• BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Anyone know what grade level these were for? Middle school seems a bit low for this kind of material but 14-15 year olds? Yeah, they know what sex is.

    • elrik@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      It’s an excerpt from “All Boys Aren’t Blue” and appears to be rated for grades 10-12. It’s about abuse and isn’t erotic. I think the author’s note fully explains the intent, which is totally lost on the senator:

      In writing this book, I wanted to be as authentic and truthful about my experience as possible. I wanted my story to be told in totality: the good, the bad, and the things I was always too afraid to talk about publicly. This meant going to places and discussing some subjects that are often kept away from teens for fear of them being “too heavy.” But the truth of the matter is, these things happened to me when I was a child, teenager, and young adult. So as heavy as these subjects may be, it is necessary that they are not only told, but also read by teens who may have to navigate many of these same experiences in their own lives. This book will touch on sexual assault (including molestation), loss of virginity, homophobia, racism, and anti- Blackness. These discussions at times may be a bit graphic, but nonetheless they are experiences that many reading this book will encounter or have already encountered. And I want those readers to be seen and heard in these pages.

      • Chetzemoka@kbin.social
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        10 months ago

        So this is a nonfiction work about the author’s actual experiences as a teenager? Yeah we really need to stop pretending teenagers are innocent little flowers who never encounter stuff like this (that they often don’t understand and have no one to talk to about)