaper waxing lyrical about the importance of pronouns.
And she reckons that a picture of a naked man with an erection touching a boy’s penis is nothing more than a ‘courting scene’. That is why she’s featuring on this webpage.
Like I said, she does things that most others will not.
The story of Labor Councillor Jen Armstrong’s courageous rush to put the P in LGBT starts back in March this year.
Local Sutherland Shire residents found out that Sutherland Shire was loaning the book Gender Queer to children and became more than a little miffed.
Gender Queer, for those who don’t know, is an award winning children’s book. It contains all the usual healthy themes that 12 year old kids should be exposed to like, you know, how its author, Maia Kobabe, wished that she had breast cancer so that they would be removed and how she is fond of masturbating while driving.
Kobabe also drew a picture of herself fantasising about paedophilia, deriving sexual pleasure from it and masturbating herself to that too.
Page 153 of ‘Gender Queer’ showing its author, Maia Kobabe, fantasising about paedophilia and describing her sexual fetishes and masturbation habits. The following pages go into futher detail about her masturbation habits.
More information about ‘Gender Queer’ can be found here.
In fact, Maia Kobabe spends a lot of time devoted to telling the world about her masturbation habits in Gender Queer. It’s kind of weird.
It’s also disgusting stuff for children. Adults too.
People with morals are unable to comprehend any of the reasons why this book is award winning. If you want to understand them, you’ll need to contact the Rainbow Round Table of the American Library Association which hands out baubles for the gayest book each year. I’m sure they can explain why pictures of paedophilia in gay books ‘with a special appeal’ to kids are a great thing. I can’t.
Anyway, someone, somewhere near Cronulla found out that their local council used public funds to buy Gender Queer and that other people were now being paid by the Shire to loan it to kids and to keep a record of each one that took the book, including where they lived. If that sounds creepy, it’s because it is.
Somewhat shockingly for our times, this someone also had the stones to do something about it. They wrote to the Sutherland Shire Council and suggested that the book should be removed. Pronto.
Now, I know that I can tend to jump to quick conclusions.
If you ask me if children should be at the Mardi Gras, the ‘hell no’ that escapes from my lips will be a reflex action.
Jen Armstrong has different instincts. For instance, she frequently posts pictures of herself taking her kids to march in the Mardi Gras.
We’re just different that way.
Jen Armstrong at the 2023 Mardi Gras.
But every sense of my body tells me that the suggestion to remove a book that promotes paedophilia is eminently prudent and justifiable. And I feel confident that if I delved deeper into this thorny problem that my initial judgement would be vindicated in the strongest possible terms.
Councillor Jen Armstrong, on the other hand, has different views.
Very different views.
Now, I have no idea how Jen Armstrong arrived at her views.
They may have been formed from an initial gut reaction based on very little information.
Or Councillor Jen Armstrong may have gazed intently at the imagery of a naked man with an erection cupping his hand below the penis of a boy in the thought bubbles emanating from Maia Kobabe’s head and flushed faced as she fantasised away. Councillor Armstrong may then have pondered deeply the meaning of all of this and arrived at the conclusion that this was love. After all, love is love.
I just don’t know.
What I do know is this.
Jen Armstrong did feel confident enough to make a public statement specifically about this imagery to the biggest daily newspaper in the biggest city in Australia. She told the Daily Telegraph that it was a ‘courting scene’.
This is exactly how it was reported on 5 March 2023:
Councillor Jen Armstrong wrote back to defend the “memoir”, written and illustrated by the American cartoonist Maia Kobabe.
“Sutherland Shire is an inclusive and accepting place for all of its residents, an ally of gender diverse people and I hope you find it within yourself to accept those who have the basic human right to be accepted for who they are,” she wrote.
Ms Armstrong rejected claims the book contained “sexual abuse” material, say the illustration the resident referred to related to a piece of painted Ancient Greek pottery depicting a “courting scene”.
As for objections to references to sexual behaviour, Ms Armstrong said the library may as well remove Prince Harry’s book given he detailed how he had lost his virginity “to an older woman” and nearly lost his penis
Make of that what you will.
I, for one, believe that if the price of burning Gender Queer would also be burning anything ever written by Prince Harry as well that those terms are acceptable. I’m sold even more.
I also know this: in relation to Councillor Armstrong’s ‘courting scene’, the Australian Classification Board described it this way:
In this pottery illustration, a bearded male with an erection kneels before a smaller male figure, cupping his hand beneath the smaller figure’s penis.
Remember, these words describe an illustration in an award winning children’s book. I can’t emphasise that enough. It’s beyond disturbing.
It’s crystal clear that Councillor Armstrong’s ‘courting scene’ is an image of a paedophile in action. There’s no doubting that. Even the Classification Board recognises that.
It’s more disturbing that the Australian government agency in charge of upholding moral standards has just approved it as an unrestricted publication.
And I know this as well: I’m sure Councillor Armstrong will feel vindicated by the Classification Board’s reasoning:
…the Board is of the opinion that this image does not depict a child under 18 years in a way that offends against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that it should not be classified.
The Classification Board accepts that Gender Queer depicts a child being touched on the penis by a man. It accepts that this image was drawn in the context of the author explaining her masturbation habits and sexual fetishes. It accepts that this is offensive to reasonable adults. It just says that it’s not so offensive that it should be refused classification.
Essentially, according to the Classification Board, Jen Armstrong may be an outlier in her public support of Gender Queer but she is not on her pat Malone when it comes to pictures of paedophilia in general. They’re starting to get a bit ho hum. Bad, but not bad enough to ban according to our changing moral standards.
And who knows? Maybe the Classification Board is right. Maybe child porn will be the next progressive ‘win’.
Maybe Jen Armstrong is in touch with the moral pulse of the nation. Or maybe there are so many people in Australia afraid of losing their job or so desperate for fame and fortune that they will acquiesce to, then buy and eventually enforce the arguments of the Jen Armstrongs of this world. Perhaps the majority do believe that the images in Gender Queer and the books that will come out after it are ‘nuanced’ or ‘contextually justified’ or ‘complicated’ or all the other words that are used to justify evil things every single day.
I hope not. But my hope is tempered by watching Australians humiliate themselves over this stuff for my entire life. If I was a betting man, I’d have my dollar on Jen Armstrong and not me.
Given that, it’s kind of strange that the out and proud defender of Gender Queer has suddenly decided to embark upon a path of silence. She’s gone into hiding.
I sent the following questions to Councillor Armstrong about her defence of Gender Queer today:
- Can you please explain why you described imagery of paedophilia as a courting scene and do you believe that adults should be able to ‘court’ children by engaging in sex acts with them?
- Are you at all embarrassed that you have defended imagery of paedophilia?
- Finally, why do gender diverse and LGBQIA+ people need a book that shows its author fantasising about paedophilia while masturbating?
