Book on RuPaul pulled from display at Colchester public library after first selectman fields complaint from parent

The Colchester public library has temporarily pulled a children’s biography about LBTQIA+ icon, entertainer and drag queen RuPaul from a display after First Selectman Andreas Bisbikos said a parent complained the book contains sexual imagery that is inappropriate for young readers.

The biography, which was part of a Pride display at the library for the month of June, contains an illustration of a cosmetic advertisement RuPaul was featured in decades ago in which women dressed in bustiers and thigh high boots spell out the word “VIVA,” according to Cragin Memorial Library Director Kate Byroade, who is speaking out against the first selectman’s quick decision.

Byroade said she was called to a meeting with Bisbikos Monday and told that one parent complained about the imagery in the book. She said the first selectman asked her to remove it and to conduct a review of the more than 20,000 books in the library’s children’s collection and all the images in those books, Byroade said Tuesday.

Typically, if the library were to receive a complaint about a book’s content, Byroade and another member of the library staff would review the book for its overall content, “not one specific image,” said Byroade, adding that they also would follow a sometimes weeks-long procedure to evaluate the book’s place in the library’s collection.

This time, though, Byroade said she was asked to remove the text right away.

“I was told to remove the book and I said ‘No, we have a procedure, we have a form. I don’t turn around and remove something from the library on a whim,’ ” she said.

Bisbikos said Tuesday night that “there is no book banning” happening in the town of Colchester and that the library was asked to temporarily remove the book only from the children’s section. He said that a thorough review will be conducted not to determine whether the book should be removed from the library, but whether it should be placed in the children’s section or adult section.

He said that as of Tuesday, the book was still available in the adult section of the library for anyone who wants to view it.

Bisbikos said his goal is to determine whether or not the book is appropriate for young readers. He said he does not think it is.

“The issue of this book, for me, really has to do with its placement: does it belong in the children’s section or does it not?” Bisbikos told the Hartford Courant. “I don’t believe that an image like that belongs in the children’s section of the library. But I would have no concern with it being in another section of the library.”

The first selectman initially announced his move on Facebook, publishing a statement that said: “A parent brought forward a serious concern regarding a book found in the children’s section of the library. The book contains sexually provocative drawings in which the parent found offensive. The book in question was immediately removed from circulation.”

Byroade said she temporarily took the book out of the Pride display pending a formal complaint, which she had not received as of Tuesday afternoon, she said.

Bisbikos said that as of Tuesday evening he believed the concerned parent had, or was planning to, file a formal complaint with the library.

In his announcement, Bisbikos also said he ordered Byroade to “start an inventory of the children’s material” and encouraged parents to come forward about any “questionable” material. He clarified Thursday that his intention is to move books to the adult section, if necessary, based on the age appropriateness of their content.

In a later post, also on Facebook, Bisbikos wrote, “This was never about censorship and the First Selectman plays no role in what books are purchased or displayed in our library. I was merely attempting to be responsive to a concern coming from a parent in our town. It was never the intention to permanently remove any books but to merely question if they belonged in the children’s section or the adult section; therefore, I reached out to our Director of Library Services.”

“I have instructed the parent that they have five (5) days to file the appropriate paperwork with the library placing their complaint in writing at which time it will be the Director of Library Services and solely the Director of Library services, duty to respond.”

Byroade said that in her meeting with Bisbikos she was asked to conduct a review of the more than 20,000 books in the library’s children’s collection and all the images in those books — a time consuming task — by the end of the week, which she said would not be possible.

The library director said the first selectman asked her directly whether she thought the image in the RuPaul book was sexual. She said no.

The RuPaul book in question, Byroade said, is part of a series of books titled “Who Is” and “Who Was” that are popular with children ages nine through 12. The books are biographies of all different people such as singers, athletes and historical figures.

Often referred to by kids as the “big head books” because of the caricatures with large heads on the covers, Byroade said the biographies are a popular choice for young readers.

“Kids love these books they come in and they want these particular biographies. They’re very engaging but kids also pull off the shelves the ones that are about people who interest them,” she said.

“We have Anne Frank and Thomas Jefferson and we have RuPaul,” she said. “If you’re from a family that watches RuPaul’s Drag Race you might pull it off, if you aren’t, you might not have any idea who it is,” she said.

No one, she emphasized, is forcing children to read or check out the book. And the age group it’s intended for is fourth, fifth and sixth graders, she said, not anyone younger.

The image that was complained about, she said, is no different from the “objectified images of women” seen in other books that have not been pulled from shelves — such as books featuring female superheroes.

