A New York Times section for children is raising eyebrows for pushing wokeness to kids.
“New York Times for Kids,” a special section which can only be found in physical copies of the Sunday paper once a month or bought on The Times’ online store, is described on its store page as “intended for readers ages 8 to 13 and will help your kids understand the world.”
However, as first reported by The Spectator’s Washington editor Amber Athey, this special kids’ section, complete with an Editor’s Note saying, “This section should not be read by grown-ups,” targets children with far-left ideology.
The Times’ online store advertises its April 2023 installment, dubbed “The Puberty Issue,” in innocuous terms, saying it covers, “Periods, deodorant, acne, overwhelming crushes, moods, middle school bathrooms, gender, parents, friendships, mustache fuzz, bras. It’s all inside.” But parents could be surprised at how different puberty lessons have become since they were kids, with screenshots of the internal pages provided by The Spectator showing a lot of content based on transgender ideology.
Children are told to reach out to a “teacher, school nurse, or counselor” in case they don’t feel “comfortable or safe talking to their families.” The Times also points to the Trevor Project and Gender Spectrum as organizations that can “provide accurate information about what’s happening in your body.”
The piece later suggested finding a “supportive space with friends or a counselor” to “let you safely explore what feels best, like changes to your name, pronouns, or style of dress.” This process of making outward gender changes is often referred to as social transitioning. Schools have increasingly come under fire for helping children socially transition without their parents’ knowledge or consent.
The instagram account for the New York Times for Kids section has numerous other posts related to topics on identity politics, condemning concern about explicit books in schools and bills blocking transgender surgeries on minors.
One 2020 Instagram post touted “6 books to help you understand race and racism.” This list included books such as “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You” by Jason Reynolds and Dr. Ibram X. Kendi.
The 1619 project, created by New York Times writer Hannah-Jones, reframes American history as being focused on racial oppression, arguing that America was founded when African slaves arrived in 1619, rather than with the Declaration of Independence in 1776.