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Harvard Gazette Article: LGBTQ Book Challenges are on the Rise: Here's Why.

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Harvard Gazette Article: LGBTQ Book Challenges are on the Rise: Here's Why.

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Discusses the direct impact of LGBTQ+ censorship on students, teachers, librarians, and authors.

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Nation

Samantha Laine Perfas

6 min read

Experts note challenges across nation being pushed by vocal minority, reflect backlash to recent political, social advances

When Schuyler Bailar was a child, he didn't see many books that reflected his identity. Not his mixed-race identity, and especially not his developing gender identity. It's one of the reasons the first openly transgender NCAA Division I swimmer decided to write "Obie is Man Enough," a 2021 novel about a transgender middle school swimmer.

"I wanted to write about kids like me because kids like me exist," said Bailar, a 2019 graduate of the College. "Writing this story would be a way to help remind other kids like me that they're not alone."

But getting books about LGBTQ issues into the hands of young readers is becoming more difficult with the recent rise of book bans across the nation. PEN America recorded more school bans during the fall 2022 semester than in the prior two. The American Library Association documented 1,269 attempts to ban or restrict books in libraries last year. This is the highest number since the group began tracking the issue two decades ago and nearly doubles the previous record set in 2021. Nearly half - 45.5 percent - of 2,571 unique titles challenged were written by or about LGBTQ people.

"My book isn't allowed in a lot of states right now that ban talking about gender identity," Bailar said. One teacher in Charles City, Iowa, resigned after being placed on administrative leave for teaching a short story by Bailar about his first time swimming for Harvard on the men's team.

"These book bans absolutely affect authors, but I think they affect the children more," he said. "Our stories are not getting out to the kids who need to be reading them."

Michael Bronski, Professor of the Practice in Media and Activism in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, said the challenges reflect political and social tensions due to the rapid change in acceptance of LGBTQ people.

"We've had enormous progress [for LGBTQ rights]," Bronski said. "These book bans - along with the bans on drag shows, along with the attacks on abortion, along with the attacks on trans youth - are really a last-ditch effort, almost magical thinking [from conservatives], to stop this push."

The number of targeted titles may be increasing, but it appears to be less a matter of growing disapproval of parents and others and more about a shift in tactics by groups. Historically, requests for censorship or restriction focused on single books. In 2022, the majority involved multiple titles, with 40 percent of cases calling for bans of 100 books or more.

Lesliediana Jones, associate director for public services at Harvard Law School Library, refers to this new practice as "copycat challenging," where one group compiles a list of books then shares that list - sometimes through social media - with others to mount challenges at their local schools and libraries. This is a primary driver in the rapid increase in calls for censorship.

"You didn't have the mechanisms and the media methods you have now," Jones said. "[Book challenging has] escalated because these groups have become a lot more well-funded and a lot more organized."

The primary reason cited in many LGBTQ book challenges involves sexual content; however, many are also explicit in their intent to prevent children from reading about LGBTQ people and their lives, according to an investigation by The Washington Post. The Post also found that while book challenges have become many, the challengers themselves are few, with only 11 people responsible for 60 percent of filings nationwide.

"I think it is a small and very loud minority that is weaponizing - I sort of hate the word weaponizing - but they are weaponizing and passing these laws" on book restrictions, Bronski said, referring to legislation in states like Florida, Utah, and Missouri. He doubts any of the legislation will withstand scrutiny by the courts, but that's not to say that "grave damage" isn't being done.

"The main intention of all of these laws is to actually - an impossible task - eradicate the visible presence of queer people," Bronski said. "If we think of the world as the legal sphere and the social sphere, the social sphere has actually evolved pretty quickly, and some people ... are uncomfortable with that, and they're using legal tactics to stop that."

But Bronski said these efforts can foster uncertainty and doubt in society and affect how the LGBTQ community is perceived. In a recent Gallup poll, acceptance for LGBTQ people dropped 7 percent across both Democrats and Republicans, with only 41 percent of Republicans supporting LGBTQ people, down from 56 percent a year ago.

Jones, who is also the chair of the Intellectual Freedom Committee for the ALA, said that as a librarian, their job is to provide content that can reflect the entire community. Parents are within their right to help decide what their child can or cannot read, but removing a book from a library makes that decision for all patrons. In recent years, librarians who have refused to remove certain books from their shelves have come under attack by parents who say they don't want their children exposed to content they view as sexually inappropriate. Jones said that's simply not the reality.

"You're not putting 'Gender Queer' next to 'Pat the Bunny,'" Jones said, referring to the top banned book in 2022. "I trust that the librarians at whatever library have looked at the books and put them in the appropriate section."

Alex Hodges, director of the Gutman Library at Harvard Graduate School of Education, said it's important for parents who have concerns about what their children are reading to communicate with their librarians, but it must be in a way that is respectful and appropriate. Professional librarians use criteria to vet books, and parents are free to challenge the process. However it should be part of a dialogue, one that allows both parties to voice specific, concrete concerns.

