In a move towards creating more inclusive children's literature, publishers have begun removing certain words such as ‘fat’ and ‘black’ from the works of beloved children's author, Roald Dahl. Though some may see this as censorship, it is largely believed that removing these words is an important step towards creating a more diverse and accepting society.
Several publishers, including Penguin Random House and HarperCollins, have already released updated editions of Dahl's books with the offensive language removed.
The term "fat" has been removed from all written materials. In the book James And The Giant Peach, the character Aunt Sponge is now described as "quite large and very short" instead of "enormously fat and very short". She is no longer referred to as "fat and pulpy as a jellyfish", but rather "pulpy as a jellyfish".
The decision to remove certain words from children's literature is not new. Many classic works of children's literature have been updated over the years to reflect changing social norms and values. For example, editions of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn have removed instances of the n-word in recent years.
The decision to remove harmful language from children's literature is a reflection of society's changing values, and a reminder of the power of literature to shape our perceptions of the world around us.