by StuntDouble

Dottie the lesbian sock and how she found her match

If you're a little lesbian who is afraid you'll never find your match, Christine Gayle has written a book for you — assuming you can read on a first grade level. Gayle's new story Dottie the Sock: How I Found My Pair! is the tale of a young sock who is quite happy, until she realizes she hasn't found her match.

The book's descriptive blurb reads:

She won't give up until she finds [her match]. She asks her Mom. She asks her Dad. She asks her Sister. She asks her Brother. She even asks her Nana and Papa. She doesn't find her pair, until she looks inside of herself and follows her heart.

Dottie, you see, is a little queer sock.

How I Found My Pair! is only the first of Dottie's adventures. Once she finds her pair, the little lesbian sock is going to star in a 10-book series, through which Gayle hopes to teach children to accept and respect themselves, as well as their peers. She dedicated the first Dottie story to four grade-school children who committed suicide after being tormented by classmates.

Dottie isn't written PSA-style. The language is simple and fun, the pictures are colorful, and the little sock's escapade is believable: she's just a girl sock looking for another girl sock to love her.

"The story I’m trying to tell is that Dottie is just like anyone out there," Gayle told NBC. "It doesn’t matter if she’s black or white or Muslim or lesbian."

With a mission like that — one which Gayle calls "Operation True Change" — Dottie is sure to be universally loved, right?

Wrong.

When Dottie was released last week, Gayle began receiving emails from angry parents saying there should be some kind of Big Gay warning on the outside of the book. It seems so non-threatening, then you open it up and — BOOM! — homosexual stockings. How is a kid supposed to recover from something like that? Oh, and also: writing about lesbian socks will cause God to doom America to hell.

They're here; they're queer; wash with like colors, tumble dry.

If conservative parents don't like Dottie the Sock: How I Found My Pair!, wait until they get a load of the next books in the series: Dottie the Sock: How I Discovered I'm a Top!, Dottie the Sock: I Won't Be Your Cross-Stitch Experiment! and the shockingly poignant Dottie the Sock Discovers The Dryer!

(Kidding, Parents Council.)

Gayle said, "Many parents will not buy my books, due to the fact that Dottie is a lesbian sock. But the parents that decide to change the way they view others and accept others for their differences will change the world forever."

You can find out more about Dottie at her website: dottiethesock.com, or you can follow Christine Gayle on Twitter.

Do you think Dottie's adventure is one worth reading?

StuntDouble's blog

Submitted by

StuntDouble

on July 1, 2009 - 10:00am.

TAGS ::

!

Submitted by

Brynn (65 posts)

on July 1, 2009 - 10:02am.

it's about time kids get something a little more serious than "walter the farting dog!"

go, dottie!

What a cute book

Submitted by

Cheebras (42 posts)

on July 1, 2009 - 10:16am.

Wow, there is so much hate for such a small little book.

www.cheebras.com, Nice things for Naughty Kitties

haha

Submitted by

Kristi (19 posts)

on July 1, 2009 - 10:28am.

"Dottie the Sock: I Won't Be Your Cross-Stitch Experiment!" hahaha that is amazing!

Oh no whats going to happen

Submitted by

Lauz (824 posts)

on July 1, 2009 - 10:34am.

Oh no whats going to happen when dottie the socks girlfriend gets lost in the wash?!!! And will dotties girlfriend still love dottie eventhough she got shrunk in the dryer? Though I heard through the grapevine that dottie the socks partner had an affair with a pair of pantihoses, what a filthy sock, dottie could do so much better!!

Love the idea of this book, the possibilites are endless for poor dottie, and teaching the kids about the hearbreak of love through the medium of socks genuis!!!

The possibilities are endless for sock drama!

Mwahxxx

ratings

Submitted by

clairey (157 posts)

on July 1, 2009 - 11:16am.

I wonder how Dottie should be rated - PG-13 possibly. What is the age that is safe to say kids aren't gonna turn gay by reading about a lesbian sock? Are little boys also going to turn into lesbians? If we burn this book at church, is it going to smell like socks?

I have so many questions...

Wouldnt really make much of

Submitted by

Lauz (824 posts)

on July 1, 2009 - 12:44pm.

Wouldnt really make much of a difference, lots of churches smell like socks anyway, especially in summer lol.

Mwahxxx

Speaking as a school psychologist...

Submitted by

TheWeyrd1 (766 posts)

on July 1, 2009 - 12:56pm.

Dottie is probably VERY G rated. I'm sure you've read pre-school books about two (somethings...could be animals or inanimate objects) being very good friends that weren't of the same gender (though how we actually know that sometimes I'm not sure). And anyway, there are books out there about mommies and daddies, and two daddies or two mommies. And older siblings and their girlfriends/boyfriends. So I don't think it's an age thing.

I'm going out on a limb here and assume that Dottie and her other half are NOT having sex. Most parenting books do suggest that having conversations about sex or "where do babies come from" be initiated by the child and in language appropriate to their age level. Maybe reading about Dottie will result in some questions about what those socks actually do when they're in the sock drawer...heh...but I doubt it. On the other foot, if the kiddos keep the books on their bookshelves for many years and then re-read them at age...say...10...THEN there might be a few difficult questions to answer. I mean, do YOU know what those socks are doing???

Daw, wicked cute!

Submitted by

Ashley (94 posts)

on July 1, 2009 - 2:42pm.

This sounds like a book I need to buy and read to my little cousins when they come to visit! It'll be a nice addiction to the other "D" books: Dr. Suess, Dora, Dinosaur Adventures, and Disney =)

It breaks my heart

Submitted by

Shannon (700 posts)

on July 1, 2009 - 2:52pm.

To know there are grade school children committing suicide because of the torment they receive from peers. It's the flipside to being out I know too well. I grew up with a gay father, and I was unfortunately very out and proud for him to his dismay. I know that bullying and torment. Nothing like being told you and your dad are going to hell by a room full of your peers and a teacher who says nothing or is only uncomfortable when your parent arrives at school. I can never describe the alienation and pain growing up like that caused. But imagine it like this: your worst case scenario as an adult not leading to death, and then amplify it by ten and stretch it out as an everyday occurence. Some people really do experience that. I can see where they're coming from.

It's a pity, it really is. I'd buy this book just to make sure she remains in publication. In fact, I think I will. These sorts of books need our support, because it's one of the only way to force growth. Even if they're raised to not agree with it, they should see it's not scary or threatening. It's a shame when people have to do things to make sure children can still be children and do what they do best: be more human than adults are.

We laugh at the conservative reaction, but that underlying shadow of why this book is out is very painful indeed.

~Without risk, there can be no innovation. Without innovation, there can be no advancement. ~