9/19/2023 0 Comments Random house![]() ![]() Rather, as the default “norm”, heteronormativity is something children are exposed to from birth without explanation. We see it in schools, where teacher librarians who build collections that feature books that speak to current teen experiences, some of them queer, fear that one parent who might complain about content.”Īustralian queer YA author Will Kostakis says this move to ‘protect’ kids from queerness is ‘bleeding into Australia’.Ī recurring theme in response to Mummy and Mumma, as well as other LGBTQ books, is the idea children needed to be “taught” about same-sex parented families at a specific, appropriate age.Ĭonversely, heteronormative relationships are not seen as something that needs teaching, or left for discussion until a child is “old enough to understand”. “We see it in the threats and intimidation that has seen drag storytime events be cancelled. “We can feel smug about the fact we don’t have politicised school books in Australia, but this move to ‘protect’ kids from queerness is bleeding into Australia,” he told me. He believes there’s a link to the current US culture wars. He recently shared that when visiting religious schools as an author, he’s sometimes cautioned not to talk about his work if staff haven’t read (and presumably vetted) it first. Queer Australian YA author Will Kostakis’s latest novel, We Could Be Something, is a “part coming-out story”. However, some Catholic schools refused donations of the book to their school libraries. Although seen by some as controversial, the book was largely positively received. In Australia, the 2015 picture book Mummy and Mumma Get Married was questioned over its “ appropriateness” for school libraries. The book featured on the American Library Association’s Top Ten Most Challenged Book List eight times from 2006 to 2017 for depicting same-sex parents, and is “one of the most challenged books of all time”. More recently, the picture book And Tango Makes Three, which tells the true story of two male penguins who raise a chick together at Central Park Zoo, has met similar challenges. These include protests, 42 attempts to remove the book from American schools and libraries, and even book burnings. One of the first picture books to show same-sex parents, Heather Has Two Mommies, has faced many challenges since its original publication in 1989. When children cannot find themselves reflected in the books they read they learn a powerful lesson about how they are devalued in the society of which they are a part.Ĭhildren's books must be diverse, or kids will grow up believing white is superiorīooks by LGBTQ authors or covering LGBTQ themes have a long history of censorship. Bishop argues children need both windows (the ability to see others) and mirrors (the ability to see themselves) in their books. This speaks to the idea of “windows and mirrors”, a term first coined by Dr Rudine Sims Bishop in 1990, in reference to the lack of people of colour in children’s literature. ![]() This is harmful to the worldviews and identities of all children. Similarly, Australian research from 2020 shows “First Nations groups are commonly absent from children’s books.” As stated by researchers at Edith Cowan University:Ī world of children’s books dominated by white authors, white images and white male heroes, creates a sense of white superiority. This percentage shows a clear underrepresentation of children from minority ethnic backgrounds, who account for 34.5 percent of UK school children. Guess What? Mem Fox’s children's book was banned in Florida over 'nudity' – but bathing is not a sexual actĬhildren’s books about people of colour have historically been disproportionately underrepresented across Western countries, including the UK and Australia.Ī UK survey found that only ten percent of children’s books feature Black, Asian or minority ethnic characters, and just five percent have such a protagonist. ![]() PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel says the book removals are “a deliberate attempt to suppress diverse voices”. The lawsuit asks for books to be returned to school library shelves, “where they belong”. CNN reports that more than half of those titles have been placed under restricted access and require parental permission during the review process, and 16 books have been either removed from all libraries or made only available for certain grades. Nearly 200 books have been targeted in the district in the past year, according to publicly available information. It also argues school officials violated the Equal Protection clause of the 14th amendment. It argues the book removals (and/or restricted access to books), against the recommendations of the district review committee charged with evaluating book challenges, violate the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech. David Levithan’s Two Boys Kissing is one of the impacted books. ![]()
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