 | This article needs to be updated.(April 2023) |
Proposed bans of LGBTQ-themed books in the United States.
| This article needs to be updated.(April 2023) |
Proposed bans of LGBTQ-themed books in the United States.
In September 1996, a local chapter of the national Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) created a display in the West Hernando/Staffordene T. Foggia branch library. The branch is part of the Hernando County Florida Library System.
Authors such as Alexander the Great, Gertrude Stein, and Walt Whitman were among the gay and lesbian authors that were included in the display. Books by the authors and red ribbons were displayed, along with a poster detailing the contributions of the authors to literature.
The community quickly responded. Hernando county offices and the library system received phone calls and letters. Responses were both positive and negative.
Assistant County Attorney Bill Buztrey informed county commissioners that removing the display could be considered a violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. This would leave the county open to a lawsuit.
Laurel Solomon was the Library Services Director at that time. She issued a written statements that going forward, all displays would be "created and sponsored by the library itself... to promote library-related activities."
County commissioners stated that this would protect them from "the potential of nonsanctioned radical groups such as Nazis" from creating their own displays.
The Florida Library Association awarded Buztrey and two other county staff members with the Intellectual Freedom Award for invoking the First Amendment.
Many community members felt the library was de facto censorship. Local columnist Jan Gildewell wrote that the policy "indicates to me that reception of intellectual freedom awards is no guarantee of continued freedom--or intellect." [1]
Republican lawmaker Gerald Allen proposed Alabama House Bill 30 (HB30), which would have banned public school libraries from purchasing books by gay authors or with gay characters. [2] The bill did not become law.
A proposed ban in Arkansas would have barred any representation of gay and lesbian people in schools, libraries, and state-funded universities. It passed the state's lower house, but a tie vote in the state senate's Education Committee failed to bring it to the state senate floor.
State Rep. Sally Kern, a Republican from Oklahoma City, supported House Resolution 1039, which would have required Oklahoma libraries to "confine homosexually themed books and other age-inappropriate material to areas exclusively for adult access and distribution." The bill also required that no public funds be used in "the distribution of such materials to children." The bill passed in the house but not the senate.
Organized by year(s) challenged
Queer studies, sexual diversity studies, or LGBT studies is the study of topics relating to sexual orientation and gender identity usually focusing on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender dysphoric, asexual, queer, questioning, and intersex people and cultures.
Peter Parnell is an American Broadway and Off-Broadway playwright, television writer, and children's book author. Parnell is also Vice-President of the Dramatists Guild of America, the professional association of playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists.
David Levithan is an American young adult fiction author and editor. He has written numerous works featuring strong male gay characters, most notably Boy Meets Boy and Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List. Six of Levithan's books have won or been finalists for the Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature, making him the most celebrated author in the category.
Stephen Chbosky is an American film director, screenwriter, and author. He is best-known for writing the bestselling coming-of-age novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999), as well as for writing and directing the 2012 film adaptation of the book. Most recently, he directed the 2017 drama Wonder and the 2021 film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen. His first psychological horror novel, Imaginary Friend, was published in October 2019.
Lesléa Newman is an American author, editor, and feminist. Four of her young adult novels have been finalists for the Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature, making her one of the most celebrated authors in the category.
Gay literature is a collective term for literature produced by or for the gay community which involves characters, plot lines, and/or themes portraying male homosexual behavior.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a 1999 young adult novel by American author Stephen Chbosky. Set in the early 1990s, the novel follows Charlie, an introverted and observant teenager, through his freshman year of high school in a Pittsburgh suburb. The novel details Charlie's unconventional style of thinking as he navigates between the worlds of adolescence and adulthood, and attempts to deal with poignant questions spurred by his interactions with both his friends and family.
King & King is a children's picture book co-authored and co-illustrated by Stern Nijland and Linda De Haan. King & King tells the story of a young prince whose mother is forcing him to find his princess. However, after meeting many princesses, the prince falls in love with another prince. King & King was originally written in Dutch and has since been published in ten languages. The book's illustrations have received both positive and negative reviews, as has the storyline. The book has been analyzed for both its usefulness in the classroom and its challenges to social norms.