Councillor Armstrong read those questions. And then she told me that she couldn’t respond today. Or tomorrow. Or any other day I guess.
Maybe locals in Sutherland Shire will have more luck dragging an answer out of her between now and next council election day.
But this does show one thing: Jen Armstrong may have done things that others will not but she is no different than most when they are caught out.
Those who will defend Gender Queer with generalities, red herrings and deception will still slink away into the darkness when they are directly confronted with the truth of what they are doing.
And let’s state exactly what that is clearly: they are defending imagery of paedophilia which Maia Kobabe draws herself fantasising about while she masturbates in her own weird, fetished way.
Now, the Jen Armstrongs of this world wouldn’t slink away if they had the power to silence me. They might get that power one day. But it’s not theirs yet.
That is why I will speak up now against picture books promoting paedophilia while we still have the chance. And I will call Jen Armstrong out and shame her the way she deserves to be shamed while I can.
Because the way things are going, doing so may be against the law sooner rather than later.
Gender Queer – Interviews
I’ve done a number of interviews about Gender Queer and other pornographic children’s books in public libraries, both with mainstream outlets and alternative media.
Stay up to date with all of them here – and make sure you follow The Good Sauce (Dave Pellowe) and Freedom Has A Voice (Dylan Oakley). I am extremely grateful to both Dave and Dylan for their support and interest.
Gender Queer – News Reports
I first wrote about Gender Queer and other pornographic children’s books in public libraries here on 1 March, 2023. That same day I also sent an email to the 20,000 people who have signed up to this website over the years, letting them know about the battle in Logan City and also how they could get involved in their own local area.
Since then the battle has widened and received mainstream media attention.
Stay up to date with all the news about Gender Queer and other pornographic books in council libraries here.
More importantly, know that you can bring attention to this battle as the very first story on this list shows. I had nothing to do with this article – instead it was the result of a local in the Sutherland Shire using the information shared here to put pressure on his own council. And in the process he managed to out one of Sutherland Shire’s Councillors, Jen Armstrong, as an apologist for child pornography.
5 March 2023 - FURY OVER ‘OBSCENE’ LIBRARY BOOK
FURY OVER ‘OBSCENE’ LIBRARY BOOK
LINDA SILMALIS | 5 MARCH 2023
A library book entitled Gender Queer has triggered a storm at Sutherland Shire Council after a ratepayer wrote to complain about its “obscene material”, including references to “dildos”.
But a councillor has claimed some of the content in the publication was no different to Prince Harry’s memoir Spare, in which he revealed he once suffered a frostbitten penis.
In an email to councillors on Friday, a Sylvania resident called on the council to remove the book from the library, declaring it did not represent “the vast majority of reasonable people in the Shire”.
“The book contains obscene material that the vast majority of people in the Shire and Australia find offensive and would consider to depict the sexual abuse of children,” the resident wrote. “The book also promotes a pornographic website that specialises in profiting off depraved and humiliating simulated sexual violence against women.
“Gender Queer should be removed from Sutherland ShireCouncil libraries completely. This should happen today.”
Councillor Jen Armstrong wrote back to defend the “memoir”, written and illustrated by American cartoonist Maia Kobabe.
“Sutherland Shire is an inclusive and accepting place for all its residents, an ally of gender diverse people and I hope you find it within yourself to accept those who have the basic human right to be accepted for who they are,” she wrote.
Ms Armstrong rejected claims the book contained “sexual abuse” material, saying the illustration the resident referred to related to a piece of painted Ancient Greek pottery depicting a “courting scene”.
As for objections to references to sexual behaviour, Ms Armstrong said the library may as well also remove Prince Harry’s book given he detailed how he had lost his virginity “to an older woman” and nearly lost his penis.
10 March 2023 - Cartoon book removed from library shelves
Cartoon book removed from library shelves
Simon Holt | March 10, 2023
A cartoon book depicting sex acts has been removed from shelves of Logan City libraries.
Conservative Catholic lobbyist Bernard Gaynor said the book, Gender Queer: a memoir by Maia Kobabe, had been removed after numerous emails and phone calls with Logan City Council staff and councillors.
“This obscene book had been located in the same section that held popular children’s comics such as Tintin and Asterix,” Mr Gaynor said.
He said the cartoon book showed children engaged in sexual acts.
“All residents of Logan City Council should expect that the Council’s libraries will comply with laws in Queensland relating to child grooming, child pornography and publication of obscene material,” Mr Gaynor said.
“It is unacceptable that Logan City Council purchased Gender Queer in the first place.
“It remains unacceptable that Logan City Council continues to hold copies of Gender Queer or that it will continue to lend this obscene book, including to children, upon request.
“Gender Queer is clearly in breach of numerous Queensland laws designed to protect children from sexual abuse and inappropriate sexual material.”
Mr Gaynor said a battle to have the book removed altogether from Logan City Council libraries would continue.
13 March 2023 - Police question council lawyers over alleged library porn
Police question council lawyers over alleged library porn
Chris Manning | March 13, 2023
Queensland Police have denied claims of an investigation into alleged pornographic books in Logan City Libraries.
Last week a cartoon book depicting sex acts was removed from Logan libraries shelves. There have now been complaints about four additional books.
Although there is no official investigation as alleged by lobbyists, Senior Sergeant Ken Murray has met with solicitors from Logan City Council to determine the best course of action. The books have been referred to the Australian Classification Board.
Bernard Gaynor is a conservative Catholic lobbyist who alerted police to the books. And he says he’s livid.
“I found these books on children’s bookshelves,” Mr Gaynor said. “If I drew those pictures I would go to gaol.
“Logan City Council are loaning pornographic books, including child exploitation material, to children. It is unacceptable and these books should be taken out of the libraries altogether.”
Mr Gaynor is responsible for the removal of the initial explicit book, and has since been unable to meet with council. He has claimed that council are trying their best to keep him at arms length.
“I am planning to hold a protest outside council chambers while the comittee that oversees library operations meets on Wednesday (tomorrow) morning,” he said.
“Someone should ask they mayor where he stands on pornographic books in the library because he’s been conspicuously quiet.
“It’s simply not good enough.” Mr Gaynor said he was determined to see the book removed.
14 March 2023 - Queensland Police to review child exploitation material in public libraries
Queensland Police to review child exploitation material in public libraries
Kirralie Smith | March 14, 2023
In a major update to recent news from Binary exposing sexually graphic books being marketed to youth in Australian libraries, it has now been reported that graphic novels containing pornography and sexual fantasies of children engaged in sexual activities have been flagged for review by Queensland Police.
Gender Queer, which includes illustrations of masturbation, sex toys and oral sex, is written by Maia Kobabe, a nonbinary author from California. The 2019 graphic novel is centred on coming out to friends and family.
The 239-page memoir is the most commonly banned book in the United States, according to the American Library Association.
