Ah, puberty. It’s a time for discovery, growth, and…objectification? Growing Up for Boys, a guide to puberty written Alex Frith seems to think that’s just part of the experience — and after some blow-back, the publisher behind the book has pulled it.
It all started when Simon Ragoonanan, the U.K. parent blogger behind Man vs. Pink, stumbled across this less-than-scrupulous section of the book about the purpose of boobs— and took to Twitter with his frustration at its message:
Wtf? From the @Usborne book ‘Growing up for Boys’: Girls have breasts for two reasons – feeding babies and looking grown-up and attractive. pic.twitter.com/r1I34eLlvK
— Man vs Pink (@ManVsPink) August 27, 2017
Frith did get the “feeding babies” thing right about breasts, but that’s about it. The part about how they’re also there to “make the girl look grown-up and attractive” though? Not so much. (Like, in what realm is it good or helpful to present anyone — especially young boys—with the notion that a part of a person’s body’s purposes include being built for sexual gratification? It’s more than a little bit mind boggling.)
And, of course, Ragoonanan and Twitter did do the good work of mocking this little bit of sexism.
‘Girls have legs for two reasons – for walking and looking grown-up and attractive.’
— Man vs Pink (@ManVsPink) August 28, 2017
Thankfully the publisher, Usborne, has decided to pull the guidebook out of circulation, as Jezebel reports, and will not be producing any more stock with that booby bit in it.
In response to the public’s ire, they released a statement apologizing for the tone-deaf delivery. Per The Guardian:
“This particular chapter aimed to explain and demystify to boys what girls go through at puberty, and to promote mutual respect and understanding. Again, we are very sorry indeed for any offense this may have caused.”
Not much of an apology, but it’s better than nothing.