bookbanning

127d

The DOE “book banning hoax” press release claimed that challenged books are “age-inappropriate, sexually explicit, or obscene”. Only 13% of banned books in 2023–24 included “on the page” sexual scenes—but 36% featured PoC characters and 25% featured LGBTQ characters.

via https://pen.org/report/cover-to-cover/

#censorship #BookBanning

Certain identities are being removed from library shelves en masse. During the 2023-2024 school year, 36% of all banned titles featured characters or people of color and a quarter (25%) included LGBTQ+ people or characters. Of titles with LGBTQ+ people or characters, over a quarter (28%) feature trans and/or genderqueer characters.
Erasure of identities is pervasive within banned illustrated and graphic-heavy titles. For example, 73% of all graphic and illustrated titles feature visuals with LGBTQ+ representation, of people or characters of color, or that address race/racism. More specifically, 64% of banned picture books have pictures or illustrations that depict LGBTQ+ characters or stories.
For all the inflammatory rhetoric about “explicit books,” only 13% of banned titles had “on the page” descriptions of sexual experiences, compared to 31% with “off the page” sexual experiences. Overall, 40% of banned titles include sexual experiences (some contained both “on” and “off the page”).
Books banned during the 2023-2024 school year overwhelmingly address violence (65%), death and grief (55%), and abuse (43%); all very real human experiences.

ALT

Edited 127d ago

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13d

#CallForPapers for #OnlineConference: Thinking of the Children: #BookBans, #Censorship, and #Literature for Young People

For this online conference, organizers invite contributions from #scholars at all career stages, from #librarians and #archivists, and from #teachers at all levels, to consider #BookBanning and censorship of literature for young people, past and present.
#YALit #YA #Resist #CFP #Books

https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2025/06/02/thinking-of-the-children-book-bans-censorship-and-literature-for-young-people

Edited 13d ago

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