The graphic novel is available to loan at a number of libraries across the country, including Logan Central Library.
Bernard Gaynor raised the alarm about the books in Australian Libraries. He successfully had the books removed from the shelves of Logan City Libraries, but they remained available behind the counter. The Police will now investigate.
Gaynor contacted police on Saturday, March 4, lodging official complaints about Gender Queer and four other titles at the library, which he claimed breached the criminal code in relation to child exploitation material and exposing children to sexually explicit material.
Logan council said it did not wish to make any comment on the book, or the complaint from Gaynor, other than it is “reviewing the matter”.
Binary spokeswoman Kirralie Smith said that it is important that parents “speak out”, and for “citizens to draw the line in the sand and say enough is enough”.
“Sexualising children in libraries has got to stop,” she said. “Pornography should never be available for children, especially when it depicts children engaged in sexual activity.”
16 March 2023 - Campaign Against Explicit Children’s Books In Australian Libraries
Campaign Against Explicit Children’s Books In Australian Libraries
Tony Davenport | Thu, Mar 16 2023
Christian family advocate Bernard Gaynor is on a mission to remove inappropriate books from the children’s sections of Australia’s libraries. He claims many library books on the children’s shelves, especially comic-style publications, are pornographic.
“I think parents should understand that local councils and probably even school libraries are stocking explicit books and lending them to children,” he told Vision Radio.
Mr. Gaynor has initially targeted libraries run by Logan City Council in Brisbane’s south. He says it has agreed to remove a book called Gender Queer from its library shelves, but is still making it available for children to borrow.
The campaigner believes that’s not good enough and has a petition on his personal website calling for the Council to remove the book permanently.
“What really shocked me was that Gender Queer was not the worst book in the library. There are numerous other books in Logan City Council libraries on children’s book shelves which are worse. They are absolutely depraved and disgusting. They’re basically in the same section as your Batman and Superman comic books. They’re that kind of comic style book, but they are very explicit,” Mr. Gaynor explained.
The father of nine and former soldier in military intelligence with three tours to Iraq explained to Vision Radio how he was mounting his campaign.
“You complain to the library staff, you complain to the local councillors, you go to the police. I’ve been to all three. And in Logan, all these books have now been removed from the shelves in the library, which is a good win. But most councils have refused to even speak to me,” he lamented.
“The good news is that the police have and these books have now been referred to the Australian Classification Board, which is the first step to determining whether charges should be laid in relation to these books and their contents.”
“It is illegal to import pornography into Australia unless it is first classified as being suitable to import into this country. These books have never been sent to the Classification Board, so there is a whole process here of processes which have not been followed and not been adhered to. If we were to draw explicit pictures of children and hand them out, we would go to jail. But apparently our local councils think they can put them in a book, hand them out and actually keep a record of all the children who borrow this stuff.”
“I think there is a loophole in the law. Computer games and movies must be classified but there’s a grey area about publications. It would appear that there was a duty of care on Logan City Council and the publishers who brought these books out to Australia to seek classification, which they did not do.”
“The Classification Board has classified some of these books in the past, these comic style books, and refused classification to them essentially because they contain child pornography, in particular these Japanese style comic books, which depict young children very graphically. Now they are being imported into Australia from Japan without properly being assessed. These are the ones that are in local libraries.”
“In my research I’ve found online book suppliers selling books that had been refused classification on Australian websites for Australian customers. The government was collecting GST on their sale. That has since stopped just in the last week or so since I raised it with these booksellers.”
Mr. Gaynor believes the lack of vigilance from the Australian public has allowed more and more explicit books into libraries as well as activities like Drag Queen Story Hour. He propounded to Vision Radio: “I fully believe that if more parents were speaking up about these books three or four years ago, no one would have dared to bring a drag queen into a library to start reading books to kids. But because these books have been on the shelves in Australia for a number of years and no one said anything, it creates this permissive environment where they keep pushing boundaries and we need to start fighting back.”
“Hopefully, when this campaign is done and dusted in Logan, we can start looking at other libraries in Australia. That is definitely the plan. But to do that, people need to start poking councillors in the chest and saying ‘I don’t care what sort of pornography it is, it shouldn’t be in a taxpayer funded or resident funded library.’”
16 March 2023 - Gender identity memoir removed from Queensland library shelf, referred to classification board
Gender identity memoir removed from Queensland library shelf, referred to classification board
Mark Saunokonoko, Senior Journalist | 10:07am Mar 16, 2023
Exclusive: A gender identity memoir aimed at teenage readers has been referred to the Australian Classification Board (ACB) after a complaint made by a conservative activist saw the book removed from the shelves of a Queensland library.
Following a four-day investigation, Queensland Police confirmed to 9news.com.au that on March 9 they flagged Gender Queer: A Memoir to the federal government’s Department of Communications and Arts, which runs the ACB.
Gender Queer, which includes illustrations of masturbation, sex toys and oral sex, is written by Maia Kobabe, a nonbinary author from California. The 2019 graphic novel is centred on coming out to friends and family.
The 239-page memoir is the most commonly banned book in the United States, according to the American Library Association.
Kobabe and supporters of the novel insist it can help confused teens identify, by providing a language for the trans and nonbinary community, and unpacking the feelings young people may be experiencing.
The graphic novel is available to loan at a number of libraries across the country, including Logan Central Library.
9news.com.au understands that after conservative activist Bernard Gaynor, 43, made a complaint to Logan City Council, the book was removed from shelves but remained available to borrow for anyone who requested it.
Gaynor’s complaint is that he believes the book, which has won multiple literary awards, is pornographic.
He said one scene which shows a sexual fantasy involving a man and boy, inspired by Plato’s The Symposium, is evidence the book contains child abuse material.
Gaynor contacted police on Saturday, March 4, lodging official complaints about Gender Queer and four other titles at the library, which he claimed breached the criminal code in relation to child exploitation material and exposing children to sexually explicit material.
Logan council said it did not wish to make any comment on the book, or the complaint from Gaynor, other than it is “reviewing the matter”.
Until the book was referred by police, the Classification Board confirmed to 9news.com.au it had not classified Gender Queer, nor had it received any requests to review it.
The agency has the power to censor, restrict and ban films, literature and other content.
“Generally publications do not need to be classified before being made available in libraries,” a spokesperson said.
“The only publications that are required to be submitted to the Classification Board to be classified are those that would contain content that may be restricted to adults or refused classification.”
Iraq war veteran Gaynor was sacked as an Australian Defence Force reservist in 2013 for making anti-gay comments on social media, later winning an appeal against the decision, only for the court to then overturn that ruling.
Gaynor said his police complaint has nothing to do with the gender identity debate.
“The book is highly pornographic,” he said. “And that alone is enough to have it removed from the library, regardless of what people might think about the book’s content.”
Speaking on a podcast with US organisation GLAAD last year, Kobabe said the memoir was about figuring out who you are.