Illinois recently became the first state to ban book bans; Bronski and Jones agree that it's a step in the right direction, but not enough.

"I think that banning book bans is great. I'm all for it, but it doesn't address the real problem," Bronski said. "You have to change the hearts and minds of Americans."

For Bailar, whose latest book "He/She/They: How We Talk about Gender and Why It Matters" will be available this fall, hopes society will move to a wider acceptance of LGBTQ experiences. He says when he makes visits to education settings some people he meets are "stunned" to discover they can connect with him, that he's a real person deserving of "universal human empathy." He wants this same acceptance extended to trans youth.

"We know when kids aren't allowed to be who they are until they're adults - or if they have to hide their identity - it's harmful to them," he said. "When we affirm children's identities, we can actually save their lives."

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LGBTQ book challenges are on the rise. Here's why.

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Book bans targeting LGBTQ content reached record level highs in 2022. Transgender activists and experts on gender and identity share their thoughts on what's happening both politically and socially to drive this change.

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Washington Post YouTube Video: Book Bans in America are Rising: Here's a Look at What's Lost

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Washington Post YouTube Video: Book Bans in America are Rising: Here's a Look at What's Lost

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Discusses the history of book bans, and how they have shifted in recent years to target LGBTQ+ populations.

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Book bans in America are rising. Here's a look at what's lost.

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AP News Article: School Library Book Bans are Seen as Targeting LGBTQ Content

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AP News Article: School Library Book Bans are Seen as Targeting LGBTQ Content

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Discusses the various perspectives around LGBTQ+ book banning in Louisiana, Florida, and Iowa.

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Teri Patrick bristles at the idea she wants to ban books about LGBTQ issues in Iowa schools, arguing her only goal is ridding schools of sexually explicit material.

Sara Hayden Parris says that whatever you want to call it, it's wrong for some parents to think a book shouldn't be readily available to any child if it isn't right for their own child.

The viewpoints of the two mothers from suburban Des Moines underscore a divide over LGBTQ content in books as Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds pushes an especially sweeping crackdown on content in Iowa school libraries. The bill she's backing could result in the removal of books from school libraries in all of the state's 327 districts if they're successfully challenged in any one of them.

School boards and legislatures nationwide also are facing questions about books and considering making it easier to limit access.

"We're seeing these challenges arise in almost every state of the union," said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom. "It's a national phenomenon."

Longstanding disagreements about content in school libraries often focus this year on books with LGBTQ themes as policymakers nationwide also consider limiting or banning gender-affirming care and drag shows, allowing the deadnaming of transgender students or adults in the workplace, and other measures targeting LGBTQ people.

The trend troubles Kris Maul, a transgender man who is raising a 12-year-old with his lesbian partner in the Des Moines area and wants school library books to reflect all kinds of families and children. Maul argued that those seeking to remove books take passages out of context and unfairly focus on books about LGBTQ or racial justice issues.

LGBTQ people are more visible than even five years ago, Maul said, and he believes that has led to a backlash from some who hope limiting discussion will return American society to an era that didn't acknowledge people with different sexualities.

"People are scared because they don't think LGBTQ people should exist," Maul said. "They don't want their own children to be LGBTQ, and they feel if they can limit access to these books and materials, then their children won't be that way, which is simply not true and is heartbreaking and disgusting."

In Louisiana, activists fear a push by Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry to investigate sexually explicit materials in public libraries - and recently proposed legislation that could restrict children and teens' access to those books - is being used to target and censor LGBTQ content.

Landry, who is running for governor, launched a statewide tip line in November to field complaints about librarians, teachers, and school and library personnel. Landry released a report in February that listed nine books his office considers "sexually explicit" or inappropriate for children. Seven have LGBTQ storylines.

In Florida, some schools have covered or removed books under a new law that requires an evaluation of reading materials and for districts to publish a searchable list of books where individuals can then challenge specific titles.

The reviews have drawn widespread attention, with images of empty bookshelves ricocheting across social media, and are often accompanied by criticism of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican expected to run for president.

The state's training materials direct the reviews to target sexually explicit materials but also say that schools should "err on the side of caution" when selecting reading materials and that principals are responsible for compliance.

Florida's largest teachers union is challenging the law, arguing its implementation is too broad and leading to unnecessary censorship. An education department spokesperson did not immediately comment.

DeSantis said the state has not instructed schools to empty libraries or cover books. He said 175 books have been removed from 23 school districts, with 87% of the books identified as pornographic, violent or inappropriate for their grade level.

The Iowa legislation comes amid efforts there to keep a closer eye on public school curriculums and make taxpayer money available to parents for private school tuition. Reynolds, the governor, has made such proposals the core of her legislative agenda, telling a conservative parents group that their work was essential to guarding against "indoctrination" by public school educators.

