Oxford University Press reportedly barred pigs and ‘anything pork-related’ from child

What is next, book burnings?
Oxford University Press reportedly barred pigs and ‘anything pork-related’ from children’s book | National Post

Oxford University Press has reportedly cautioned against references to pigs, sausages and “anything that could be perceived as pork-related” in an apparent attempt to avoid offending its Muslim and Jewish readers.

BBC Radio 4 host Jim Naughtie read a letter that the publisher allegedly sent to a children’s author, listing “the things prohibited in the text.”

Re: Oxford University Press reportedly barred pigs and ‘anything pork-related’ from c

JANFU said:

What is next, book burnings?
Oxford University Press reportedly barred pigs and ‘anything pork-related’ from children’s book | National Post

Oxford University Press has reportedly cautioned against references to pigs, sausages and “anything that could be perceived as pork-related” in an apparent attempt to avoid offending its Muslim and Jewish readers.

BBC Radio 4 host Jim Naughtie read a letter that the publisher allegedly sent to a children’s author, listing “the things prohibited in the text.”

Click to expand...

And you took this article at face value?

Re: Oxford University Press reportedly barred pigs and ‘anything pork-related’ from c

"....One Canadian publisher noted that many European children’s books never make their way onto North American bookshelves because they contain scenes of nudity or sex. “Month after month, I see absolutely beautiful books and say ‘oh, it’s too bad about that couple copulating up in that cloud’ … that makes it difficult in our market: it’s probably not going to set the world on fire, sales-wise,” said Sheila Barry with Groundwood Books in Toronto."

OP's link

Re: Oxford University Press reportedly barred pigs and ‘anything pork-related’ from c

I doubt books about beef recipes sell well in India. It is all about marketing, not taking sides.

Re: Oxford University Press reportedly barred pigs and ‘anything pork-related’ from c

JANFU said:

What is next, book burnings?
Oxford University Press reportedly barred pigs and ‘anything pork-related’ from children’s book | National Post

Oxford University Press has reportedly cautioned against references to pigs, sausages and “anything that could be perceived as pork-related” in an apparent attempt to avoid offending its Muslim and Jewish readers.

BBC Radio 4 host Jim Naughtie read a letter that the publisher allegedly sent to a children’s author, listing “the things prohibited in the text.”

Click to expand...

A publisher setting terms. Damn them.

Re: Oxford University Press reportedly barred pigs and ‘anything pork-related’ from c

Deuce said:

And you took this article at face value?

Click to expand...

From the link
It is “incorrect to ascribe this to self-censorship — it’s more a case of global market forces at work,” said Lydia Moëd, an agent with the Canadian literary agency The Rights Factory and a veteran of the U.K. children’s publishing industry.

“If there’s a choice between having a pig or, say, a bunny, as a minor character in a particular children’s book, publishers are aware that choosing the pig character will severely limit the book’s potential international market,” she said.

The ultimate result, said Ms. Moëd, is that large publishers end up seeking out books with “as few cultural barriers as possible.”

The phenomenon has raised hackles before.

In 2006, a British academic paper entitled “No Red Buses Please” — a reference to the removal of London’s iconic red omnibuses from children’s books — warned that the U.K. was churning out bland, homogenized children’s literature.

Re: Oxford University Press reportedly barred pigs and ‘anything pork-related’ from c

JANFU said:

Oxford University Press has reportedly cautioned against references to pigs, sausages and “anything that could be perceived as pork-related” in an apparent attempt to avoid offending its Muslim and Jewish readers.

Click to expand...

Who knew that the solution to all the conflict in the Middle East, to bring Jews and Muslims together in support of a common enemy, was as simple as distributing copies of "The Three Little Pigs"?

Hard to imagine anything worse than a book about not one, but THREE pigs... two of which get EATEN!! Why that hasn't already been changed to bunnies, I'll never understand.

Re: Oxford University Press reportedly barred pigs and ‘anything pork-related’ from c

Taylor said:

Who knew that the solution to all the conflict in the Middle East, to bring Jews and Muslims together in support of a common enemy, was as simple as distributing copies of "The Three Little Pigs"?

Hard to imagine anything worse than a book about not one, but THREE pigs... two of which get EATEN!! Why that hasn't already been changed to bunnies, I'll never understand.

Click to expand...

I was stationed in German and an Army friend had us over for supper. His wife was German, Easter dinner – served rabbit, a traditional dish. I recommended that she should not serve this in Canada around kids at Easter time.