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58 UK public libraries have parenting books with advice to encourage children to detransition (www.wearequeeraf.com)

submitted 22 hours ago by okwithmydecay@leminal.space to c/unitedkingdom@feddit.uk

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[–] FishFace@piefed.social 15 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

The book sounds harmful, but is it the job of libraries to pick books according to such a criterion? That question was going to be rhetorical, but now I think about it, I genuinely have no idea if public libraries have some charter or other that would restrict what kind of books they hold.

I would be more concerned about books on woo-woo health stuff like homeopathy - I'm sure there are books in libraries that have the effect of discouraging people (including parents) from using alternative medicine instead of medicine.

BTW, 58 libraries is about 2% of the total libraries in the UK.

[–] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 5 points 19 hours ago

On the one hand, you don't really want to give people the power to decide what books are available. Assholes would use that to remove queer books, for example.

On the other hand, that power is already implicitly in place. There's finite space in a library, so they must choose a subset of all possible books. I'd want to know how the existing processes work before suggesting changes.

[–] Ludicrous0251@piefed.zip 4 points 19 hours ago (2 children)

Here's the problem - book bans swing both ways.

Whatever justification you use to get books like this out of the library will inevitably be contorted by conservatives to ban books on healthy transitioning.

IDK what the solve is here, would love to hear folks thoughts. Move it to the fiction section? Staple a disclaimer inside the cover?

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 5 points 18 hours ago

Let people read whatever book they want and make up their own minds. Libraries aren't supposed to be a "ministry of truth"

[–] flamingos@feddit.uk 3 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

The right doesn't need the left to do something to do it, they just do it. Reform in Kent already tried to do a ban against books with 'transgender themes' (this was later revised to adult transgender books after backlash). If we're going to not exercise power, it should be for something more than a fear the right will also do it, because the right doesn't care and will do it anyway.

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 3 points 18 hours ago

If someone is able to find out they aren't actually trans, isn't that a good thing? Having doubts about gender while growing up might be a new normal we'll have to learn how to handle, there will be some people that are cis and there will be some people that actually have gender dysphoria and transitioning would be in their best interest.

[–] LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.com -1 points 21 hours ago

Their goal has always been the total non-existence of trans people. They don't actually care about whether it's the right choice for someone or not, they simply do not want it to happen at all.

[+] Lembot_0006@programming.dev -6 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

Why not? Kids are dumb, so when they say they want to change gender it doesn't mean they really need that. Some do, others just "have the phase". Like with goth clothes, reading poetry, etc.

So the book might be useful if written well.

[–] ImgurRefugee114@reddthat.com 3 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) (1 children)

About the author...

In March 2022, O'Malley was slated to speak at an NHS conference on gender dysphoria. The event was cancelled following complaints by NHS whistleblowers, researchers, and trans rights activists, who accused a majority of the speakers as having a "record of extreme prejudice towards trans people". Open Democracy said the speakers had "close links to proponents of anti-trans conversion therapies".

On 10 May 2022, TD Mick Barry raised issue with O'Malley's invitation to the [education] conference, referring to a Twitter Spaces conversation in which she stated "I don't think you need to give empathy at all, none, zero. I think I should because I'm trying to understand them" when asked why woman should have sympathy for who they describe as autogynephiles.

LGBTQIA+ activist Izzy Kamikaze also shared link to the released audio. O'Malley has sent a legal letter to Barry accusing him of defamation and sent similar language to Kamikaze for sharing the link

In 2022, O'Malley appeared in a video produced by the Ickonic film company, which is largely owned by antisemitic conspiracy theorist David Icke

(The space-lizards guy)

In August 2025, the Irish Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy published a piece in which they criticised O'Malley and Genspect as holding an "anti-trans stance" and wanting to marginalise trans people, saying that psychotherapists needed to be alert to disinformation. In response, O'Malley initiated a legal case against them and the writer of the article for defamation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stella_O'Malley

But I don't think her books should be banned or anything like that, even if she was malicious. And there's certainly an ounce of truth in her therapeutic work: there's a whole lot of people who are gender-questioning, nonbinary, or nonconforming, and they should be encouraged to explore those possibilities rather than just be smacked with the trans label. In that sense, I'm of the opinion that clinical psychology has broadly made an overcorrection (understandably...) and can be too eager to see patients as having GD. But for every person sharing a story about feeling like they were influenced into seeing themselves thru a trans lens by providers, there are many more who felt oppressed or denied or disbelieved when they sought care... So it's a difficult subject with a wide range of experiences.

Having space and time for exploration and deconstruction is important. The problem is that there are lots of bad actors who hedge their bigotry with the same language as this to disguise their prejudice and push an agenda informed by nothing but fundamentalism or essentialism...

[–] rah@hilariouschaos.com 1 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (1 children)

David Icke

KKK

Wait what? What does David Icke have to do with the KKK? Did I miss something?

Edit: LOL I think you might be confusing David Icke and David Duke?

[–] ImgurRefugee114@reddthat.com 1 points 15 hours ago

Oh you're probably right! Thanks

[–] TribblesBestFriend@startrek.website 1 points 21 hours ago (2 children)

The problem is that it is probably written like shit and at best it’s a « gateway drug » for Christian Facsist rethoric

[–] Lembot_0006@programming.dev 5 points 20 hours ago

It might be. We have too many fanatical religious people around. But it also might be written by a specialist psychologist who has experience working with people wishing transition and who actually knows the situation.

But one thing is for sure -- nobody here will read it to figure out what kind of book it really is.

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 1 points 18 hours ago

You're making assumptions here. It would need to be a specific book/author who's doing this in order to discredit it. And even then, some people erroneously label pro-lifers as "christofascism". A product of the American culture war we have no need of importing over here to Blighty.