Attack on ‘sex comics’ author

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33932, 27 August 1975, Page 5

Attack on ‘sex comics’ author

It was unsafe to entrust children to the care of teachers who ask the author of pornographic sex comics how to teach sex education in primary schools, the Concerned Parents Association says in a statement.

The Educational Institute’s Auckland branch had made a grave error of judgment in inviting Dr Sol Gordon, professor of child and family studies at Syracuse University, New York, to address its World Education Conference on “Education in Change” in Auckland this week, the Association said. "At a time when teachers are asking for permission to teach sex in primary school classrooms, they ' should have shown wiser judgment than to invite a man who is on record as saying. To hell with the traditional family,’ and who labels all parents as old fashioned.” the association said. It said that Dr Gordon supported the work of the Sex Information and Education Council of the United States, the activities of

which had aroused strong

t opposition from many par‘ent organisations. I Professor Gordon aimed; I his sex comics at children aged 10 and 11, the age he; considered to be the optimum for instruction in sex. ( He told them that perversions were normal substitutes for intercourse, regardless of laws prohibiting such acts, the statement said. His approach could easily result in children being deluged with even more stimulating facts about sex with which they were too imma- i ture to cope.

“His statement.■ ignorance stimulates ex-' perimentation; knowledge i does not’ is fallacious. Until' children learn from Dr Gor-' don’s comics that perverted > sexual behaviour is accept-■ able, there is good reason to hope that they will not in- i vent it for themselves,” the) association said. J