Daddy's Roommate is a children's book written by Michael Willhoite and published by Alyson Books in 1990. One of the first children's books to address the subject of homosexuality, the story follows a young boy whose divorced father now lives with his life partner. The book's depiction of a gay household has led to its inclusion in many educational programs, and Willhoite's work was awarded a Lambda Literary Award in 1991.
And Tango Makes Three is a children's book written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson and illustrated by Henry Cole which was published in 2005. The book tells the story of two male penguins, Roy and Silo, who create a family together. With the help of the zookeeper, Mr. Gramsay, Roy and Silo are given an egg which they help hatch. The female chick, that completes their family, is consequently named "Tango" by the zookeepers. The book was based on the true story of Roy and Silo, two male chinstrap penguins who formed a pair bond in New York's Central Park Zoo.
Roy and Silo were two male chinstrap penguins in New York City's Central Park Zoo. They were noted by staff at the zoo in 1998 to be performing mating rituals, and one of them in 1999 attempted to hatch a rock as if it were an egg. This inspired zoo keepers to give them an egg from a pair of penguins, which could not hatch it, resulting in both of them raising a chick that was named Tango.
Justin Richardson is an American author and psychiatrist best known for co-authoring And Tango Makes Three with Peter Parnell.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a 2012 American coming-of-age romantic drama film written and directed by Stephen Chbosky, and based on his 1999 novel of the same name. Logan Lerman stars as a teenager named Charlie who writes to an unnamed friend, and these epistles chronicle his trials, tribulations, and triumphs as he goes through his freshman year of high school. The film depicts his struggles with his, unbeknownst to him, post-traumatic stress disorder, as he goes through his journey in high school making new friends, portrayed by Emma Watson and Ezra Miller. The film's ensemble cast also includes Mae Whitman, Kate Walsh, Dylan McDermott, Joan Cusack, Nina Dobrev and Paul Rudd in supporting roles.
This One Summer is a graphic novel written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki published by First Second Books in 2014. It is a coming of age story about two teenage friends, Rose and Windy, during a summer in Awago, a small beach town. Rose and Windy discover themselves and their sexuality while battling family dynamics and mental disabilities.
Drama is a graphic novel written by American cartoonist Raina Telgemeier which centers on the story of Callie, a middle school student and theater-lover who works in her school's drama production crew. While navigating seventh grade, Callie deals with tween hardship, including confusing crushes, budding friendships, and middle school drama. It is a coming-of-age story that explores themes of friendship, teamwork, inclusion, and determination through Callie and her relationship with the people around her.
Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out is a 2014 book written by American author Susan Kuklin. For the book, Kuklin met and interviewed six transgender or gender-neutral young adults, describing their sense of identity before, during, and after transitioning.
Two Boys Kissing is a 2013 young adult novel written by American author David Levithan. Inspired by true events, the book follows two 17-year-old boys who set out to break a Guinness World Record by kissing for 32 hours. The book includes a "Greek chorus" of the generation of gay men who died of AIDS. Throughout the narrative, the book discusses topics such as relationships, coming out, gender identity, and hook-up culture.
Susan Kuklin is an American photographer and award-winning writer.
Starting in 2021, there have been a considerable number of books banned or challenged in parts of the United States. Most of the targeted books have to do with race, gender, and sexuality. Unlike most book challenges in the past, whereby parents or other stakeholders in the community would engage teachers and school administrators in a debate over a title, local groups have received support from conservative advocacy organizations working to nationalize the efforts focused on certain subjects. They have also been more likely to involve legal and legislative measures rather than just conversations in local communities. Journalists, academics, librarians, and others commonly link the coordinated, often well-funded book challenges to other reactionary efforts to restrict what students should learn about systemic bias and the history of the United States. Hundreds of books have been challenged, including high-profile examples like Maus by Art Spiegelman and New Kid by Jerry Craft.
You Can’t Say That! Writers for Young People Talk About Censorship, Free Expression, and the Stories They Have to Tell is a 2021 young adult non-fiction book edited by young adult author and literary critic Leonard S. Marcus. The book is a collection of interviews of popular children's and young adult writers about their experiences with book censorship. It was published by Candlewick Press.
