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Sample Reconsideration form #5 Payden's Pronoun Party
he, she, they, ze, and MORE! Young children learning to categorize their world can be thoroughly confused by this nutty book.
Download Reconsideration Form HERE
You can also pick up a reconsideration form at your local library. Ask any librarian and she/he can retrieve one from behind the desk.
How to obtain a copy to read:
Place a hold for a hard copy at the library. The book will be delivered to your library of preference for you to pick up with your library card. It might even be on the shelf; if so, it will be at the following libraries:
Central Library - Conroe
South Regional Library - The Woodlands
Tullis Library - New Caney
I strongly encourage everyone to read this book. Even if you don’t plan to turn in a reconsideration form, reading these books for yourself will help you understand what our kids may face culturally.
Note about the Biblical Worldview:
I do not write this review with the Biblical Worldview because I am communicating with a secular system that isn’t concerned with these beliefs. Instead, I refer to how sexual orientation has been historically taught as a stable identity. Gender is not presented as stable, but as ever changing, which is extremely destabilizing to a child. Furthermore, this unstable gender spectrum is taught to young children who haven’t even gone through puberty yet. This is my focus.
If you would like to write about the Biblical Worldview, please be encouraged to do so by downloading the form and filling it out. Every form that we turn in matters and makes a difference.
If you didn’t see our previous posts about Reconsideration Forms, here is a recap:
You can go to any public library in Montgomery County and ask for a reconsideration form from any help desk. Fill it out and turn it in to the librarian there. If you would prefer to fill it out at home, you can download and print the form here.
We are not asking for the books to be completely removed from the library because literature reminds us of where we’ve been and where we never want to go again. For instance, Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler is in our libraries. You can see all of our suggestions (moving the book to the adult section, labeling the book, etc.) on the reconsideration form example below.
Each book can only be reviewed by the reconsideration board once a year. Therefore, we are asking everyone to reconsider books as a group, we are making recommendations, and see what the response is before moving forward. Hopefully, if we win, the libraries will begin to make changes on other books on their own.
In the coming weeks look out for future reconsideration reviews. So far, three books promoting gender confusion have been moved out of the children’s department. For more information about this, see last week’s substack post:
(Since this post was written, God Made Boys and Girls was ordered for our libraries.)
(Note: I will use pronouns that match biological gender. If this bothers you, don’t read. This substack isn’t for you. Here is a helpful statement from Rosaria Champagne about why she no longer uses preferred pronouns.)
The Reconsideration Form Example:
Author: Blue Jaryn Title: Payden’s Pronoun Party
Type of Material: Children’s Picture Book (for ages 4-8)
Specific objection(s) to Material including specific page(s) or instances:
Beginning with page 3, Payden mentions that he’s not sure if he’s a boy, so “he” may not be best. On the next page his supportive parents suggest he ask his friends and have a party to celebrate.
This book is written for young children who are just learning to categorize their world. The world is a big confusing place and learning to put things into categories is how they make sense of the world around them. Being encouraged to consider a different gender and even given incentive (you can have a party to celebrate) can be destabilizing to a young child bringing undue anxiety and stress.
As we walk through the book, Payden visits each friend who introduces a new pronoun. Hank introduces “he” and here we learn that gender is a spectrum, “Like all the colors in the rainbow.”
The reader is introduced to he, she, they, ze/zir, and e/em/eir. Payden settles on e/em/eir, and the family throws a dress up pronoun party. This idea is great INCENTIVE for a child to choose a unique pronoun. Payden says that these are his pronouns, “for now.”
Historically sexual orientation has been something a person was born as; it was not something that changed over time. The gender spectrum is different. Young children are encouraged to try different pronouns that can change on a daily basis which is destabilizing. Furthermore, this is not something we can find as commonplace historically. This is a new phenomenon. While we have historically seen a very small population of young boys identifying as girls at a young age, this recent explosion of children, especially girls, identifying as trans or nonbinary is new. Furthermore, the new singular “they” pronouns and ze/zir pronouns are brand new.
Encouraging children this young to consider a different gender identity and to socially transition can increase a young person’s persistence. In other words, getting to kids younger will help keep them outside of gender norms. Why do we need children to socially transition who might never have consider this otherwise? Why would we not place this book in the adult section, so parents who want to get this book for their child can, but children will not accidentally stumble on this book? According to these studies, encouraging children to transition can cause iatrogenic harm.
Social-transition-.pdf (statsforgender.org)
What was good about the material?
No, sadly, for the first time I could not find anything good in this book. Even at the beginning, when Payden plays dress up, the book depicts him pretending things he could grow up to be, but then throws in a puppy, and here we go with the dysphoria. Of course, kids pretend to be puppies all the time, and there is nothing wrong with this; however, in this case the book presents it in a dysmorphic way. He can BE a puppy, and he can be a “zir.”
Are you considering the material as a whole?
Yes, I have read the entire book. Unfortunately, this book contains information that is dangerous to minors.
Have you read any reviews on this material?
Yes, and I’m sad you are using these journals to place books in our libraries.
How did this material come to your attention?
Two Moms and Some Book’s Substack of course!
What would you like the library to do about this material?
1. Move it to the adult section (preferred) or young adult section at the very least. This material is not for kids and should not be picked up by kids. Parents can pick it up from the adult section if they want it.
2. Move it to a high shelf out of reach of children with a “controversial material” label.
3. Move behind the librarian’s desk for request.
Requester Represents: Individual: yes Organization: _____ Other: ______
Request initiated by (please print): Your name goes here.
Again, the rest is self-explanatory. If you don’t have a library card, get one the day you turn it in and write it on the form. You can turn the form into any library, and it covers every single copy of the book you are asking the committee to reconsider.
Providing Additional Information: It may be beneficial for you to provide additional evidence as to why encouraging minors to keep secrets and alienate from their parents could bring harm for a child. If you have a background in education or as a therapist, providing information about your educational background and how you have seen this kind of information harm a child could be helpful for the committee. Every unique viewpoint is beneficial as we each make our case.
Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart for helping us with this initiative. We have already made a lot of progress, but there is still so much more to be done.