Under a bill backed by Reynolds, the titles and authors of all books available to students in classrooms and libraries would be posted online, and officials would need to specify how parents could request a book's removal and how decisions to retain books could be appealed. When any district removes a book, the state Education Department would add it to a "removal list," and all of Iowa's 326 other districts would have to deny access to the book unless parents gave approval.

At a hearing on Reynolds' bill, Republican lawmakers, who hold huge majorities in both legislative chambers, said they might change the proposal but were committed to seeing it approved. The bill has passed a Senate committee and is awaiting a floor vote.

"The parents are the governing authority in how their child is educated, period," said Sen. Amy Sinclair. "Parents are responsible for their child's upbringing, period."

Patrick, a mother of two, expressed befuddlement about why anyone would want to make sexually explicit books available to children.

"I have to believe that there are books that cater to the LGBTQ community that don't have to have such graphic sexual content in them," said Patrick, a member of a local chapter of Moms for Liberty, a conservative group that has gained national influence for its efforts to influence school curriculum and classroom learning. "There are very few books that have ever been banned and what we're saying is, in a public school setting, with taxpayer-funding money, should these books really be available to kids?"

Hayden Parris, a mom of two from a suburb only a few miles away, understands the argument but thinks it misses the point.

"A kindergartner is not wandering into the young adults section and picking out a book that is called like, "This Book is Gay," said Hayden Parris, who is leading a parents group opposed to Iowa's proposed law. "They're not picking those books, and the fact that they can pick one out of several thousand books is not a reason to keep it away from everyone."

Sam Helmick, president of the Iowa Library Association, said communities should decide what's in their libraries and that it's important for children to have access to books that address their lives and questions. Helmick didn't have that ability as a child, and students shouldn't return to that time, she said.

"Can we acknowledge that this will have a chilling effect?" Helmick asked. "And when you tell me that books about myself as an asexual, nonbinary person who didn't have those books in libraries when I was a kid to pick up and flip through, but now publishing has caught up with me and I can see representation of me - those will be behind the desk and that's not supposed to make me feel less welcome, less seen and less represented in my library?"

___

Izaguirre reported from Tallahassee, Florida, and Cline from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

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School library book bans are seen as targeting LGBTQ content

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Teri Patrick bristles at the idea she wants to ban books about LGBTQ issues in Iowa schools, arguing her only goal is ridding schools of sexually explicit material.

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NPR Podcast, Transcript & Article: What's the Definition of a Book Ban Anyway? Depends on Who You Ask

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NPR Podcast, Transcript & Article: What's the Definition of a Book Ban Anyway? Depends on Who You Ask

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Covers varied perspectives of what is considered a book ban.

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"Book ban" is one of those headline-ready terms often used by the news media, including NPR, for stories about the surge in book challenges across the U.S.

The American Library Association launched its annual Banned Books Week in 1982. There are banned book clubs. States have introduced or passed laws that've been called bans on book bans. Meanwhile, many people fighting to get books removed from school libraries are not fans of the term book ban.

The practice of censoring books has been around for centuries. But what does it actually mean to ban a book today? The answer depends on who you ask. Here are a handful of definitions from people entrenched in the issue:

Kasey Meehan, program director of PEN America's Freedom to Read (speaking at a video press conference in April) : "We define a book ban as any action taken against a book based on its content that leads to a previously accessible book being completely removed from availability for students or where access to a book is restricted or diminished. PEN is perhaps a bit unique, and that's in contrast to ALA [American Library Association] and some others, in that we do include books that have been removed while awaiting review as a ban. We include that because we know books are undergoing review. As long as they are removed from access for students, those books can be removed for weeks, months, upwards of a year as we've seen in some cases."

NOTE: The American Enterprise Institute took exception to PEN America's definition. A study AEI conducted for the Educational Freedom Institute looked at PEN America's 2021-2022 "index of banned books" and found that "74 percent of the books" listed as banned "are listed as available in the same districts from which PEN America says those books were banned."

Emily Drabinski, president of the American Library Association: "A 'book ban' is the removal of a title from a library because someone considers it harmful or dangerous. A 'challenge' is when someone raises an objection to a library material or a program or a service. 'Reconsideration' is the formal process libraries go through to determine whether a book meets the library's selection criteria. We reserve 'book ban' for... a book that meets that criteria when it has been removed from a collection entirely. ... You often do find that books, they are challenged and then they undergo a review process and sometimes they end up being pulled and banned and other times they end up back on the shelves. I think sometimes our policymakers and many of the people who are active in the pro-censorship movement, they don't fully appreciate or understand the fact that many Americans, lots of them, don't have access to books in any other way except through their library, through their school or public or academic library. "

Joe Tier, a self-described "concerned grandparent and parent living in Eldersburg, Maryland": "I think [the term book ban is] designed to be inflammatory and to obfuscate the constructive dialogue that should occur about age appropriate content. It can be a dog whistle that's used to incite anger against those who are opposed to limiting sexually explicit content in public school libraries. ... You really cannot ban anything, you know, material-wise these days because you have the Internet and you have PDFs. And so the term book ban is almost obsolete."