“I started questioning these topics when I was like 12, 13 years old, and then didn’t come out as nonbinary until I was 25,” Kobabe said.
“Having a book like this, or any book that explored nonbinary identity, would have probably taken 10 years of confusion and uncertainty out of my life.”
Kobabe said sweeping bans of the book in the US felt like a “generalised attack on queer and trans narratives” that the memoir was caught up in.
“My book is uniquely vulnerable because it is a comic, and because people can very quickly flip open to one or two images that they don’t agree with or make them uncomfortable, and share those out of context on social media.”
9news.com.au has seen correspondence from Logan council stating the council was not breaking any laws by stocking Gender Queer, because there had been no ruling or review from ACB dictating otherwise.
There are five copies of Gender Queer held in various libraries across Logan.
Logan Central Library was the only library to stock the book in its Young Adult Fiction section, according to the library website. The four other libraries have the book in the Biography section.
As well as Gender Queer, Gaynor said he also flagged to police concerns over other titles in the library, including Japanese-style manga graphic novels. He has started a petition to remove Kobabe’s book, which currently has over 1000 signatures.
9news.com.au has contacted literary agent Wernick & Pratt, who represents Kobabe, for comment.
On its website, Simon & Schuster, the book’s distributor, said Kobabe’s memoir describes “what it means to be nonbinary and asexual” and “a useful and touching guide on gender identity … for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere”.
17 March 2023 - Censor to assess ‘Gender Queer’ graphic memoir after activist’s complaint
Censor to assess ‘Gender Queer’ graphic memoir after activist’s complaint
Michael Koziol | March 17, 2023 — 10.55am
An award-winning graphic memoir about sexuality and gender aimed at teenagers and young adults – which has been banned in dozens of US school districts – faces potential censorship in Australia following a complaint from a conservative activist.
The Australian Classification Board has “called in” Gender Queer, by non-binary cartoonist Maia Kobabe, saying there are reasonable grounds to believe the publication should be classified.
The book has been banned in dozens of US school districts and topped the American Library Association’s list of most challenged books in 2021.
The decision to call in the text for assessment came after a complaint to police by conservative blogger Bernard Gaynor and subsequent contact between Queensland Police, the federal arts department and the classification board.
It does not mean the book will necessarily be banned or restricted. Typically, once a copy of the text has been obtained, it will be assigned to a board member to decide whether it is a “submittable publication”, meaning it should be classified.
If so, it will receive a classification of either “unrestricted” – meaning it will have to display a sticker and is not recommended for children under 15, but is not legally restricted – category 1, category 2, or refused classification.
Categories 1 and 2 are restricted to people over 18 and must be packaged with warnings. Refused classification means it cannot be sold or hired in Australia.
A federal arts department spokesperson confirmed the department was contacted by Queensland Police on March 9 regarding Gender Queer: A Memoir. The department told police the book had not been classified, nor had an application for classification been received.
The department then advised the board’s director, Fiona Jolly, of “concerns raised regarding this book”. Jolly determined to call in publication on March 15. Classification may take five weeks.
Gender Queer – which contains sexually explicit illustrations – has become a lightning rod for conservative politicians, activists, parents and commentators in the US. It topped the American Library Association’s list of most challenged books in 2021, and is routinely described as the most banned book in America.
Gaynor – who was sacked by the Defence Force in 2013 over anti-gay comments on social media – staged a protest outside Logan City Council this week about Gender Queer and other books he labelled “pornographic” that were sitting on library shelves.
In an emailed newsletter on Thursday he told followers the board had advised him it would assess Gender Queer.
“This is an important step in having this obscene book removed from libraries and, hopefully, completely banned in Australia,” he wrote.
While the classification board mainly deals with films and games, it does classify publications following an application, usually from Australian Border Force or another agency.
In the past two years it has classified as unrestricted a reprint of Martin Luther’s anti-Semitic 1543 On the Jews and Their Lies, as well as a 2009 translation of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf.
But it has refused to classify (ban) a cookbook called Edibles: Small Bites for the Modern Cannabis Kitchen, as well as Psychedelic Cannabis: Therapeutic Methods and Unique Blends to Treat Trauma and Transform Consciousness.
Kobabe’s Gender Queer received an Alex Award from the American Library Association, recognising books that appeal to young adults, and was a finalist for the Stonewall Book Award for non-fiction.
Earlier this year, Kobabe – who uses the pronouns e/em/eir – told US National Public Radio the memoir was less explicit than it could have been.
“The topic of gender touches on identity and touches on sexuality, and it touches on all of these things,” e said. “It’s hard to fully explain how a gender identity can impact every facet of life as an adult without touching at least a little bit on sexuality. So, I wanted to not shy away from that.”
18 March 2023 - ‘Porn’ comic book off Logan library shelves after conservative lobbyist Bernard Gaynor lodges complaint with police, classification board
‘Porn’ comic book off Logan library shelves after conservative lobbyist Bernard Gaynor lodges complaint with police, classification board
A southside council will review its library policy after complaints were lodged about an allegedly inappropriate comic book which refers to a number of sexual topics.
Judith Kerr March | 18, 2023 – 9:40AM | Albert & Logan News
Logan City Council will review its library policy after complaints were lodged about an allegedly inappropriate comic book which refers to masturbation, gay porn, blow jobs while driving and vagina slime.
Gender Queer: A Memoir, a book which details sexual topics that may affect young people, is aimed at helping them understand their sexuality.
It was taken off Logan City Council library shelves this month following a complaint from conservative political activist Bernard Gaynor.
According to the book’s author Maia Kobabe, Gender Queer: A Memoir, came about after their own experiences searching for answers to questions about nonbinary identities.
“I started questioning these topics when I was like 12, 13 years old, and then didn’t come out as nonbinary until I was 25,” Kobabe said on a podcast with US-based group GLAAD last year.
“Having a book like this, or any book that explored nonbinary identity, would have probably taken 10 years of confusion and uncertainty out of my life,” Kobabe said.
After Mr Gaynor alerted police, QPS referred the book to the Australian Classification Board, which will review the matter and determine what action to take.
Mr Gaynor, who wants the book permanently removed from library shelves, launched a protest outside the council’s Wembley Rd offices.
It is unknown whether all copies have been removed while the council investigation is under way.
Since the initial complaint on March 4, four others books have been targeted.
Logan City councillor Karen Murphy said the council review had already started.
“This review will be undertaken with reference to council’s Library Collection Development Policy,” Ms Murphy said online.
“This policy is consistent with national public library standards and guidelines.
“Council will make no further comment until the review is completed.”
Mr Gaynor said Logan council should not be loaning out the books to children but he was glad it had been removed from library shelves.
However, he said the council was still keeping Gender Queer and would make it available, upon request, even to children.
“As far as I know, it is the first time this book has been challenged successfully anywhere in Australia,” he said.
