Johnny the Walrus
Author | Matt Walsh |
---|---|
Illustrator | K. Reece |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Children's literature, Satire |
Publisher | DW Books |
Publication date | March 29, 2022 |
Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
Pages | 30 |
ISBN | 9781956007053 |
Johnny the Walrus is a children's picture book written by Daily Wire host Matt Walsh. It allegorically compares being transgender to pretending to be a walrus, through the story of a child named Johnny who pretends to be a walrus.[1]
Background[]
Walsh is a critic of some parts of the LGBT community; he is against LGBT adoption and has particularly criticised the transgender community and sex reassignment surgery.[1][2] Walsh said on The Ingraham Angle on Fox News that he wrote the picture book because "gender ideology is so absurd that they realize that if they want to convince people of it, they have to get to them when they're very, very young and they're not able to distinguish between fantasy and reality and make these kinds of common-sense judgments" and that he feels it will help to "protect our kids from that brainwashing".[2]
Summary[]
In the book, Johnny is a little boy with an imagination who dresses up as a walrus by using spoons as tusks. When "internet people" find out that Johnny enjoys being a walrus, he is forced to decide between being a boy and a walrus, and he is not allowed to change his mind.[1][2]
Reception[]
Fox News host Tucker Carlson called the book "hilarious".[2] TheBlaze called the book "an effort to push back against radical gender ideology which defies biological reality".[3] The LGBT website PinkNews called the book "hateful" and "transphobic".[3] LGBTQ Nation called the book "anti-transgender", adding that it "is intended to mock transgender youth, comparing the experience of gender dysphoria to pretending to be a walrus".[2]
Johnny the Walrus became the best-selling book in Amazon's LGBTQ+ category before Amazon recategorized it on December 10, 2021, to the Political and Social Commentary category.[1][2][4] In response, Walsh called the recategorization "an unconscionable attack on gay rights and a horrific example of homophobia and gay erasure".[4] GLAAD, an LGBT media monitoring organization, had previously called for Amazon to remove the book from its LGBTQ+ category.[4] Also on December 10, Target removed the book from its online bookstore.[4]
On December 11, 2021, media personality accused Walsh of stealing the idea and plot for Johnny the Walrus from her children's book Elephants Aren't Birds, which was published in July 2021.[5]
See also[]
- Anti-gender movement
- Criticism of LGBT+ movement
- Transphobia
- Transgender youth
References[]
- ^ a b c d Migdon, Brooke (2021-12-09). "Amazon bestseller compares being trans to pretending to be a walrus". The Hill. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e f Bollinger, Alex (2021-12-09). "Best-selling LGBTQ book on Amazon is an anti-transgender picture book". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Wakefield, Lily (2021-12-09). "Amazon lists hateful, transphobic book as number one 'LGBT+ best seller'". PinkNews. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d Midgon, Brooke (2021-12-10). "Amazon recategorizes book comparing being trans to pretending to be a walrus". The Hill. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Sommer, Will (2021-12-11). "Right-Wingers Are Feuding… Over Their Crazy Kid Books". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
- 2021 children's books
- 2021 controversies
- American children's books
- American picture books
- Political satire books
- English-language books
- Children's books with transgender themes
- Allegory
- Transphobia
- Works involved in plagiarism controversies
- LGBT-related controversies in literature