The first full week of October is celebrated as Banned Books Week, a grouping of books that has been heavily added to in the last year thanks to measures from state legislatures like Iowa’s.
Growing up, the idea of banning books seemed like something out of a historical horror. People didn’t restrict knowledge and information outside of Nazi Germany or in the dystopian world of “1984.” It is through books that I learned about people who were different from me, about times past and possible times to come.
However, it didn’t take long for me to realize some places in the United States banned books too. No, it wasn’t the country as a whole, but certain books would be banned from schools or other similar organizations.
The books that were banned often weren’t ones that were sickeningly violent or cruel, but simply books about people different than the supposed average American.
As my co-worker Cheyenne pointed out a few weeks ago in her column titled “We’re not protecting them from the real killer,” she mentions the book “Mad Honey” by Jodi Picoult. This book dives heavily into the life of a transgender girl. There is nothing explicit at all, yet this book is banned in Florida, as well as in other organizations.
As Cheyenne said, “That’s why this book is banned. Because it portrays being transgender as human. Because it doesn’t fit the narrative.” The book is banned only because there is a trangender character who is humanized and portrayed exactly as she is, a normal human being.
A transgender character isn’t the only reason books have been banned. According to PEN America, a majority of banned books are stories written by or about people of color and/or LGBTQ+ people. Many books that are touted to be “explicit and vulgar” are just depictions of a queer couple in a way that would be fine to most people if the couple were straight.
Other topics that are often banned involve hard parts of history or sexual assault. While detailed descriptions of these things are not needed for young readers, it is important that they are aware of these topics. If a child does not know what sexual assault is, they likely won’t know to tell a trusted adult if it happens to them.
In Iowa, Senate File 496 allows parents to request the removal of books from a school. It also requires any books that focus on gender identity or sexuality to be removed from all grades up to 6th grade. This bill claims to be a “parental rights” bill, yet one person can make a decision for all of the children in a school. Rather than letting each parent decide for themselves what their child can and cannot read, the decision is being made for them.
Additionally, as I previously pointed out, some parents might feel uncomfortable with specific topics, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important for their children to learn about it. It’s not fun to learn about the millions of people murdered in the Holocaust, but if we don’t learn from history’s mistakes, we are bound to repeat them.
If you haven’t, I would recommend reading some of the books that school districts have banned. Any story or information someone wants to take away is usually something worth reading.
The following are nine of the most challenged or banned books in Iowa schools.
“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie - banned due to racial slurs and being vulgar.
“Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe - banned due to puberty and sexual identity, including drawings of nude characters.
“All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson - banned for being explicit and vulgar, includes depictions of sexual abuse and rape.
“Tricks” by Ellen Hopkins - banned due to discussion of drugging people and prostitution.
“The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas - banned due to use of profanity, issues of race and police brutality.
“Sold” by Patricia McCormick - banned due to depiction of sexual slavery.
“Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Perez - banned due to depictions of abuse and being considered sexually explicit.
“Looking for Alaska” by John Green - banned due to sexually explicit content and LGBTQ characters.
“Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison - banned due to LGBTQ themes.
Almost all of these books, though not described as the reason for the ban, focus on characters of color or that are LGBTQ+.
Remember, just because you don’t like a book or you feel it isn’t for you doesn’t mean it’s not important for someone else to read.