Mustafa Akyol, senior fellow at the Cato Institute and author of Islam Without Extremes (banned in Malaysia in 2017): "When [a book] is banned, it's not available, so it's not legal to sell it. That's what a book ban means. ... I was arrested at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport... After 18 hours of detainment by the Malaysian religion police, I was let go... Bookstores couldn't sell [ Islam Without Extremes] in Malaysia. My book was not available... There might be some regimes who are even going after people for possessing a copy of the book... I don't think there are literal book bans in the United States. When a book is banned, literally the authority says this book is not legal. ... Sometimes people use hyperbolic language to express their thoughts about a particular problem, and that might be a problem. And that divisive rhetoric then makes everything worse. So you cannot reasonably agree on some reasonable common ground and everybody becomes more and more strident and angry against each other. That in itself becomes a major problem for a democracy rather than just different opinion that people have on certain things."

Mona Kerby, Master's degree in School Librarianship coordinator at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland: "To me, 'banned' is the book's not on the shelf. But I could certainly see the different flavors of that word, and that's why a discussion about ideas is always so enriching. ...The few times I had some question about materials, those moments turned into wonderful opportunities between me and the parent just to discuss. And we both learned. So respecting one another's opinion and listening to another's opinion is not a bad skill to have."
This story was edited for radio and digital by Meghan Collins Sullivan.

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What's a book ban anyway? Depends on who you ask

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The term "book ban" is used a lot in media and elsewhere when addressing the rise in challenges to certain books being allowed in schools and public libraries. But is it more political hyperbole or a censorship alarm bell?

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GLAAD YouTube Video: Claiming Our Stories: LGBTQ Book Bans in America

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GLAAD YouTube Video: Claiming Our Stories: LGBTQ Book Bans in America

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A panel of queer authors discussing their stories and the impact book bans have on them.

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Claiming Our Stories: LGBTQ Book Bans in America

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A free resource that sends LGBTQ+ affirming text sets to schools across the country.

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The Rainbow Library is a GLSEN program that sends LGBTQ+ affirming text sets to schools across the country - for free.

Any full-time staff member at a K-12 school in a participating state or county is welcome to request a Rainbow Library. All types of K-12 schools are eligible: district, magnet, charter, and independent. Each school that applies will be eligible for one Rainbow Library text set, and sets are provided on a first-come, first served basis.

Founded 25 years ago, GLSEN is the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe and affirming schools for LGBTQ students. GLSEN has volunteer-run chapters in 31 states.

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Any full-time staff member at a K-12 school in a participating state or county is welcome to request a Rainbow Library. All types of K-12 schools are eligible: district, magnet, charter, and independent. Each school that applies will be eligible for one Rainbow Library text set, and sets are provided on a first-come, first served basis.

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NBC News Article: More Than Half of Books Banned Last Year Featured LGBTQ Characters or People of Color, Report Finds

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NBC News Article: More Than Half of Books Banned Last Year Featured LGBTQ Characters or People of Color, Report Finds

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Provides statistics & data on the main targets of book bans: books containing people of color and LGBTQ+ people.

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More than half of books banned last year featured LGBTQ characters or people of color, report finds

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Of history and biography books that were banned last year, 26% featured Black people, and 25% featured LGBTQ people.

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ACLU Article: How LGBTQ Voices are Being Erased in Classrooms

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ACLU Article: How LGBTQ Voices are Being Erased in Classrooms

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Three LGBTQ advocates share how book bans and classroom censorship bills impact their lives, work, and students.

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As classroom censorship bills sweep state legislatures, schools are removing books by and about LGBTQ people, BIPOC, and other marginalized groups from curriculums and libraries at an unprecedented rate. This year, more than 111 bills aiming to limit discussions about race and gender in the classroom have been passed or introduced in state legislatures. These efforts effectively erase voices, histories and lived experiences from students' K-12 education.

In honor of Pride month, three LGBTQ rights advocates share how the recent surge of book bans and classroom censorship bills impact their work, and how they affect the students and teachers whose identities are under attack.

Jared Fox (he/him)
Director, Strategic Projects at Cleveland School District in Ohio and Founder at Iris Solutions
Books are incredibly powerful, and the fact that people are trying to ban them just speaks to that. Through books, we can see ourselves and the world around us - as Rudine Sims Bishop mentions, as a mirror, a window, or a sliding glass door allowing us to step into a different world.

As an English teacher, I tried to find books for the classroom that reflected the lived experiences of my students, whether they're queer or not. I want them to see that they matter, not just in my eyes but in the words on the page. There's something meaningful about seeing your experience published and bound in a spine.

There's a fear that reading books with LGBTQ characters will make students gay. But I grew up reading about straight characters, with heterosexual parents, and somehow I ended up gay in this world. So if reading books is supposed to determine your sexual orientation, that woefully failed in my case.

