No, we haven’t banned books on pigs – but sensitivity is key in global publishing

At Oxford University Press we have to balance children’s cultural and learning needs, while retaining some healthy common sense

• 
• • Jane Harley
  • theguardian.com, Thursday 15 January 2015 - The Guardian

‘Cultural taboos must never get in the way of learning. We wouldn’t dream of editing out a ‘pig’ character from an historical work.’ Photograph: Royalty-Free/Corbis

Given that our editorial guidelines that reference pigs and pork have been in place for as long as I can remember, little did I imagine that they would attract international headlines claiming that the Oxford University Press had banned sausages. To clarify, OUP does not have a blanket ban on pork products in its titles, and we do still publish books about pigs. Although there have been no recent changes to our guidance on this topic, these articles highlighted the fine balance needed when considering students’ cultural and learning needs.
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