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Johnny the Walrus

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2022 children's book by Matt Walsh

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Johnny the Walrus
AuthorMatt Walsh
IllustratorK. Reece
LanguageEnglish
GenreChildren's literature
PublisherDW Books
Publication dateMarch 29, 2022
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pages30
ISBN978-1-956007-05-3

Johnny the Walrus is a satirical 2022 children's picture book by American conservative political commentator Matt Walsh. The story allegorically compares being transgender and non-binary to pretending to be a walrus through the story of a child named Johnny. It was published by DW Books, a division of The Daily Wire.

Summary

Author Matt Walsh in 2022

In the book, Johnny is a 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 or a walrus, and he is not allowed to change his mind. The "internet people" also pressure Johnny's mother into feeding Johnny worms and taking him to a doctor with a saw, who suggests turning Johnny's hands and feet into fins. Johnny's mother attempts to take him to a zoo to be with real walruses, but the real walruses do not like Johnny as he is not a walrus. The zoo also refuses to accept Johnny. Eventually, Johnny and his mother realize Johnny is a boy and that it's OK to play pretend while being yourself. They head home as Johnny pretends to be a bird.

Reception

Johnny the Walrus became the bestselling book in Amazon's LGBTQ+ category before Amazon recategorized it on December 10, 2021, to the Political and Social Commentary category. Walsh called the recategorization "an unconscionable attack on gay rights and a horrific example of homophobia and gay erasure." GLAAD, an LGBT media monitoring organization, had previously called for Amazon to remove the book from its LGBTQ+ category. On the same day, Target removed the book from its online bookstore.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson called the book "hilarious". Conservative news website TheBlaze called it "an effort to push back against radical gender ideology which defies biological reality." Satirist Andrew Doyle, writing in UnHerd, praised the book for mocking the "indoctrination of the young". LGBT news website PinkNews called the book "hateful" and "transphobic". LGBTQ Nation called the book "anti-transgender" and said that the book mocks transgender youth.

See also

References

  1. ^ Migdon, Brooke (December 9, 2021). "Amazon bestseller compares being trans to pretending to be a walrus". The Hill. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  2. ^ Soper, Spencer; Ceron, Ella (June 25, 2022). "Amazon Staff Demand Ban of Books Calling Transgender People Mentally Ill". Bloomberg News. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  3. ^ Midgon, Brooke (December 10, 2021). "Amazon recategorizes book comparing being trans to pretending to be a walrus". The Hill. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  4. ^ Bollinger, Alex (December 9, 2021). "Best-selling LGBTQ book on Amazon is an anti-transgender picture book". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  5. ^ Wakefield, Lily (December 9, 2021). "Amazon lists hateful, transphobic book as number one 'LGBT+ best seller'". PinkNews. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  6. Doyle, Andrew (May 17, 2022). "How to stop children being indoctrinated". UnHerd. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
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