Reading books with LGBTQ characters is important for everybody. Students are going to be better off in the world because of it. Books can expose readers to identities beyond the scope of people they know in their immediate lives - queer people with disabilities, queer people who are immigrants, queer people who wear a hijab - thereby building empathy and understanding of experiences different from their own.

When queer students are denied access to these stories, they lose a piece of their humanity.

For queer students, it validates their existence. When a community says a book is being banned from the library because of its LGBTQ themes, it's telling students "there's something wrong with you, there's something that needs to be legislated or challenged, there's something about you that is up for debate, that shouldn't even be in a book." It tells LGBTQ students they don't even deserve to be on the shelf - literally and metaphorically. That can be very harmful to students' self-esteem and the way they see themselves in the world. When queer students are denied access to these stories, they lose a piece of their humanity.

It's also important to note that many of the books that are banned are also by authors of color, which shows our desire as a society to silence the voices of people of color. It's yet another example of white supremacy at work. We cannot separate the work of LGBTQ equality from the work of anti-racism because the struggles are so closely intertwined. When we are working towards a better future for LGBTQ folks, we're working towards a better future for people of color, too. And I think that's important.

Tiffany Wright (she/her)
Graduate Program Coordinator, Leadership for Teaching and Learning & Interim Chair of the Department of Educational Foundations at Millersville University in Pennsylvania
As a mother to a seventh-grader and a member of university faculty, I've seen firsthand how classroom censorship affects students and educators alike, particularly those who are LGBTQ. Teachers are worried they could lose their jobs if they teach books about race and gender, which shortcuts their efficacy as educators as well as their sense of personal well-being. And I can't imagine it's easy for young people to witness their own identity and existence being erased from school curricula.

Representation is so, so important. I know what it's like to grow up unable to see yourself reflected in books or other parts of society and culture. During my childhood in the 1980s, I never saw a book reflecting experiences and identities like my own. It wasn't until college that I found LGBTQ voices in literature - and even then, I had to seek it out. I think I would have had a very different experience growing up if I had been exposed to LGBTQ voices earlier in my education. For example, maybe I wouldn't have had to go through adolescence twice - before and after coming out.

I've seen firsthand how classroom censorship affects students and educators alike, particularly those who are LGBTQ.

Exposure to diverse perspectives sets students up for success as future leaders in the world. It shows them how to treat and interact with people whose experiences are different from their own. It's especially important at the elementary age. Kids should be able to read books that portray LGBTQ people and families as part of the fabric of our communities, not marginalized or erased.

Today, I'm amazed at how well LGBTQ kids are learning to navigate the world at such an early age - far younger than I was when I finally started figuring it out. I have a 14-year-old nephew who recently transitioned, and another child in the family came out as non-binary at age 12. Increasing representation of diverse voices in our books and classrooms helps build students' confidence as they discover who they are.

As educators and students confront a continuing spate of classroom and library censorship efforts, it's important to remain open and be kind to one another - even as parents keep showing up at school board meetings to yell about books. Instead of attacking others and pointing fingers, we should approach this issue from the base assumption that everybody wants the best for their kids. We must come together and try to find a middle ground that doesn't shortchange a student's education or harm LGBTQ students and educators.

The reason that I do the work that I do is because of what I learned in school. I grew up in New York and I was fortunate enough to have a program in junior high school called Council for Unity. It was a group of civically engaged young people learning about racism, conflict resolution, how to be vulnerable and share their life experience with their peers. We had a school field trip to the GMHC, an organization that taught me about the work of ACT UP - an activist group that was started in the 1980s to address the AIDS crisis. And I just fell in love with the idea that someone could use their individual power to change society. It was a profound realization for me - a moment of light that inspired me to continue a career in advocacy and volunteer work helping the LGBTQ community. That's what led me to Equality Texas.

It's not surprising that the majority of the books lawmakers are trying to ban and remove from libraries are books that center the voices of LGBTQ people or Black and Brown people.

Over the course of the 2021 legislative year, we had the most anti-LGBTQ pieces of legislation filed in Texas in the history of the United States. Although only one of those bills passed, the harmful narratives and manufactured moral panics that came with them are living on in school board meetings, where LGBTQ students are seeing their very humanity up for debate by those who are charged with their safety and education and in schools where books and symbols of support are being removed from classrooms - creating hostile school climates for young people. As a direct result, we started getting calls from all over Texas about escalating bullying, increased harassment and violence, and even the removal of safe space stickers and flags or posters. Since January 1, 2021, the Trevor Project has received close to 25,000 calls, texts or emails from young Texans in crisis.

Over the course of the 2021 legislative year, we had the most anti-LGBTQ pieces of legislation filed in Texas in the history of the United States.

It's not surprising that the majority of the books lawmakers are trying to ban and remove from libraries are books that center the voices of LGBTQ people or Black and Brown people. I remember what it's like to not see people like you in your textbooks, and to see homophobia from teachers, administrators, and peers. It added to a sense of fear about coming out, even though I already knew who I was by junior high. Going to the library was a joyous experience because I could find those stories I didn't always have access to in the classroom - stories of LGBTQ people, of first or second generation immigrants like myself and my family. Seeing positive representations of people who looked like me thriving and creating families let me know that there was hope.