“There is a reason these books are written and published and placed on shelves … in public libraries – none of this is an accident. It happens by design.”
Mr Gaynor said he was determined to see the book banned permanently and said Logan City Council staff had refused to meet with him, telling him there was nothing wrong with Gender Queer.
The classification board, which can censor, restrict or ban content, said it was yet to classify Gender Queer and had not had any requests to do so until recently.
20 March 2023 - Clock ticking on 'Gender Queer' censorship decision
Clock ticking on ‘Gender Queer’ censorship decision
Mark Saunokonoko, Senior Journalist | 10:45am Mar 20, 2023
An award-winning gender identity memoir, claimed to be the most banned book in the US, could face censorship in Australia after the title was flagged by a conservative activist who claims it is pornographic.
As first reported by 9news.com.au, Gender Queer: A Memoir is now under review by the Australian Classifications Board (ACB) after a complaint saw the title reportedly pulled off the shelves of Logan Central Library in Queensland.
Gender Queer, which includes illustrations of masturbation, sex toys and oral sex, is written by Maia Kobabe, a nonbinary author from California. It is stocked in libraries across the country.
Kobabe and supporters of the novel insist it can help confused teens identify, by providing a language for the trans and nonbinary community, and unpacking the feelings young people may be experiencing.
Kobabe’s agent told 9news.com.au the author did not want to comment on what was now happening to the book in Australia.
9news.com.au has established a clear timeline of how the book ended up under the microscope of the ACB, where its fate will be decided.
Logan father-of-nine Bernard Gaynor, 43, lodged formal complaints about Gender Queer and several other Japanese manga style titles with Queensland Police on March 4.
Prior to reporting his concerns to police, 9news.com.au understands Gaynor had complained directly to Logan City Council, leading to the book’s removal from Logan Central Library shelves. It remained available to borrow for anyone who requested it.
Gaynor said his complaints to police were about alleged offences in relation to possession and dissemination of child exploitation material and exposing children to sexually explicit material.
He told 9news.com.au that one scene which shows a sexual fantasy involving a man and boy, inspired by Plato’s The Symposium, is evidence the book contained child abuse material.
Police investigated the complaint for several days, and then contacted the federal government’s Department of Communications, which runs the ACB, on March 9.
The department told police the book had not been classified at that time and nobody had, so far, lodged an application for classification.
It is not unusual for a book to not be classified.
The department then flagged the situation to the ACB.
After assessing developments, on March 15 Fiona Jolly, director of the ACB, officially “called in” the book from publisher Oni Press. The publishers were given the standard three days to comply.
At Jolly’s discretion, a single board member or a group panel will read the publication in order to reach a decision.
A decision is likely in the next 25 days, and there are several routes the ACB may choose to take, ranging from age restrictions on who can read and buy the book through to an outright ban.
The 239-page memoir is the most commonly banned book in the United States, according to the American Library Association.
Last week Gaynor organised a protest outside Logan Central Library, which stocked the book in its Young Adult section, according to the library’s website.
Gaynor is also heading a petition demanding the book is removed from libraries.
In 2020, Gender Queer was given two awards by the American Library Association, including an Alex Award, which recognises books published for adults that hold crossover appeal for readers aged 12 to 18. That same year, the book was also a finalist for the Stonewall Book Award for non-fiction.
Iraq war veteran Gaynor was sacked as an Australian Defence Force reservist in 2013 for making anti-gay comments on social media, later winning an appeal against the decision, only for the court to then overturn that ruling.
Gaynor said his police complaint has nothing to do with the gender identity debate.
23 March 2023 - Porn book protest just the beginning
Porn book protest just the beginning
Chris Manning | March 23, 2023
A group of 30 Logan residents staged a protest outside council offices last week in a bid to get five pornographic books taken off local library shelves.
Protest leader and conservative Catholic lobbyist Bernard Gaynor said the protest was “only the start”.
According to Mr Gaynor, the one hour protest was planned on very short notice.
“We’re very happy with the way it went,” Mr Gaynor said.
“We had people join in who just happened to be walking past.”
Mr Gaynor said he was waiting to hear a response from Council about the future of the books – some of which contain alleged child pornography.
He said he would not rest until he was assured the books would never return to library shelves.
“We will make sure of that,” he said.
Mr Gaynor’s petition to remove the books has over 1,400 signatures.
He said the “court of public opinion” would be the ultimate decider and those who advocate for the alleged porn would be “named and shamed.”
Beyond his feud with Logan City Council, Mr Gaynor has taken his complaints to the books’ distributors – prompting Penguin Books to remove one of the books from sale and all related links from its website.
Queensland Police said the books were under review by the Australian Classification Board.
28 March 2023 - It’s one of America’s most challenged books, but we shouldn’t ban Gender Queer
It’s one of America’s most challenged books, but we shouldn’t ban Gender Queer
Jane Sullivan Books columnist and reviewer | March 28, 2023 — 5.30am
If there’s one thing I hope Australia never imports from the US, it’s that country’s raging appetite for banning books. But there are signs the culture wars have reached our shores.
The latest move to ban a book is an approach to the Australian Classification Board to censor Gender Queer, a graphic memoir by non-binary author and artist Maia Kobabe. It comes from conservative activist Bernard Gaynor, and if successful after review, this could mean the book will have to display a sticker warning at the very least. The board could also decide to ban it for certain age groups, or to ban it altogether.
First published in 2019 with a modest print run, by the following year Gender Queer had reached the melancholy distinction of being the most challenged book in the US, banned in 41 districts. Some schools removed the book without ever receiving a complaint. A parent who wanted the book banned from her child’s school library campaigned to the school board with posters of enlarged illustrations from the book. Her tirade was uploaded on social media. It went viral, and the conservative media continued the pile-on, labelling the book “Gay Porn”.
What is all the fuss about? Kobabe’s memoir is heartfelt and painfully honest, an account of being brought up as a girl but becoming increasingly bewildered about sexual identity and gradually refusing to conform to any gender. It won an American Library Association Alex award, for books “written for adults that have special appeal to young adults ages 12 through 18”.
Reviews have been glowing. It has been hailed as “an immensely sympathetic memoir of self-discovery”, and as “a comforting voice from someone who has walked the same paths”. A very small proportion of the text and illustrations is certainly graphic and explicit. These scenes show masturbation, a Greek vase scene of a boy and an older man, and a fantasy involving oral sex and a strap-on dildo.
This sounds alarming, perhaps; and taken out of context, you might at a stretch describe these scenes as “gay porn”. But they fit seamlessly into the story as a whole, a story that is subtle and poignant, aiming to help young people understand themselves and feel they are not alone. It also helps parents and teachers to understand. I learned a lot from it.
Some US protesters claim they are not opposed to LGBTQI+ issues, only to sexual material that they consider obscene. But the move to censor Gender Queer is part of a larger and very powerful conservative movement that has focused lately on banning any books from school libraries that deal with LGBTQI+ issues and identities.
