Written by Jessica, RSEI Educator | Published January 3rd, 2024
Book bans targeting sexual content are bad news
It could be nude illustrations about puberty like in Robie Harris’s 1994 landmark sexual health book for kids ages 10 and up, It’s Perfectly Normal, or the tension-filled first kiss between two queer teens in Kacen Callendar’s 2020 young adult novel Felix Ever After.
A striking 61% of U.S. book challenges during the 2021-2022 school year listed “sexual” content as part of the rationale for the challenge, according to a recent analysis from the Washington Post. Another 22% listed the phrase “pornographic” and 18% listed “LGBTQ” in their challenges. Lawmakers, organizers, and families concerned with removing books from schools are using words like “pornographic,” “obscene” and “harmful to minors” to describe such works.
These buzzwords, along with out-of-context excerpts of books, can be jarring. The truth is, yes, these books talk about sex. But not everything sexual is inherently pornographic or obscene. In fact, many of these works are developed for specific age groups and serve an educational purpose. Removing them from school libraries and classrooms diminishes student autonomy and puts up more barriers to sexual health information.
Books available in schools are not designed to sexually excite their readers, and books available in school libraries are typically chosen by trained librarians following specific district-wide selection policies. Informational books like It’s Perfectly Normal are designed to address key components of sexuality and sexual health for specific age groups. Meanwhile, literary and library scholars suggest fiction and non-fiction youth literature that references sex may add a true-to-life dimension to topics covered in sexual health class.
Many books discussing sex are educational
More and more young people are turning to the internet for health information, but not without risks. In one national 2015 survey of more than 1,100 teens ages 13 to 18 from Northwestern University, 84 percent reported searching for health information online – including for information on sexually transmitted diseases, puberty, pregnancy, sexual assault, and domestic violence.
Some teens also reported running into “negative” health information, including 43 percent who came across pornography online while searching for health information.
Particularly for teens who lack access to comprehensive sexual health education – or sexual health education that feels relevant to them – books discussing sex are crucial, vetted sources of information about their health, relationships, and bodies.
A good example of the type of sexual health information available in books comes from the most frequently challenged book and second-most banned book of the 2021-2022 school year according to free expression advocacy organization PEN America. George M. Johnson’s 2020 “memoir-manifesto” All Boys Aren’t Blue details the author’s life as a young Black queer person growing up in New Jersey, navigating identity, consent and abuse.
“… I am using my story to teach kids about the mistakes that I made the first time that I was having sex, so they don’t make those same mistakes,” Johnson told Time Magazine in response to efforts to ban their book. “I am teaching kids about not feeling guilty when sexual abuse happens, and how to recognize sexual abuse—most teens don’t even recognize they’ve been abused.”
Of titles banned during the last half of 2022, according to PEN, 44% covered issues of abuse or violence. Unfortunately, both issues are something that many young people face and need information about. Data from the CDC suggests that 1 in 7 children in the U.S. experienced some type of abuse or neglect within the last year.
Books addressing abuse and injustice provide a valuable opportunity for high school-aged students to identify what harm looks like and have conversations around safety, consent, and justice under the guidance of a trained classroom educator, a school librarian, or even a family member if a student chooses to bring the book home.
Book bans mean less diversity
The efforts to remove Johnson’s book from schools point to another troubling trend: a disproportionately high number of challenged books also contain LGBTQ+ characters or themes, characters of color, or are tackling issues of racism and abuse.
We already know youth literature and school texts are predominantly white and overwhelmingly lacking LGBTQ+ representation. Banning books that showcase people with intersecting identities limits the access students have to “mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors.” That phrase, coined in a pivotal 1990 essay authored by professor emerita at Ohio State University Rudine Sims Bishop, speaks to the need for books that both “mirror” a young person’s experiences as well as books that provide a “window” into the experiences of others. These windows can also become sliding glass doors, allowing young people to step into another person’s reality and build empathy.
It’s important to remember books facing challenges and bans from schools often mirror experiences young people have already had. By identifying these experiences as inappropriate, we are invalidating and stigmatizing the youth who live through them, while depriving them of information that might help them contextualize and process their own realities.
Some books containing no sexual content at all are still being deemed inappropriate for their accurate depictions of U.S. history and racism or their portrayal of LGBTQ+ characters. Tango Makes Three, a 2005 picture book depicting the true story of two male penguins raising an orphaned hatchling at the Central Park Zoo together, was removed from multiple Florida schools after the sweeping 2022 Parental Rights in Schools Act prohibited instruction and discussion of gender and sexuality from classrooms.
The law is one of various others being passed across the U.S. carving out vague limitations on what is appropriate at school, particularly when it comes to issues of gender, sexuality, and race. These regulations, which sometimes establish punishment for individual educators, is set to create a “chilling effect” among educators and libraries.
The recent removal of Tango Makes Three operates under the assumption that books containing LGBTQ+ themes or characters are inherently gendered or sexual, while books depicting straight people and “traditional” nuclear families are not.
“It’s very difficult for [children of same-sex parents] to find a book that represents their family,” co-author Justin Richardson said in an interview with The Daily Beast after the book was banned from Florida’s Pensacola School District in early 2022.
He added: “But then to get the message that a book that does represent their family—that they very likely have on [their] own bookshelves at home—has to be taken out of the library because it’s inappropriate is sending a clear message to these kids, that there’s something wrong with their family and that they and their families are unwanted in the community.”
What you can do
Efforts to remove books from schools are on the rise. The titles mentioned in this blog are just a few examples of nearly 900 titles banned from school districts roughly 1,500 times between July and December of 2022 according to PEN America’s recent analysis. According to PEN’s analysis, many works were removed “pending investigation,” meaning there was no due process before they were taken off shelves. These removals are taking place even as national polls from both the American Library Association and CBS show most voters generally disagree with the concept of banning books altogether. In fact, The Washington Post examined nearly 1,000 book challenges filed during the 2021-2022 school year and found just 11 people were responsible for 60% of the challenges.
Particularly since many books are challenged and banned with the support of new state laws, it can be difficult for individuals concerned with book bans to speak out and effect change. That said, there’s still a lot a person can do, from joining or hosting a banned book week to having personal conversations with parents and communities about what makes a book suitable for young people.
For educators working with families who have concerns with the books available at their school, here are some helpful tips:
- Recognize that people have a wide range of values and beliefs: You don’t need to change their values, but you can help them understand why certain materials are being taught.
- Refer to the experts: As an educator, you can connect parents to expert resources like Common Sense Media, The Children’s Book Review, and the American Library Association. These tools can help families understand that you are making decisions about what is developmentally appropriate backed by research.
- Be transparent: If you have a required reading list for the school year, send it home with students or share it at a back-to-school night. It can also be helpful to link the content to state education standards so there’s a clear understanding of why or how the material will be discussed.
- Engage administrators: Make sure administrators or leadership are also looped in on the value of teaching the specific books you’ve chosen, or the books that are available for students to choose from, in case families reach out to them directly.
- Stay tuned: The danger of book bans is catching national attention. Read up on some of the latest national news about book bans, including President Joe Biden’s decision to appoint a book ban coordinator and Scholastic’s recent decisions around books covering topics like race and LGBTQ+ issues at book fairs.
