Travis Vanhoy, a dad from Kernersville, NC, could not believe what his 11-year-old daughter's school was allowing her to read. The sixth grader at East Forsyth Middle School brought home a young adult novel called Real Live Boyfriends.
“She said, ‘Daddy, this is weird,’ and I started reading in it and I was just outraged. It’s insanity,” Vanhoy told Fox 8.
On page 101, the book reads: “And if you don’t like me that much anymore, why do you like grabbing my boob? In fact, I think you like grabbing my boob more now than you did before you left. And oh, actually, that feels amazing.”
Vanhoy believes the content is too racy for 11-year-olds. His daughter wasn't the only student who began to read the book — her friends at school told her about it.
“It’s telling my 12-year-old daughter — in my mind — that it’s OK for a boy to touch her and do these things to her,” Vanhoy said.
The next page in the book discusses a girl having her bottom groped underneath her skirt.
“That’s what it’s telling them. Telling them this is how you act and it’s just OK, it feels good, and that’s unacceptable,” Vanhoy said.
Theo Helm, chief of staff for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, believes the award-winning book should be seen in its entire context and suggests that just because a few pages have sexual content doesn't mean the book is encouraging it.
“If they can’t just blatantly see why it’s wrong then they have no business in the school system,” Vanhoy said.
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