Inclusivity in the classroom is good for all students. It allows students to put themselves in the shoes of somebody with a different experience, fostering empathy and compassion. It gives LGBTQ students a sense of power and worthiness. Most importantly, it tells them that their stories matter.
Read more about students and teachers fighting classroom censorship.

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How LGBTQ Voices are Being Erased in Classrooms | ACLU

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As classroom censorship bills sweep state legislatures, schools are removing books by and about LGBTQ people, BIPOC, and other marginalized groups from curriculums and libraries at an unprecedented rate. This year, more than 111 bills aiming to limit discussions about race and gender in the classroom have been passed or introduced in state legislatures.

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We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) Interview: This School Librarian Fought LGBTQ+ Censorship

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We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) Interview: This School Librarian Fought LGBTQ+ Censorship

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An interview with an anonymous school librarian on how she continued to be an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community amidst pushback from parents.

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New York Public Library Article: Stand Against Book Banning: LGBTQ+ Titles Targeted for Censorship

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New York Public Library Article: Stand Against Book Banning: LGBTQ+ Titles Targeted for Censorship

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Provides a list of the 2023 most challenged books with LGBTQ+ themes as well as a link to the New York Public Library's Protect the Freedom to Read page, which has a free community toolkit.

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Pride Month brings together the LGBTQ+ community and its allies to celebrate and remember those who have fought for equality and the freedom to live authentically. While this is a time for festivities and celebration, Pride Month this year takes place against the backdrop of an unprecedented and growing rise in attempts to ban books in libraries and schools across the country-bans that overwhelmingly target books with LGBTQ+ themes and characters.

According to the American Library Association, the number of books targeted for censorship in 2023 reached the highest levels they've ever documented-a 65% increase compared to 2022. Censorship efforts at public libraries saw a 92% increase in targeted titles. Of the 10 most targeted books last year, seven were challenged on the basis of their LGBTQ+ content.

Banning books is an attempt to silence voices. Voices that have fought to be heard. Voices whose stories light the way for the next generation. Voices that belong in libraries. Let us say it loud and clear: Libraries are for everyone and books are for everyone.

The New York Public Library remains dedicated to ensuring that no perspective, no idea, no identity is erased. This Pride, we ask you to stand with us to push back against censorship and stand up for the freedom to read. Learn more about Books for All at The New York Public Library including our Teen Banned Book Club, unlimited access to book club titles on NYPL's SimplyE app, plus free programs and events, a free toolkit for you and your community, ways to get involved, and more for all ages.

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Stand Against Book Banning: LGBTQ+ Titles Targeted for Censorship | The New York Public Library

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Libraries are for everyone and books are for everyone.

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Shares how LGBTQ+ advocates & groups are pushing back against book bans, including various programs being established within libraries.

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How LGBTQ+ Advocates and Groups Are Combating Book Bans - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly

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Amid book bans across the South, LGBTQ+ advocates and groups are pushing back to ensure youth have access to banned books.

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New Tactics in Human Rights Article: The Right to Read: New Tactics to Combat US Book Bans

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New Tactics in Human Rights Article: The Right to Read: New Tactics to Combat US Book Bans

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Covers organizations and initiatives utilizing new tactics to overcome book bans.

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The Right to Read: New Tactics to Combat US Book Bans - New Tactics

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There are many organizations and initiatives in the United States utilizing new tactics to combat book bans.

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GLSEN Article: LGBTQ-Visibility and Integration in Elementary Schools

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GLSEN Article: LGBTQ-Visibility and Integration in Elementary Schools

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A resource on why LGBTQ+ representation matters in elementary schools, how schools can implement best practices, and how community members can advocate for LGBTQ visibility.

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Why Begin in Elementary School?

While many LGBTQ-inclusive school supports begin in middle or high school, it is critical for elementary schools to establish a foundation of respect and understanding for all people. In addition to gaining knowledge and developing skills, elementary students typically begin to develop an understanding of themselves and the world and people around them. As such, the social environment of classrooms and schools provides the opportunity for children to initiate and develop relationships and navigate increasingly complex peer relationships. That complexity can often lead to incidents of name-calling and use of hurtful and biased words. If left uninterrupted by educators and other adult role models, these behaviors can take root in children's hearts and minds.

Furthermore, an increasing number of students in elementary school are breaking gender stereotypes, identifying as LGBTQ, and coming from LGBTQ-headed families. GLSEN's Playgrounds and Prejudice (2012) report found that 1 in 8 students did not conform to "traditional" gender roles, and that these children faced more hostile learning environments than their peers. Gender nonconforming elementary students were more likely to have mean rumors or lies spread about them, and to say that they had missed school in the past month because they felt unsafe (GLSEN).

