5 most banned books this year are about LGBTQ people, characters of color, report says
As LGBTQ people become more visible in public life, efforts to censor their stories have shot up from a vocal group of small, conservative collectives, according to a new report from PEN America.
That much is evident in the five most commonly banned books in the last year. They are:
“Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe, banned in 41 school districts
“All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, banned in 29 districts
“Out of Darkness” by Ashley Hope Perez, banned in 24 districts
“The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, banned in 22 districts
“The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas, banned in 17 districts
As the titles suggest, the first two explore themes of gender identity. The other three deal explicitly with themes of racial justice and challenging white supremacy.
The entire list of banned books includes those “that have been targeted for their LGBTQ+ content, their content related to race and racism, or their sexual content — or all three,” the Sept. 19 report states.
PEN America researchers documented 2,532 instances of books being banned from July 2021 to June 2022, which resulted in 1,648 books being banned, though there are likely many more, the report states.
Among those 1,650 or so titles, PEN America researchers found that 81% of them explore LGBTQ themes or have protagonists or significant supporting characters who identify as LGBTQ or nonwhite, the report states.
The free expression nonprofit set out to explain the sharp rise in challenged books, especially against stories about LGBTQ folks and people of color. In the report, Banned in the USA: The Growing Movement to Censor Books in Schools, PEN America found that about 674 titles (41%) of those featured prominent LGBTQ+ themes, “protagonists or prominent secondary characters,” the report states. That includes 145 titles, or about 9%, that feature transgender characters or stories.
About 659 titles (40%) featured “protagonists or prominent secondary characters of color,” PEN researchers found.
PEN researchers identified “at least 50 groups involved in pushing for book bans at the national, state, or local levels.” Most of them are brand new and seem to have formed in 2021, and some of them “espouse Christian nationalist political views,” the report states.
The groups had some role in “at least half” of the book bans during the 2021-2022 school year and can be “linked directly” to at least 20% of them, the report states. Despite the influence these groups have had, the vast majority of Americans oppose book bans, according to a CBS News poll.
“These bans pose a dangerous precedent to those in and out of schools, intersecting with other movements to block or curtail the advances in civil rights for historically marginalized people,” the report states.
Censoring books harms students, educators, librarians, authors and parents, the report states. Those feeling that impact are “students who have a right to access a diverse range of stories and perspectives,” especially those from historically excluded and marginalized backgrounds “who are watching their library shelves emptied of books that reflect and speak to them,” the report states. It’s creating a chilling effect on teaching and learning, fostering “an increasingly punitive and surveillance-oriented environment” for educators and librarians, PEN America says.
It harms the authors “whose works are being targeted” and “parents who want to raise students in schools that remain open to curiosity, discovery, and the freedom to read,” the report states.
“Children deserve to see themselves in books, and they deserve access to a diversity of stories and perspectives that help them understand and navigate the world around them,” the report states. Public schools that ban those diverse stories risk excluding students, PEN America says, “with potentially profound effects on how students learn and become informed citizens in a pluralistic and diverse society.”
Book banning is “canary in the coal mine for the future of American democracy, public education, and free expression,” the report states. It inhibits free expression rights and sets a dangerous precedent inside and outside of schools, blocking “advances in civil rights for historically marginalized people,” PEN America says.
John Chraskta, executive director of the EveryLibrary Institute, elaborated on PEN America’s findings to MotherBoard.
“These people are part of a movement that is very racist at its core,” he told the outlet. “It’s misogynistic, and it’s looking to recriminalize homosexuality, and that’s the most pernicious part of it.”
If you are struggling or thinking of harming yourself, you can reach out to a counselor with the Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning) young people. Text ‘START’ to 678-678 or call 1-866-488-7386.
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