Last year there were 1597 challenges against individual books, the most ever made. Librarians have resigned after being harassed for refusing to remove books from the shelves. Residents have called for the defunding of their local libraries. Politicians have tried unsuccessfully to sue the Gender Queer publishers for obscenity. And activists have accused librarians – and even the whole Democratic Party – of “grooming” young children.
Now this pressure is beginning to be felt in Australia. I hope the Australian Classification Board will resist it. There is perhaps a case for a warning sticker on books that might contain material that a child of 12, say, is not yet ready to see, and parents and librarians might want to monitor that themselves.
But whatever your views might be on gender identity, I can’t see any good reason why older teens or young adults should not be allowed to see a book such as Gender Queer and make up their own minds about it.
29 March 2023 - Uproar over ‘pornographic’ sex in teen manga graphic comic novels
Uproar over ‘pornographic’ sex in teen manga graphic comic novels
Sex scenes too graphic to publish are readily available to teens in local libraries — prompting complaints and calls for an overhaul of the Classification Board.
Clarissa Bye | March 29, 2023 – 7:46PM
Comic books with graphic sex scenes and violent pornographic imagery have been pulled from the shelves of the “Teenage Fiction” section of a major Sydney library, as questions are raised about the classification of explicit material in Australia.
Conservative blogger Bernard Gaynor discovered the extreme material, contained in manga and graphic novels, while researching the book “Gender Queer” and has filed official complaints with police, libraries and councils in both Queensland and NSW.
After Mr Gaynor raised the alarm about Gender Queer earlier this month, which includes sexually explicit illustrations, the Australian Classification Board censor called in the book to be classified, and libraries in Queensland have now begun taking it off the shelves.
Since then Mr Gaynor has uncovered more pornographic illustrations in manga, graphic novels and comics available to children, which have gone under the radar.
And the City of Sydney library late Tuesday began removing some of the books from the shelves of their Surry Hills branch after the Daily Telegraph uncovered explicit material in the teenage fiction section, including a copy of The Boys Vol 1 by Garth Ennis, which includes bestiality and rape scenes.
The film version is rated R while a different book by the same author was declared Category 2 pornography on March 15 by the classification board after the NSW Police brought it to their attention.
A council spokeswoman said the novels were catalogued as adult graphic novels but “unfortunately they were located very close to the young adult graphic novels at the Surry Hills library”.
“Although the books do not breach classification standards or library regulations we are currently removing the books from our shelves pending review of the content and determination of whether the images contained therein are appropriate.”
The same Sydney library shelves also contain Japanese manga books depicting sex, including a series about two Japanese porn stars “engaging in a 10 day sexual romp” called Embracing Love by Youka Nitta.
“Parents across this nation will be shocked to know that local councils have probably spent millions of dollars on pornographic books which they loan to our children,” Mr Gaynor said.
“These books are not checked by the Classification Board before they are imported into Australia and put on library shelves.
“This appears to breach numerous laws from import regulations through to classification laws and even laws that make it crime to produce, own and distribute child exploitation material.
“These books need to be removed and the police, Border Force and Classification Board need to step in and sort this serious problem out.”
The Collective Shout grassroots organisation has also weighed in, calling for the Classification Board to be overhauled, saying comic and manga books with sex scenes should not be in libraries.
“This is not just ‘adult content’, this is extreme, graphic, degrading, violent pornographic imagery,” spokeswoman Caitlin Roper said.
“We are talking about violent rapes of women – some of whom appear to be unconscious or dead – as well as bestiality.
“It’s not a matter of content that should be merely restricted to adults. This material is an endorsement of male violence and abuse of women and it should not be tolerated anywhere, let alone in public libraries for an audience that includes children.”
Books borrowed by The Daily Telegraph from the Teenage Readers section include drawings of sex, naked women, bestiality, orgies and rape that are too graphic to publish.
Under NSW law, if a book is “submittable” material for classification, it is not allowed to be sold or delivered. But unlike DVDs, not all books are automatically submitted for classification.
A City of Sydney spokeswoman said libraries “have a role as a free, unbiased source of information”.
She said both Gender Queer and The Boys were in the “adult graphic novel collection”, although the newspaper clearly borrowed The Boys from the teenage section.
“The guidelines dictate materials from public libraries should not be excluded on moral, political, racial, religious, sexist, language or other grounds, unless titles have a federal or state restriction or prohibition,” she said.
“Parents or guardians may wish to regulate their children’s access to publications based on family values or beliefs.
“The Commonwealth Government classifies items, not local councils.
“The Classification Board has asked the publisher to submit Gender Queer for review. There is no requirement for libraries to take further action for now.”
3 April 2023 - Media release—Classification of the publication Gender Queer A Memoir
Media release—Classification of the publication Gender Queer A Memoir
Classification Board | 3 April 2023
On 3 April 2023, the Classification Board (the Board) classified the publication, Gender Queer A Memoir, Unrestricted, with consumer advice of ‘M (Mature)—Not Recommended for Readers under 15 Years’.
When classifying a publication, the Board is required to consider the impact of classifiable elements within the publication in the context of the publication’s narrative and artistic merits. The Board applies the National Classification Code and the Guidelines for the Classification of Publications 2005 (the Guidelines) when classifying publications.
The Director of the Classification Board, Fiona Jolly, stated: ‘In the Board’s view, this publication can be accommodated in the Unrestricted classification as, within the context of the publication, the treatment of themes is not high in impact or offensive, and the treatment of sex and nudity is also not high in impact and is not exploitative, offensive, gratuitous or very detailed. Given the context of the publication’s narrative and its literary, artistic and educational merits, the Board does not consider that the publication contains material that offends a reasonable adult to the extent that it should be restricted.’
‘While considering that the publication should not be restricted, the Board noted that some content within this autobiographical text may offend some sections of the adult community and may not be suitable for younger readers. For this reason the Board has classified Gender Queer A Memoir ‘Unrestricted’ with consumer advice of “M—not recommended for readers under 15 years of age”.’
Ms Jolly reiterated: ‘This consumer advice does not constitute a legal restriction on its sale or availability.’
Fiona Jolly Director Classification Board
Background
The Guidelines for the Classification of Publications 2005 (the Guidelines) state that, “in considering each element, the Board makes classification decisions based on the impact of individual elements and their cumulative effect. Both the content and treatment of elements contribute to the impact. The Board takes into account the concepts underlying individual descriptions and depictions, and assesses factors such as emphasis, tone, frequency, context and the amount of visual or written detail in those descriptions and depictions.” Thus, specific content that may be accommodated within a certain classification within one context, may fall into a different classification within another context.”
