Parents are beginning to realize that the Left doesn’t like them. The government, the media, the public school system — you name it — all want direct, unmediated access to kids. As the primary educators of children, parents can pass on pesky misgivings about progressive orthodoxies. Battles over “banned” books and K–12 curricula reveal that the Left prefers to start ’em young when it comes to topics like gender ideology and critical race theory. (READ MORE by Mary Frances Myler: My Religion Is Not Your Costume)
As a chosen courier for progressivism, the New York Times is taking up this mantle with propaganda aimed at young children. A new report by the British Spectator’s Amber Athey draws attention to a recent issue of the New York Times for Kids that treats gender dysphoria as a feature — not a bug — of puberty.
Puberty Propaganda
The New York Times for Kids is a monthly section of the print edition geared towards readers between the ages of 8 and 14, Athey reports. The section’s content usually reflects the interests of this demographic, containing “cartoons, games, puzzles and mini articles about cool accomplishments by other kids.”
While the section has previously featured content about summer vacations, fun insect facts, and how to grow a garden, the April 2023 issue decided to take on a more mature theme. In fact, the “Puberty Issue” tackles maturation itself.
The “Puberty Issue,” which is sold out on the New York Times’ online store, is a reader’s guide to all the ins and outs of growing up — plus a hefty dose of progressive propaganda and gender ideology. Athey, who is the Washington editor of the Spectator and author of The Snowflakes’ Revolt: How Woke Millennials Hijacked American Media, highlights multiple instances where the paper presents radical gender ideology as a normal part of growing up.
NEW: Once a month, the @nytimes includes a “Kids Section” in its Sunday paper:
“This section should not be read by grown-ups.”
My investigation reveals the radical gender ideology, climate change alarmism, and pro-CRT material that fills its pages.https://t.co/nWSNObGAeQ
— Amber Athey (@amber_athey) June 5, 2023
The “Puberty Issue” instructs children to explore changing their name or pronouns with friends or a counselor and to speak with their parents about “gender-affirming” care. In short, talk to anyone but your parents first.
One spread, titled “The First Time I …”, illustrates memories from 10 kids and two adults about significant moments in puberty. Some of the content is predictable: cartoons depict the first big growth spurt, the first voice crack, the first pimple, and the first period, among other things.
But these natural biological changes are presented side-by-side with unnatural “first times.” One cartoon depicts the first time a 15-year-old girl told her classmates that she wants to use different pronouns. She explains that she learned about pronouns during pandemic lockdowns and wanted to use “she/they” pronouns because “I have a part of me that’s a woman, and a part of me that doesn’t know who I am.” (RELATED: As Bisexuals Get Older, They Act Straighter)
Another panel shows the moment that a child “realized [her] gender identity.” The border at the bottom of the page plays the same game, listing a few elements of puberty, including “voice cracks” and “needing reassurance” — oh, and “changing your pronouns.”
One resource page about gender expression and sexual orientation encourages kids to watch anime with nonbinary and gender-fluid characters or to visit Q Chat Space to join an online chatroom about gender and sexuality — because that’s never ended poorly! (On this topic, National Review education reporter Caroline Downey’s dive into the disturbing reality of LGBTQ chat rooms is worth a read.)
Circumventing Parents
Few parents are squeamish about the biological facts of puberty. Sure, the conversation might be awkward, but every adult has survived those middle-school years. But Amber Williams, the editor of New York Times for Kids, still treats puberty like a dirty secret.
“Talking about puberty is fraught for lots of reasons, but there’s one reason we don’t care much about: that it makes some adults uncomfortable,” she writes in the introduction. “If an adult tells you they have a problem with this issue, send them our way.”
Williams pits children against their parents, treating puberty like a “kids know better” topic that might be best kept a secret. If an adult tells you they have a problem with encouraging kids to change their pronouns at school, then they’re a bigot. But you, wise 12-year-old — you and I know better.
“Each kids section bears a cheeky editor’s note that says, ‘This section should not be read by grown-ups,’” Athey writes. “That could be shrugged off as a cute joke if it weren’t for the weighty and politically charged topics covered in the pages within.”
It’s no surprise that the New York Times is pushing radical gender ideology onto children, but the paper shows its cards with the “Puberty Issue.” The Left is grooming kids and turning parents into an enemy. The New York Time for Kids would be better blazoned with a label from the music industry: “Parental Advisory, Explicit Content.”
Mary Frances Myler is a postgraduate fellow with the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government.
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