Outrage after school biology textbook illustration shows pregnant woman with 'straight out of porn' Brazilian wax

Outrage after school biology textbook illustration shows pregnant woman with 'straight out of porn' Brazilian wax

Parents in the UK have expressed outrage and demanded that publishers withdraw a certain GCSE book from schools across the country after it allegedly showed a pregnant woman with "pornstar" pubic hair popularly known as a "Brazilian."

According to critics, the image featured in the science revision book "looks like it comes straight out of a porn film." The illustration shows a pregnant woman and the position of the baby inside her. However, it also showed the woman's highly groomed pubic hair. Describing the illustration as "seriously disturbing and disgusting," parents demanded that renowned publisher Pearson withdraw the 2017 textbook and issue a corrected version, Daily Mail reports.



 

While one comment called for Pearson Edexcel to "formally apologize" after having used the offensive "landing strip" illustration in its International GCSE Human Biology textbook, another comment posted by a mother said it "depicts a woman with pubic hair that looks like it comes straight out of a porn film."

"It may appear trivial, but it is definitely unhealthy. This is part of the learning that gets drummed into girls about how disgusting they are, how they should be ashamed of themselves, how their discomfort is irrelevant to others," another commenter wrote on a Mumsnet forum.

James Mannion wrote on Twitter, "It's just so unnecessary for the diagram. Somebody sat there and drew this. What were they thinking? And who signed off on it?"

According to critics, the image featured in the science revision book (pictured) "looks like it comes straight out of a porn film"  (Booktopia)
According to critics, the image featured in the science revision book (pictured) "looks like it comes straight out of a porn film"  (Booktopia)

According to Vivienne Porritt, the co-founder of education movement #WomenEd, the illustration "may encourage boys to ask girls if they have had a Brazilian." She added, "There is much evidence that girls are already victims of sexual harassment in schools and this image would add to that."

That said, quite a few Twitter users did not see the point of such a huge backlash and urged critics to "get a grip." Jamielisa Jacquemin said, "It’s a human body! Get over it... We all have one! Different shapes... Some people are so ridiculous, more things to worry about in the world!"

Meanwhile, Pearson announced they had already replaced the image when the textbook was reprinted in May 2018. "Clearly, we did not mean to cause offense with the original version and we would be happy to provide the updated version free of charge to any student or teacher who would like a replacement," a spokesman said.

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