TORONTO

Some are making light of it and calling it ‘50 Shades of Grades.’

Others call it sick and disturbing.

Whatever you call it, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is investigating how a pamphlet instructing a safer way of partaking in bondage, dominance and sadomasochism (BDSM) ended up being handed out to students this week at West End Alternative School on Bloor St. W.

A Toronto mother called it unacceptable and expressed her outrage on Newstalk 1010 Thursday.

“My daughter is only 16,” she told Newstalk 1010 morning host John Moore.

What the teen brought home from what was billed as a mental health fair was a pamphlet — depicting a person dressed in BDSM attire — which talked of ways of staying safe if participating in BDSM.

The mother also said there was another pamphlet that instructed about “safe snorting.” It did not promote the use of cocaine but said “if you are going to use it, this is how you use it safely.”

The woman, who has asked to remain anonymous, said she does not want her daughter exposed to these messages — especially at school.

“If, as they say, it takes a community to raise a child, isn’t it at least worth informing the parents that this type of education is going to be taught?” the mother said to Moore. “I certainly would not have allowed my child to attend had I known.”

The front of the pamphlet states “BDSM: Safer Kinky Sex. If sexually explicit information about BDSM activities might offend you, then this resource is not for you.”

But the disclaimer is hardly enough. Like a previous poster in a school that offered a better way to provide oral sex, this is designed for an adult crowd and those participating in an alternative lifestyle.

It is not for children. Why would it have been allowed to be in a TDSB school in the first place?

The TDSB is attempting to get to the bottom of it.

“We are currently looking into this further to determine if and how this pamphlet was made available,” spokesman Ryan Bird told the Toronto Sun. “The pamphlet was not created by the TDSB, nor was it vetted or approved by the TDSB.”

This comes on a week where parents have kept their children out of classes at a number of schools across the province in protest of the new sex-ed curriculum. But this pamphlet is not part of the curriculum in any way.

In May 2013, a male teacher at the Delta Alternative School put up a poster in class that had the headlines “If you like to F” or “Use Your Head When Giving It: Blow Job Tips” and provided advice for gay men on safer sex practices.

What is going on here? Why does this happen?

I put a call in to the AIDS Committee of Toronto for reaction to this graphic pamphlet, which they have available on their website.

“Representatives of ACT were not responsible for distributing our BDSM guide at West Toronto Alternative. We ensure all of our volunteers and staff are provided with comprehensive training surrounding the appropriate distribution of ACT materials,” said Chris Thomas, communications co-ordinator.

“People interested in kink or BDSM — as with all types of consensual sex — benefit from having access to safer sex and harm reduction strategies, and that is the intention of this guide.”

A school is not where this material should be distributed, says the mother of the West End Alternative School student. In 2013, the teacher was removed from the classroom but later returned.

Stay tuned to see what transpires this time.