Trans children charity shares mock ups of Mr Men characters with gender neutral terms

5 August 2022, 00:49

A charity which advocates for and supports transgender children has shared pictures of Mr Men books with gender neutral terms.

The charity showed its support for trans women in sport amid the ongoing row, which came to light after swimmer Lia Thomas became the first transgender person to win a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I title in March.

She transitioned in 2019 and has competed in women's NCAA swimming since 2020.

Since then, a number of sport governing bodies have banned transgender women from competing in female events.

Mermaids, a charity which supports transgender children, posted pictures of the beloved Mr Men characters with phrases such as 'trans women belong in sports', showing its support for those who are trans.

In a tweet with the caption: “Which Little Miss Mermaids edition are you?”, the charity changed the names of some of the children’s book characters.

Read more: Women 'discriminated against' in sport due to trans participation, ex-GB athlete claims

Among the changes included “Little Miss Tiny” to “Little Mx Trans Women Belong in Sports”.

It also changed the nouns for some of the characters from 'Little Miss' and 'Mr' to 'Little Mx' - a gender neutral title for people who are non-binary.

The post was slammed by some people, with one user saying: “Last week we had Stonewall advocate that two year olds can be transgender.

“Now we have Mermaids co-opting Mr Men and Little Miss typically aimed at 2-6 year olds.

“What message does this send about preserving the space for children to be children?”

It comes after Stonewall was forced to row back on a tweet in which it claimed children as young as two could be transgender.

Mr Men is a series of children's books by English author Roger Hargreaves that have sold over 100million copies around the world.