The new chief executive of LGBT activist group, Stonewall, has called for preschool children to be taught to “celebrate” being gay as part of a proposed Government-funded campaign to tackle ‘homophobia’ in schools.
Ruth Hunt said she wanted Stonewall to commission a series of books “celebrating difference in all its forms” to encourage under-fives to “think about different families”, including same-sex households.
“I think the next step is about going into preschools,” she said. “I know from all my godchildren that the quality of children’s books depicting difference is dire.”
She added: “I really want to commission – and this is something we’ve got to talk about as an organisation – a suite of books that celebrates difference in all its forms for under-fives. With different families in it but also mixed-race people and sent into every preschool setting. That will take time too. But that is possibly one of the most radical campaigns we could do.
“The most important thing is that it’s all age appropriate, but we grew up reading Cinderella and that didn’t turn me into a blatant heterosexual, so we need to just chill out a bit, don’t we? Banning books is never the way. There’s no evidence whatsoever that you can make anyone gay.”
Ms Hunt said that the proposed initiative had the backing of the new Equalities Minister and Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, who last year voted against the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act.
“Nicky Morgan wrote to me this week saying she was very keen to tackle homophobic bullying in schools, and there’s a very real commitment to shifting attitudes in schools,” she said.
Last week, Nicky Morgan appointed the former Head of Education at Stonewall, Luke Tryl, to be her ‘personal adviser’ following heavy criticism of her by gay activists in light of her opposition to same-sex 'marriage'. It is believed that measures to tackle 'homophobic bullying' in schools will be high on his agenda in his new role.
Ms Hunt said that the Coalition Government had been supportive of Stonewall’s work with children so far, including the move to send a film into every primary school teaching children about same-sex households.
Andrea Williams of Christian Concern said: “Those who want to turn the world on its head have often tried to manipulate the state education system to achieve their ends. The ideological propaganda machine of Stonewall continues to gain momentum and the manipulating of the state education system is a key part of their strategy. The normal pattern of marriage and family has been under attack for decades now with devastating consequences, especially for children, so news of further attempts are very concerning.”
She added that there will be a strong parental reaction if the Government agrees to fund an LGBT campaign agenda to promote a “whole variety of different ‘family relationships”.
“Children would fare much better if taught more clearly about the normal pattern for raising the next generation,” she said.
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