A video featuring a lesbian couple who are completely shocked by the content in Barnes & Noble’s LGBTQ+ children’s book section has gone viral.. 

The couple, shown in the video speaking candidly about their concerns, call out the bookstore’s dedicated section featuring titles aimed at young children.

“Okay, we’re gay. But we’re in Barnes & Noble, and there’s a gay kids’ book section. And this sh*t is crazy,” one of the women says in the video.

They cite specific pages of “The Gay B-C’s,” a book for young children that runs through the 26 letters of the alphabet. The $10.99 board book opens with (you guessed it) A, which the authors say is for “aro and ace, words we use to say that love and attraction may be felt in different ways.”

For the uninitiated, “aro” is “short for aromantic, meaning they experience little to no romantic attraction,” while “ace is short for asexual, meaning they experience little to no sexual attraction,” Google’s AI says. “Being aroace, therefore, means experiencing little to no romantic or sexual attraction.”

The Barnes & Noble site says the age range for readers is 3 years to 7 years old and describes the book this way: “A playdate extravaganza transforms into a joyful celebration of friendship, love, and identity as four young friends sashay out of all the closets, dress up in a wardrobe fit for kings and queens, and discover the wonders of their imagination.”

Other examples from the book include, “B is for Bi, you can shout it out loud, ‘I like more than one gender, and that makes me proud!’” C is for “coming out,” D is for “drag,” and “I is for intersex, some are born with different parts, everybody and every body, is an amazing work of art!” The women laugh when they read “K is for Kiki,” which they explain signifies gossip within LGBTQ+ culture. 

“This is pushing it. For a baby. This is pushing it,” one woman says. “This is crazy, even for us,” they continue, referring to the placement of such content for very young readers. 

Another board book the couple points out, “Bye Bye Binary,” has an age range of “3 months to 4 years.” The bookstore’s website blurb says: “Is it a boy? Or a girl? WHAT’S IT TO YA?!”

“Our little bundle of joy has arrived – to dismantle gender norms!” the blurb says. “A joyful baby refuses to conform to the gender binary and instead chooses toys, colors, and clothes that make them happy. This tongue-in-cheek board book is a perfect tool to encourage children to love what they love and is also a great baby shower gift for all soon-to-be-parents.”

In all, there are 17 pages on the bookseller’s website listing LGBTQ+ books targeted at children. 

Barnes & Noble, one of the largest booksellers in the United States, did not respond to numerous emails and phone messages requesting comment. Still, the video has drawn strong reactions online. Some social media users praised the bookstore’s decision to highlight LGBTQ+ content inclusive of all ages, while others accused the retailer of promoting inappropriate messaging in materials aimed at children.

“Barnes & Noble, stocking ‘The Gay BCs’ and ‘Bye Bye, Binary’ for kids? That’s not a bookstore, it’s a woke indoctrination center. CALL IT OUT: ‘You’re not selling books, you’re selling confusion to toddlers. Pathetic.’ Get a grip, @BNBuzz, and stop pushing this crap on kids. It’s not education, it’s exploitation,” one X user wrote.

“With all due respect, this is the difference between being gay and being perverted and pedophiliac in my opinion,” wrote another. “Seriously I’m sure this has a lot to be studied deeper, but this is a good start on understanding the difference between the two.”

Said a third: “We used to take our grandkids to Barnes & Noble for story time on Saturday mornings. We’d let them pick out books to buy, wander through the toys and maybe get something. Then they started grooming kids, promoting sexually explicit content to very young children. Never went back.”