Beginning these conversations in elementary school will help young people develop empathy for a diverse group of people, and to learn about identities that might relate to their families or even themselves. It is never too early for schools to set up a foundation of understanding and respect.

Best Practices for Inclusion:

Administrators and District Leaders:

Attend and arrange for Professional Development for Educators that specifically focuses on LGBTQ people and families, interrupting anti-LGBTQ comments and harmful gender stereotype reinforcement, and LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum.

Communicate a commitment to LGBTQ visibilty and support to educators and families at the start of the year

Distinguish between pushback, concerns, and questions. Be prepared to share the rationale behind your support, and your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and respect for all

Read and Share GLSEN's Respect for All Resources for district and school leaders

Support and assign educators to oversee school-wide celebrations such as Ally Week (September), LGBTQ History Month (October), No Name-Calling Week (January), and Pride Month (June)

Establish a diversity point-person in the school who has had LGBTQ-specific training

Read GLSEN's National School Climate Survey to consider what foundations of understanding and support you can offer proactively in elementary school, and consider conducting your own local research.

Classroom Educators:

With support from your administration, share your commitment to diversity and respect, including the LGBTQ community, at Curriculum/Back to School night at the beginning of the year.

Read LGBTQ-inclusive picture books and encourage discussions around respect and diversity.

Ensure that any lessons on families have examples of LGBTQ-headed families, and that any communications to students' family members address "Families" rather than "Mom and Dad." Consider celebrating "Family Day" rather than Mother's and Father's days.

Avoid using gender to separate students in lines or seating arrangements.

Teach about identity that includes gender using GLSEN's Identify Flowers.

Learn more about gender-inclusive language with our Educator Resources and introduce gender neutral pronouns using our Pronouns Lesson.
Bring pronoun visibility into self-portraits and occasionally at morning meeting

Connect with speciality educators to share what the students are learning and for reinforcement.

Advocacy: Addressing Questions and Pushback

Inviting families into conversations and clear communication around the direction of the school is a valuable experience when introducing LGBTQ visbility. LGBTQ-integration in elementary school should be introduced by administrators or school leaders and communicated to staff members during Professional Development before the start of a new school year, and to families at the start of the year on curriculum or Back to School night. Frontloading with the schools' responsibility to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for all students along with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, can be a strong start to the school year and a time to address any misconceptions or apprehensions. We encourage school leaders to invite families into the school to have these conversations with coffee hours, panel events, or movie screenings.

In addition to the rationale provided at the start of this resource, the following talking points can provide clarity for anyone wondering about the benefits of LGBTQ-inclusion:

LGBTQ-inclusion and visibility benefits all students by promoting acceptance and respect, and teaching them more about the diverse people and families in the world.

LGBTQ-inclusion supports a student's ability to empathize, connect, and collaborate with a diverse group of peers, and encourages respect for all.

All students deserve to feel welcome at school, including students who identify as LGBTQ and come from LGBTQ-headed families.

Addressing LGBTQ people in discussions at school acknowledges the reality that many students come from LGBTQ-headed families, are being taught by LGBTQ-educators, and are, increasingly, identifying as LGBTQ themselves even in elementary school.

Supportive administrators can support this work address families and be open to hearing their questions, being careful to distinguish questions or concerns from negative pushback.

Example statement from administration: We are conscious of providing age-appropriate and developmentally-appropriate lessons and activities that meet all of our students where they are when addressing LGBTQ-visibility and inclusion. Our goal is to work together as one community through this practice. We encourage you to reach out to us or our teachers throughout the year if you have any questions or would like further information as we support our students in this important work.

Additional Resources:

To connect with educators around the country who are implementing LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum and working towards LGBTQ-supports in their schools, join GLSEN's Educator Forum on Facebook and sign up for our Educator Network.

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LGBTQ-Visibility and Integration in Elementary Schools

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While many LGBTQ-inclusive school supports begin in middle or high school, it is critical for elementary schools to establish a foundation of respect and understanding for all people. In addition to gaining knowledge and developing skills, elementary students typically begin to develop an understanding of themselves and the world and people around them.

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National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) Book Censorship Action Kit

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National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) Book Censorship Action Kit

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A collection of materials for students, parents, educators, and authors on how to effectively challenge book censorship.

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NCAC's Book Censorship Action Kit - National Coalition Against Censorship

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"Banning books? That doesn't happen in the United States." Every year, there are dozens of challenges to literary works as varied and acclaimed as The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, and Toni Morrison's Beloved. Whether

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Above the Noise YouTube Video: Why are People Banning Books in Schools

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Above the Noise YouTube Video: Why are People Banning Books in Schools

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An overview of what book bans are, the history of them, and who they impact.

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Why Are People Banning Books in Schools?

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Covers what book bans are, the history of them, and current laws around book bans.

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Written by Susan L. Webb, last updated on August 8, 2023

Book banning, a form of censorship, occurs when private individuals, government officials, or organizations remove books from libraries, school reading lists, or bookstore shelves because they object to their content, ideas, or themes. Those advocating a ban complain typically that the book in question contains graphic violence, expresses disrespect for parents and family, is sexually explicit, exalts evil, lacks literary merit, is unsuitable for a particular age group, or includes offensive language.

