Bow High School rejects parental challenges to graphic novel with sex images
Mar. 22—Bow educators have rejected a request to remove a controversial graphic novel from the Bow High School library. The most contested work of 2021, "Gender Queer: A Memoir," includes graphic illustrations of several sex acts.
Bow resident Christopher Lins said he received a 43-page, undated decision from the school's Media Review Committee, which determined the book should remain at the library. He provided a copy of the decision to the Union Leader.
The committee wrote that the work did not meet the definition of pornography or obscenity and removing the book would amount to discrimination.
"A Request for Reconsideration of Gender Queer that is rooted in an opposition to the representation and inclusion of members of the LGBTQ+ community in materials found in the library is not valid as the request would be discriminating against a person based on their sex, gender identity, and/or sexual orientation which is a violation of Policy AC (Non Discrimination / Equal Opportunity)," read a portion of the decision.
Lins, the stepfather of two children in Bow schools, said he plans to appeal the decision to the school board. He received the decision earlier this week.
"You don't need to be a prude to look at this book and say this is not OK," he said.
He also questioned the impartiality of the review committee, which included school librarian Sam Dixon, who ordered the book, Principal Brian O'Connell, two volunteer teachers and a parent-teacher organization member.
Bow is one of the few high schools in southern New Hampshire with Gender Queer in its collections.
Written and illustrated by Maia Kobabe, the work focuses on a teen dealing with gender identity issues.
The American Library Association has said it was the most challenged book in 2021. YouTube videos show angry parents confronting school boards across the country over the book. The administration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a likely Republican presidential candidate, has raised concerns with the work.
Book borrowed 5 times
The Bow review committee said it met seven times and decided the book can remain in the library. The committee members acknowledged that some images "can be considered inappropriate and not meeting the moral standards of a school" when taken out of context.
The committee said the book would be a benefit to students on their own journeys of self identity or those who want to support them.
As for those not mature enough to handle the book, the committee stressed that it is not required reading, but a library book and a choice for students.
"The inclusion of Gender Queer, which is a memoir by a non-binary and queer individual, shows principle and reason as it allows an individual from an often marginalized community the opportunity to share their own experiences and journey in their own words. This first-person perspective is powerful as it removes the personal opinion and possible prejudice of others who may not be part of the LGBTQ+ community sharing an individual's specific story," the committee wrote.
The committee noted that students have taken the book out just five times between January 2020, when it entered the collection, and November 2022, when Bow parent Michelle Johnston filed the initial challenge.
Johnston, who has three children in Bow schools, said she challenged the book after her 16-year-old daughter brought it home and showed it to her. Her daughter did not like it, she said.
"You can't show (the images) on YouTube, you can't show it on cable, but you can show it to children in our schools?" she said.
The challenge was the first fielded in Bow in at least 15 years.
Objectionable depictions
Among the elements Lins objected to were the book's depictions and description of gay sex, oral sex, masturbation, sex toys and sexual fantasies, as well as the description of an unborn baby as a parasite.
He noted that in a 2021 Washington Post interview, Kobabe said she usually recommends the book for readers in high school and above, but she actually wrote it for her parents and extended family.
Lins also said the library does not include titles that challenge the transgender movement.
But the committee questioned the need to provide opposing viewpoints on all controversial issues.
What is controversial to one person may not be to another, the committee wrote, and once-controversial issues are resolved and no longer need an opposing view.
It gave the example of whether the earth is round or flat.
Lins, the town's Republican Party chairman, said he has run for Bow selectman and twice for a state representative seat from Bow. He lost those contests.
School libraries in Concord, Bedford, Londonderry, Manchester, Merrimack and Pinkerton Academy in Derry don't have the book on their shelves.
