Letter: Why are we afraid of LGBTQ+ books in York? I wish I had such resources
In 2007, I graduated from York Middle School with no understanding about who I am because there were no role models, there was no information, and there were no resources for LGBTQ+ kids. I am who I am today despite the complete lack of resources I had growing up, not because of it. There is no one better than queer kids to tell us that book bans do a lot more harm than good.
I understand that these efforts may come from a place of goodwill; we all want what’s best for our students. But they also come from a deep fear of what we think they’ll do to our non-LGBTQ+ students.
I invite us, as a community, to interrogate this fear. Why are we so afraid of books that include information about LGBTQ+ people? Answering this question will require us to understand that this book and others like it provide queer, trans and nonbinary kids with accurate, developmentally appropriate information to help them understand themselves and how they operate in this world.
Books like these save lives, particularly in small, homogenous towns in which their rights are under attack by adults. This book likely has little impact on non-LGBTQ+ kids, particularly since it isn’t part of the curriculum and hasn’t been checked out of the library in four years. Much more likely, it’s the case that even students who could benefit from it don’t know it’s there.
However afraid we are of this book, I’m 10 times more afraid of what a complete lack of resources will keep doing to our young LGBTQ+ students. As a YMS alum, a queer person and a K-12 education policy expert, I implore this community to confront our fear in an effort to better serve all York students.
— Sabia Prescott (she/they), Pittsburgh
Editor's note: The book "It's Perfectly Normal" was updated in 2021 to include expanded information about LGBTQ+ topics, gender identity and other subjects related to sex and sexuality, "making this a sexual health book for all readers" ages 10 and up, according to the publisher. The York School Department superintendent denied a community member's request to have the book removed from the York Middle School library, and the person who submitted the request said she plans to appeal the decision.
Letter: We shouldn't ban books from the York Middle School library. Let's seek compromise.
News: York school keeps sex-ed book in library. The person who wants it removed plans to appeal.
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This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Letter: Why are we in the York ME community afraid of LGBTQ+ books?