Book banning is the most widespread form of censorship in the United States

Book banning is the most widespread form of censorship in the United States, with children's literature being the primary target. Advocates for banning a book or certain books fear that children will be swayed by its contents, which they regard as potentially dangerous. They commonly fear that these publications will present ideas, raise questions, and incite critical inquiry among children that parents, political groups, or religious organizations are not ready to address or that they find inappropriate.

Most challenges and bans prior to the 1970s focused primarily on obscenity and explicit sexuality. Common targets included D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterly's Lover and James Joyce's . In the late 1970s, attacks were launched on ideologies expressed in books.

In September 1990, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression declared the First Amendment to be "in perilous condition across the nation" based on the results of a comprehensive survey on free expression. Even literary classics, including Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, were targeted. Often, the complaints arose from individual parents or school board members. At other times, however, the pressure to censor came from such public interest groups as the Moral Majority.

Censorship - the suppression of ideas and information - can occur at any stage or level of publication, distribution, or institutional control. Some pressure groups claim that the public funding of most schools and libraries makes community censorship of their holdings legitimate.

To counter charges of censorship, opponents of publications sometimes use the tactic of restricting access rather than calling for the physical removal of books. Opponents of bans argue that by restricting information and discouraging freedom of thought, censors undermine one of the primary functions of education: teaching students how to think for themselves. Such actions, assert free speech proponents, endanger tolerance, free expression, and democracy.

Community standards may be taken into account when deciding if materials are subject to censor

Although censorship violates the First Amendment right to freedom of speech, some limitations are constitutionally permissible. The courts have told public officials at all levels that they may take community standards into account when deciding whether materials are obscene or pornographic and thus subject to censor.

They cannot, however, censor publications by generally accepted authors - such as Mark Twain, for example, J. K. Rowling, R. L. Stine, Judy Blume, or Robert Cormier - in order to placate a small segment of the community. Cormier's Chocolate War was one of the American Library Association's Top 10 Banned Books for 2005 and 2006.

Opponents of book banning emphasize the First Amendment rights of students

Those who oppose book banning emphasize that the First Amendment protects students' rights to receive and express ideas. The Supreme Court in Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District v. Pico (1982) ruled 5-4 that public schools can bar books that are "pervasively vulgar" or not right for the curriculum, but they cannot remove books "simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books." The Court's decision was, however, narrow, applying only to the removal of books from school library shelves.

The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom documents censorship incidents around the country and suggests strategies for dealing with them. Each September, the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Association of American Publishers, and the National Association of College Stores sponsor Banned Books Week - Celebrating the Freedom to Read.

Designed to "emphasize that imposing information restraints on a free people is far more dangerous than any ideas that may be expressed in that information," the week highlights banned works, encourages citizens to explore new ideas, and provides a variety of materials to promote free speech events.

The American Library Association publishes the bimonthly Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, which provides information on censorship, as well as an annual annotated list of books and other materials that have been censored.
This article was originally published in 2009. Susan Webb is an Adjunct Librarian at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

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Book banning, the most widespread form of censorship, occurs when books are pulled from libraries, school reading lists, or bookstores because someone objects to their content.

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A list of answers to frequently asked questions around book bans and challenges.

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List of frequently asked questions on banned and challenged books

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Pen America Index of Educational Gag Orders

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Pen America Index of Educational Gag Orders

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A compiled list of acts, bills, and executive orders that challenge diversity and inclusion in schools.

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PEN America Index of Educational Gag Orders - Airtable

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Explore the “PEN America Index of Educational Gag Orders” base on Airtable.

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Christine Renee Miller and Jessica Goudeau's the Beautiful and Banned Podcast

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Christine Renee Miller and Jessica Goudeau's the Beautiful and Banned Podcast

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Christine Renee Miller and Jessica Goudeau dive into banned books, plays, and films now and throughout history.

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This is a podcast about banned books, plays, and films. We talk about society and culture, history, literature, politics, sexuality, gender, race, class, and identity. We love libraries and librarians! Join our fun weekly conversations wherever you get your podcasts!

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Leigh Pfeffer's History is Gay: All Your Children's Books Are Belong to Us (Gays)

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Leigh Pfeffer's History is Gay: All Your Children's Books Are Belong to Us (Gays)

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Leigh Pfeffer (they/them) and their guest, co-host, Aubree Calvin (she/her), discuss classic children's books written by queer authors that people likely don't know about.

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47. All Your Childrens’ Books Are Belong To Us (Gays), Part 1 — History is Gay

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This episode marks the return of History is Gay after hiatus, and we’re excited to be back in your podfeeds diving into the fascinating world of classic children’s literature through the lens of queer authors. Leigh is joined by wonderful guest co-host, Aubree Calvin, to explore the lives and works