Sex is an appropriate subject matter in books read by young people if it
features in a story where 'actions have moral consequences', the novelist Philip
Pullman has said.
It is 'right that there could
be' sex scenes in books read by young people, Philip Pullman says. Photo: REX
The author of the His Dark Materials trilogy said he did not think any
subject young people encounter in real life should be “forbidden” from
literature.
He also suggested that books were likely to deal with sex in a more sensitive
way than the internet.
His comments follow those made by Malorie Blackman, the
newly-appointed children’s laureate and writer of teenage fiction, earlier this
week.
Blackman argued that books for teenagers should contain realistic scenes
about sex to prevent young people learning everything from online pornography.
Responding to her comments, Pullman said it was “right that there could be”
sex scenes in books read mainly by young people “if you put it in the context of
a story in which actions have moral consequences.”
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I
don’t think there’s anything they encounter in life which is forbidden to them
in literature.
“Literature can take a longer look at something than just a quick snapshot.
“I remember when Lady Chatterley’s Lover [the D.H. Lawrence novel initially banned in the UK for its allegedly risqué content] was being passed around school…
“There seemed to be mutual respect and tenderness [in the sex scenes] that seem to be absent on the internet.”
But Pullman, whose novels won a huge following among both children and adults, disagreed with the idea that literature could be divided into children’s books and adults’ books.
“I’m a bit wary of this idea of books written for young people,” he said. “People will find their own books, whatever they say they’re written for.”
He has previously argued that all children should be taught Bible verses and fairy tales as modern families are too distracted by television and the internet to tell their own stories.
“Literature can take a longer look at something than just a quick snapshot.
“I remember when Lady Chatterley’s Lover [the D.H. Lawrence novel initially banned in the UK for its allegedly risqué content] was being passed around school…
“There seemed to be mutual respect and tenderness [in the sex scenes] that seem to be absent on the internet.”
But Pullman, whose novels won a huge following among both children and adults, disagreed with the idea that literature could be divided into children’s books and adults’ books.
“I’m a bit wary of this idea of books written for young people,” he said. “People will find their own books, whatever they say they’re written for.”
He has previously argued that all children should be taught Bible verses and fairy tales as modern families are too distracted by television and the internet to tell their own stories.
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