Parents of first-graders in the Bellingham School District in the state of Washington were reportedly dismissed by school officials after protesting a teacher’s decision to read a book about transgender reality TV teen star Jazz Jennings to the young children.
A report at Young America’s Foundation (YAF) noted the group received an anonymous tip that first-grade teacher Jennifer Miller read I Am Jazz, a book that explains how a toddler boy transitioned to live as a girl.
According to the report, Miller admitted she read the book to her first-graders in response to an email from one outraged parent.
“Yes, I did read this book,” she replied in the email that can be viewed at YAF. “It is available in our school library as part of our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion collection. As a district we are working hard to support all members of our school community and promote inclusion through understanding and compassion.”
When parents expressed their alarm to school board members, the officials reportedly refused to take action.
YAF observed a 2018 report at The Western Front, the student newspaper of Western Washington University in Bellingham, that featured an interview with Western alumna Jennifer Mason, president of the Bellingham School Board since 2017, who also owns and operates WinkWink, a local sex toy boutique that self-describes as for “All-Ages” and “identity-inclusive.”
Referring to her role on the Bellingham School Board and running her sex-toy boutique, Mason said, “I always thought that maybe I’d one day run for office, and maybe one day I would open a store, but I didn’t expect that those could happen at the same time.”
Mason includes the following description in her bio on the Bellingham School Board website:
She’s worked for 15 years on behalf of families and children, including as a community educator and trauma counselor in public schools throughout Whatcom County. Currently she is a small business owner working with nonprofit organizations and government agencies on resource development, communication, and events.
When Mason reportedly failed to respond to the concerns of parents whose children heard I Am Jazz, one parent contacted Bellingham Public Schools superintendent Greg Baker.
“Baker refused to engage over email with the parent, and instead requested a phone call–but shut down the idea once the parent asked if he could record the call,” YAF reported.
Mason’s WinkWink boutique’s slogan is “Pleasure is our revolution,” and its website notes Mason offers free workshops and private parties, with “unlimited rowdiness.”
“Planning a bawdy bachelorette party? Celebrating a birthday, divorce, anniversary or other saucy occasion? Come to WinkWink!” the website invites, offering workshop topics such “Sex Toys 101,” “CLITeracy Skills,” “The Fine Art of Fellatio,” and “Feeling Myself: Self-Pleasure Pointers.”
Western Front noted as well:
Instead of organizing products by gender, WinkWink organizes them by body part. Sex toys are categorized as “penis toys” or “butt toys” to keep from making assumptions about customers’ genders or the genders of their partners.
“I am a lifelong feminist and all of the work that I have ever done has been focused on people who have been marginalized,” Mason said. “I’m always going to do my best to center marginalized people.”
In June 2020, Klipsun Magazine, another student publication at Western Washington University, interviewed Mason among other business owners affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the report:
WinkWink owner Jenn Mason used to live a life consumed by working at her downtown shop. Upon walking into the store, customers were greeted by a display of lingerie, sex toys and books showcasing a variety of sex positions. The back of the store was lined with dildos, cock rings, vibrators and more. Now, the glass door of WinkWink remains closed until further notice, and Jenn has been forced to move her business online.
“We have lost some amount of business,” Mason said. “We have lost the ability to plan, the ability to see the long term, the ability to feel stability. I have completely suspended the idea that we will go back to normal. I don’t think there is a normal ahead of this. I think it will be a new normal.”
The report continued that Mason was working from home fulfilling orders and preparing to deliver them while caring for her disabled six-year-old daughter.
“Sex toy family delivery is sort of an odd family thing to do, but it gets us out of the house and the chance to talk,” Mason said.
Breitbart News reached out to Baker for comment and is awaiting a response.
UPDATE – Dana Smith, communications manager for Bellingham Public Schools, sent the following comment to Breitbart News:
Out of respect to families and children’s privacy, as well as to comply with federal privacy law, we aren’t able share details about our communications with families. However, we are confident that when families contact us with concerns, we respond in a timely manner. We have shared more information with our community here.