4 April 2023 - Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe allowed to be sold “Unrestricted” in Australia
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe allowed to be sold “Unrestricted” in Australia
Kinokuniya Books | 4 April 2023
On 17th March Kinokuniya received an email from The Classification Board of Australia “calling-in” Gender Queer: A Memoir for classification within three business days.
This graphic memoir – graphic as in illustrated – had been brought to their attention as a title which might cause offense and they had determined it to be a submittable publication. For the uninitiated (which we at Kinokuniya are not) this means that we should not make it available for sale until it has been submitted to The Board for classification. (It doesn’t take too much googling to find the source of the complaint if you’re interested, but I’d rather not give him any more comment.)
Once a title as been called-in we essentially have three options. The first is to approach the local publisher/distributor of the title and ask them to submit it to the board. In the case of Gender Queer there isn’t a local supplier. We have recognised the importance of this title and we import it ourselves, which makes us (and anyone else who sells it in Australia) the ‘publisher’, in the Classification Board’s terms.
Our second option is to remove it from sale and write-off the stock. Why would we do that, you might ask? We would consider doing that, as we have done before, because the cost to have a single book classified for a single store is prohibitive – in this case, based on the number of pages, it is $560. The process could take several weeks, and there is no guarantee of The Board’s decision.
So, there you have our third option – to pay to have it classified ourselves. And we feel so incredibly passionate about being able to represent and champion this title in Australia that we paid the fee, and then waited.
While awaiting The Board’s classification decision we were buoyed by articles such as Jane Sullivan’s opinion piece on Gender Queer for the Sydney Morning Herald, lamenting the Americanisation of our approach to things we don’t like, to the conservative need to ban. As a bookstore, a place of many, varied ideas, we find book banning anathema. And, in this case, this is an award winning book, winner of the 2020 ALA Alex Award and a 2020 Stonewall Award Honor Book. The public libraries in the U.S. believe this books has outstanding merit for young adult readers and so do we. Gender Queer might not only offer some sense of being seen or not so alone to those questioning their gender identity, but could also teach empathy and understanding to those who have no concept of what it might mean. It is one of the most challenged and banned books in the U.S. right now, and the conservative challenge to it here in Australia should ring alarm bells and make us all more vigilant.
On 4th April when we received the Classification Certificate, stating that Gender Queer could be sold Unrestricted we were elated. This book means so much to so many of our staff – we were firmly invested in a positive outcome! And we commend and thank The Board for their thoughtful – and quick – determination.
So, here at Kino, we are pleased and proud to give Gender Queer: A Memoir pride of place on our shelves, and we hope that it can now find the audience it deserves without impediment.
And it might be about time we had another banned book promotion in store – we do hope you’ll be part of it!
20 April 2023 - Appeal plans over classification of Gender Queer book over ‘paedophile drawings’
Appeal plans over classification of Gender Queer book over ‘paedophile drawings’
A controversial book subject to school bans in the USA for a paedophile drawing has been green lighted by Australian censors — but an Australian conservative blogger is calling for the decision to be overturned.
Clarissa Bye | April 20, 2023 – 12:54PM
One of America’s most banned books has been given the green light to remain in Australia’s libraries — but there are plans to launch an appeal against the decision.
The Australian Classification Board has just given an unrestricted rating to the graphic memoir Gender Queer, after complaints to police the book had not been classified despite sexual illustrations.
The controversial book, which has graphic illustrations of masturbation, oral sex and an Ancient Greek style paedophile encounter, has enraged conservatives in the US, where 49 school districts have banned it from libraries.
Conservative Australian blogger Bernard Gaynor said he would appeal a decision of the board last week to give the book an unrestricted rating along with a consumer advice rating of M — not recommended for readers under 15 years.
Gender Queer, by non-binary author Maia Kobabe, is already stocked by many public libraries across Australia.
Mr Gaynor said the book clearly depicted in its imagery a graphic drawing done in the style of an Ancient Greek pottery illustration, of a scene of pedophilic sexual activity between a man and his student, a minor under 18.
In its judgment, the classification board stated that: “The Board notes that on page 134 there is a highly-stylised drawing of a work of Ancient Greek art depicting a sexual encounter between an Ancient Greek scholar and his student.
“However, given the historical context of the artwork, the narrative context of the publication and the stylisation of the imagery, the Board is of the opinion that this image does not depict a child under 18 years in a way that offends against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that it should not be classified.”
University of South Australia senior lecturer and expert in child safety and pornography Dr Lesley-anne Ey said the image clearly depicted a child.
“The image in question portrays Ancient Greek art depicting a sexual encounter between an Ancient Greek scholar and his student, engaging in sexual activity with a child is illegal,” she said.
“The risk of allowing this image to remain in circulation in a book aimed at teenagers and young adults is that it normalises adult-child sexual relationships.”
Mr Gaynor called the pedophilic illustration was “horrific and highly disturbing” and said he intended to appeal the decision.
“Gender Queer is not a text on Ancient Greek art. Instead, it shows its author, Maia Kobabe, fantasising and masturbating to images of paedophilia,” he said.
“There is clearly a serious problem when books showing pictures of pedophilic fantasies appear on children’s shelves of public libraries across Australia.
“More broadly, this scandal shows that public libraries across Australia are refusing to submit books for classification before distributing them to the public, including children.
“I warn all parents to be aware that many thousands of comic-style picture books in public libraries aimed at minors contain sexually explicit material, including images of children engaged in sexual activity.” Equality Australia has been approached for comment.
5 May 2023 - Porn book fight continues
Porn book fight continues
Chris Manning | May 5, 2023
Conservative lobbyist Bernard Gaynor says he’s had a “partial win” in his efforts to remove alleged pornographic books from Logan libraries.
Earlier in the year, Mr Gaynor became aware of graphic novels on library shelves that contained depictions of bestiality and child pornography, one of which he said was in the children’s section.
He made complaints to Logan City Council and Logan police, who referred the books to the Australian Classification Board (RCA) for review.
Mr Gaynor even staged a protest outside the Council Administration Building in March.
At the beginning of April, the RCA classified one of the books, ‘Gender Queer: A Memoir’, as “unrestricted, with consumer advice of ‘M (Mature) – not recommended for readers under 15 years”.
He has since applied for an appeal to reclassify the book.
Almost month later, he received an update from Logan City Council CEO Darren Scott.
“Council… finalised an internal review of Gender Queer: A Memoir with reference to Council’s Library Collection Development Policy,” Mr Scott wrote.
“The outcome of the review is that Gender Queer: A Memoir is suitable to remain in Logan City Council Libraries’ collection and will be held in the Biography section of the Adult collection.”
Mr Scott said the books would be stamped with an advisory sticker to “assist library patrons in their collection selections”.
Mr Gaynor said it was a small win in the right direction, but it wasn’t enough.
“Logan City Council’s decision in relation to Gender Queer shows it accepts that it wrongly placed a book with controversial sexual content on shelves dedicated to teenagers and older children,” he said.