“The woman is wearing thigh high boots, which is what Bat Girl and Bat Woman and Wonder Woman basically wear,” she said. The women around her are spelling out the letters “V-I-V-A” with their bodies, like many athletes featured in books do, she said.

“When cheerleaders and dancers spell letters with their bodies … that’s what they’re doing,” said Byroade.

The Connecticut chapter of the ACLU said Tuesday that they condemn the first selectman’s decision.

“Public libraries are central to our abilities to explore ideas, encounter new perspectives, and learn to think for ourselves. Book bans are misguided and inappropriate attempts to try to suppress our First Amendment right to access information,” the ACLU said in a statement.

“The Colchester First Selectman’s attempt to remove a book about RuPaul Charles, an Emmy-winning television producer and a Black gay man, is the latest example of the types of book bans that are taking hold across the country, which specifically aim to remove books that are by and about people of color, LGBTQ people, and other marginalized people,” the statement said.

“These book bans work to erase the history and lived experiences of women, people of color, and LGBTQ people and censor conversations about race, gender, and sexuality that impact young people’s daily lives,” the ACLU statement said. “We all have a right to read and learn free from viewpoint-based censorship, and young people have a First Amendment right to read and learn about the history and viewpoints of all communities in our libraries.”

The announcement of the book’s removal by the first selectman comes as libraries across the country have been subject to disruption, such as the Proud Boys disrupting a children’s story hour involving a drag queen recently in California, according to the Washington Post.

The American Libraries Association recently put out a statement in response to increased aggression against library workers.

“The American Library Association condemns, in the strongest terms possible, violence, threats of violence and other acts of intimidation increasingly taking place in America’s libraries, particularly those acts that aim to erase the stories and identities of gay, queer, transgender, Black, Indigenous, persons of color, those with disabilities and religious minorities,” the statement said.

“ALA stands with our members, all library workers and those who govern libraries who courageously face down threats to their personal and professional well-being because of their efforts to celebrate diversity and foster inclusion in their communities, in the belief that every human being deserves respect and dignity,” the statement said.

“ALA stands shoulder to shoulder with our LGBTQIA+ colleagues and other library workers who are disproportionately harmed by these attacks. ALA calls upon all library workers to support their colleagues and reaffirm our shared commitment to equity of access to information for all communities,” the national association wrote.

Byroade said that the library is no stranger to complaints about books and is always open to conversations about their collection.

“I am a neutral arbiter and curator of a collection,” she said of her role. “I’m happy to have a conversation with anyone about any of the materials in the library. Fill out the form and I will engage in probably a three-week process. Myself and another staff member would go through the piece in its entirety and decide together,” she said.

Byroade said libraries all across Connecticut have had similar experiences this year, but they have been handled more quietly because they’ve gone through the lengthy, deliberative procedure that is outlined for each library.

“Typically these things take weeks and weeks,” she said. “This is a process. This is not, turn around 30 minutes later and pull the book,” she said.

Patrick Dunn, executive director of the New Haven Pride Center, said that representation of LGBTQ people in children’s literature is extremely important to the health, wellbeing and survival of young LGBTQ people and young people with same sex or transgender families.

“The idea that a young person might be able to go to their public library and be browsing through the shelves and see someone that looks like them could literally save a life,” he said. “Seeing representation in your community is lifesaving.”

Having a book that celebrates an LGBTQ icon pulled from the public, he said, could be harmful.

Dunn said recent research shows that “a high percentage of LGBTQ youth are considering self harm and are suffering from depression.” The spike, he said, is partially from the isolation of the pandemic and partially from messages of hate against LGBTQ people worldwide, but especially in the United States.

According to The Trevor Project, LGBTQ youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.

Though he isn’t positive that the book was pulled because of RuPaul’s sexuality, he said it’s common for content in books or media involving LGBTQ people to be over-sexualized, while images of people kissing or marrying in books with heteronormative characters are not considered sexual.

John Farwell, a parent in Colchester, said that he was disturbed by the first selectman’s actions but encouraged by his community’s outrage to what happened.

Farwell said that the first selectman’s actions “don’t reflect the community” — which he described as “warm and welcoming.”

He said support for the book, the library and its staff, and freedom of speech has been “overwhelmingly positive” in Colchester in the wake of their elected official’s actions.

Dunn, who primarily works as an advocate for the LGBTQ communities, has also worked for literary magazines and with programs focused on the problems presented by book bans.

He said that whether or not the book was pulled because of the subject of the book, he finds the first selectman’s actions alarming.