Outrage as librarians reveal schools banning LGBT+ books after parents’ complaints
Outrage as librarians reveal schools banning LGBT+ books after parents’ complaints
Exclusive: Library staff, MPs and charities have warned banning books is worrying regression on LGBT+ rights and can be harmful to young people
LGBT+ books are being banned from UK schools after complaints from parents, librarians have revealed.
A six-month investigation by Index on Censorship, the results of which have been shared exclusively with The Independent, found that 53 per cent of UK school librarians polled had been asked to remove literature and in more than half of those cases books were taken off shelves.
The snapshot survey found that more than two dozen librarians had experienced such censorship, with one saying they had been told to remove every book with an LGBT+ theme after a single complaint from one parent about one book.
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LGBT+ charities, MPs and authors have warned the move represents a worrying regression on gay rights, “returning us to that world of prejudice that most of us thought we had moved on from”. Former MP Elliot Colburn, who received homophobic death threats while serving in Parliament, said preventing children from accessing material that speaks to their experiences represented a “clear and present danger to young LGBT+ people”.
could we stop importing American bullshit? Thanks
If the parents are this ignorant then it’s even more important that kids (particularly theirs) have access to this kind of material.
Schools should not be giving in to bigots and banning books. The content of school libraries should have the same protections as the curriculum itself.
Many of these bans seem very knee jerk also, if books are being removed after single complaints.
Well, what kind of books? Are we talking about normal lgbtq books, or are talking ban-bait books like gender queer?
Literally the fourth paragraph of the article:
The responses revealed that specific titles removed from school libraries included This Book Is Gay, by Juno Dawson, a memoir about a young person discovering their sexual identity; Julián is a Mermaid, by Jessica Love, a picture book about a gender non-conforming boy who dreams of being a mermaid; and the alphabet book ABC Pride, by Louie Stowell, Elly Barnes and Amy Phelps, which introduces young readers to the alphabet while they learn more about the LGBT+ community.
Does it matter?
Yes. Some will include explicit pictures of sexual acts, so when they get discovered and removed, the author can cry censorship and get free advertising.