How to Handle Reading Your Favourite Childhood Story to Your Kid Once You Realize Its Racist

Over the past five years or so, an incredible shift has happened in the way we think about, refer to and include marginalized people in literature, film, television and the arts in general. It’s only the beginning, but the shift has been dramatic enough to alter how we watch, read and listen to older artistic works.

In fact, my favourite series of books ... has left me utterly speechless at certain moments while I’ve been reading to my children.

We cringe watching Sixteen Candles and all the misogynistic crap our favourite '80s movie is filled with. Eddie Murphy’s Delirious, a comedy special that was groundbreaking and a massive success, had an entire segment that’s so homophobic it would make you ill to listen to now. Unfortunately, your favourite childhood books are no different.

If you love books as much as I do, there’s a good chance you held on to a few of your favourite childhood story books so you could share them with your kids one day. It’s only natural — these books were magical to you when you were growing up, and you want to share that magic.

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Except, those books aren’t all magic anymore. Not only will you find some racist references — in the '80s and '90s, it was perfectly acceptable to refer to Indigenous people as "Indian," and kids played “cowboys-and-Indians” like it wasn’t the most offensive game ever — but misogynistic, ableist and body-shaming references are also rampant.

When I read a troubling passage, I pause briefly and say to my kids, 'This line is a bit of a problem. Can we talk about it more tomorrow?'

In fact, my favourite series of books, which taught life lessons to kids through magical creatures and their stories, has left me utterly speechless at certain moments while I’ve been reading to my children. There’s a story in which a character is described as fat and ugly, and everyone is afraid of her. But it turns out she has a kind and loving heart, so people get past her external ugliness because of her internal beauty. That’s a bit problematic, I’d say.

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I will continue to work my way through some of my old favourites, while reading to my kids each night. When I read a troubling passage, I pause briefly and say to my kids, “This line is a bit of a problem. Can we talk about it more tomorrow?” Because what kid can absorb anything at the end of a long day, cozy in their pyjamas and under the covers?

Then, at a time when I know my kids will be attentive (within reason), I sit down with them and the book and read the passage again. I explain why the passage is problematic. For instance — “We don’t call Indigenous people Indians anymore, because they’re not from India. Isn’t it silly that people who visited from far away thought they were in India when they came here? Now we know better. We call them what they want to be called, because that’s how we respect people.”

After that, it’s up to you what you want to do with the offending book. If it’s not a beautiful work of literature, you may want to toss it. If it’s still a favourite, you can continue to read it to your kids, but when you get to the passage that’s problematic, you can roll your eyes and ask your kids to remind you what’s wrong with what’s being said. History is history; acknowledging it and using it as a teachable moment is how we move forward and do better.