Mr Gaynor has also complained to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
OFT principal compliance officer, Elsie Dunphy, informed Mr Gaynor via email that OFT is investigating Logan City Council Libraries to “to determine whether there has been a breach of the Queensland Classification of Publications Act 1991”.
The books Mr Gaynor complained about were: ‘Gender Queer: A Memoir’ and ‘The Boys, Volume One’.
7 May 2023 - Office of Fair Trading investigates pornographic books and comics at public libraries
Office of Fair Trading investigates pornographic books and comics at public libraries
Books and comics depicting sick sexual acts are being loaned to Queensland children in public libraries, with an investigation underway.
Greg Stolz | May 7, 2023 – 12:00AM
Pornographic books and comics depicting paedophile sex and bestiality are being loaned out to children in Queensland public libraries, sparking an Office of Fair Trading investigation.
The watchdog is investigating a complaint against Logan City Council about the controversial book Gender Queer: A Memoir which has been banned by many libraries in the US but is available in Brisbane and Logan libraries.
The investigation follows complaints from Logan-based former soldier turned conservative activist Bernard Gaynor, who says “hundreds if not thousands” of sexually explicit books and comics are being loaned out by Queensland public libraries.
Mr Gaynor lodged formal complaints with the council and OFT about Gender Queer – one of America’s most banned books – and comic book The Boys (Volume I).
Gender Queer, an award-winning memoir by non-binary cartoonist Maia Kobabe, contains graphic illustrations of masturbation, oral sex and an Ancient Greek-style paedophile encounter, has enraged conservatives in the US and banned by almost 50 school districts from libraries.
Mr Gaynor said he had initially complained to police about Gender Queer after discovering it was on the shelves of Logan libraries alongside children’s comic books.
But police told him they were powerless to act as the book had not been classified.
It was given an unrestricted rating by the Australian Classification Board last month, but Mr Gaynor has spent $10,000 to lodge an appeal.
The Logan City Council launched an internal review after complaints from Mr Gaynor but deemed it “suitable” to remain in its libraries, albeit in the “adult collection”, after the ACB gave it an unrestricted M (Mature) rating as “not recommended for readers under 15”.
In a letter to Mr Gaynor last month, the OFT confirmed it was investigating his complaint about whether books being loaned by the library were prohibited publications. The Boys (Volume 1) is the world’s most banned comic book.
The OFT noted the ACB had given Gender Queer an unrestricted rating but was making “further enquiries with (the) ACB” in relation to The Boys Volume I.
The Boys comics feature graphic sex illustrations including bestiality.
Under Queensland law, anyone advertising, selling or distributing prohibited publications face up to two years jail or an $86,000 fine.
Mr Gaynor said Brisbane City Council had pulled all six volumes of The Boys from its shelves after he complained to them.
He said thousands of books which had not been classified were being loaned out by libraries across Australia, with Japanese manga books “a particularly large problem”.
“I’m coming after councils, starting with Logan,” he said.
“I’m going to make their life an absolute misery and then I’m going to go after all the other councils.
“Books that depict children engaging in sexual activity, including with adults, are disgusting and obscene.
“Council libraries need a big clean-out.”
Australian Classification Board gives green light to child porn
Maia Kobabe uses e/em/eir pronouns. That’s nonsense you can ignore.
Maia Kobabe also fantasises about paedophilia and draws pictures of it in a book she wants your kids to read. That’s nonsense too. But it should not be ignored.
For instance, on page 135 of her book, Gender Queer, Kobabe writes about how she discovered masturbation and the fantasies she used to ‘reach a point of satisfaction’.
Accompanying Kobabe’s words are her pictures. After all, her book is a picture book for kids.
And the picture Kobabe chose to draw of the fantasy she used to ‘reach a point of satisfaction’ is a picture of a naked man with an erection touching the genitalia of a boy.
Yes. You read that right. See for yourself:
It’s not clear whether Kobabe wants to be the man. Or the boy. Or both. Regardless, she clearly gets off on the idea of a man sexually abusing a boy and is not at all ashamed to admit this.
Normally, people are shunned when they admit in public that they fantasise about paedophilia.
Maia Kobabe, on the other hand, drew her fantasy in a book and it’s been placed on children’s shelves in libraries all over earth.
It is quite incredible, really. Hat’s off to Kobabe, who has used her sexual confusion and crayons to do more than most to normalise paedophilia in the minds of kids across the English-speaking world.
However, she has not been acting alone. Such a radical revolution in morality also requires state support and Kobabe also has plenty of that.
It seems that public libraries are the biggest purchasers of her book. And they can buy it because other public authorities give it the green light.
For instance, the Australian Classification Board has just decided that Kobabe’s book is unrestricted to sell in Australia.
The Classification Board even put out a press release earlier this week, stating:
‘In the Board’s view, this publication can be accommodated in the Unrestricted classification as, within the context of the publication, the treatment of themes is not high in impact or offensive, and the treatment of sex and nudity is also not high in impact and is not exploitative, offensive, gratuitous or very detailed. Given the context of the publication’s narrative and its literary, artistic and educational merits, the Board does not consider that the publication contains material that offends a reasonable adult to the extent that it should be restricted.’
Ah, the old Jedi mind tricks at work again.
That picture of porn is not a picture of porn, says the state. Trust us. Don’t believe your lyin’ eyes.
I guess I really should not be surprised.
After all, the same government that says these images taken from Gender Queer are not pornographic also says that it cannot define a woman.
If this is the best the loonies running this joint have got, then we will win this battle. There is no doubt about that.
Eventually, the Classification Board will be exposed and embarrassed. And in the meantime, there is absolutely nothing authorities can do to stop mums and dads and grandparents all over this nation from stuffing Gender Queer into the sanitary waste bins inside the non-gender specific toilets in every school and public library in Australia.
Gender Queer will be taken from the shelves, one way or the other. We will win this fight.
Penguin Australia dumps its child porn – Amazon Australia still selling it…
Earlier this week I reported that numerous online retailers were selling books in Australia that had been banned because they contained child pornography.
Amazon Australia was one of those retailers and it is still peddling porn. It has not responded at all to my emails and the books are still available for sale on its website. You can get them delivered direct to your door.
Penguin Australia, on the other hand, did not sell these banned books directly, although they were advertised via affiliated networks. However, Penguin Australia has now pulled these books from its website.
I received this email a little earlier today:
Thank you Penguin Australia for doing the right thing and dumping these books.
Amazon Australia is still too busy celebrating the perversion of pride to deal with this issue…
Noooo. My delivery today – this has become such a cult! @AmazonAustralia enough is enough. We don’t need it slapped on our packages, on our shopping bags or on our public transport! pic.twitter.com/LIbv2JTNd1
— EllieGray6272 🌸 🇦🇺 🐭 Considerate Communities (@EllieGray6272) February 27, 2023
