Asda has been heavily criticised for promoting an LGBT education pack which parents say normalises paedophilia.
The supermarket’s George department emailed customers with learning packs for primary and secondary aged children created by a pro-LGBT group called Diversity Role Models (DRM).
One exercise in the primary pack told children to watch a video and to consider what would make a good slogan, suggesting ‘Love has no age limit’ as an example.
‘Bad idea’
Suggested reading material in the secondary pack also featured a book called ‘Beyond Magenta’, which includes explicit sexual references including a six-year-old boy engaging in sexual activities with other children.
One passage reads: “From six up, I used to kiss other guys in my neighborhood, make out with them, and perform oral sex on them. I liked it. I used to love oral.”
A number of parents took to social media to express their disgust, with one parent saying “suggesting love has no age limit is a very, very bad idea”.
‘Totally inappropriate’
Another tweeted: “The love has no age could be an unfortunate mistake on its own I suppose. But that Magenta book is totally inappropriate.”
A Mumsnet user added: “That book is hugely inappropriate and disgusting, trying to normalise overly sexualised behaviour to the reader, so wrong and I would be absolutely shocked and disgusted to find my child of pretty much any age reading those words and taking them on board, what on earth is this?!”
Another commented: “Is it OK for ASDA to send parents emails linking to an organisation that normalises paedophilia with red flag phrases such as ‘love has no age’, and recommending books for children that contain explicit descriptions of child sex abuse? Why are they doing this?”
Safeguarding
Safe Schools Alliance, which was contacted by parents complaining about the materials, said: “Asda are a supermarket, should they be recommending home learning packs? Do they understand child safeguarding?”
Baroness Nicholson, former Director of Save The Children, wrote to Asda to complain and questioned whether the supermarket had done due diligence when checking the charity or their teaching materials.
In a statement, Asda said while it was partnered with DRM it was not responsible for the content of the packs.
In response to the backlash, DRM has removed the slogan from its materials, along with the “LGBT-inclusive” reading list, but claimed some of the materials had been viewed “without the appropriate context”.
All About Me
Some of the exercises included in the packs are promoted by the pro-LGBT organisation Educate and Celebrate, and are the same as those used in Warwickshire County Council’s recently withdrawn All About Me programme.
The Council withdrew the programme following a threat of legal action by The Christian Institute.
Also see:
Former sex educator exposes Planned Parenthood ideology
Warwickshire Council drops explicit sex-ed policy after CI intervention
Christian Institute: Council risks court over primary school sex ed policy