KNOWhomo

LGBTQ* BANNED (!) or CHALLENGED (!) Books You Should Know

This week marks the 30th anniversary of the American Library Associations Banned Book Week Celebration (which celebrates and encourages you to read books which have been banned/challenged in local libraries and education, as well as educate yourself about censorship and printed media).

If you’d like more information, please check out ALA.org/bbooks

Below are TEN of the most challenged/banned LGBTQ* books. All of the information for these books is taken from the Huffington Press’ 16 Books Challenged for Their Gay Content (read more HERE). 

KNOWhomo & Keep On, Keeping On!

-Rebecca

(all text from Huffington Post)

1. ‘And Tango Makes Three’
   This 2005 children’s book, written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson and illustrated by Henry Cole, tells the story of two penguins raising a baby penguin in New York’s Central Park Zoo. Sounds innocent enough… except for the fact that both penguins were male. 
   
   Conservative opponents, such as the Focus on the Family Action group, said the book was inaccurate and promoted a political agenda to little kids. 
2. ‘Running With Scissors’
   Augusten Burroughs’ 2002 memoir traces his adolescence, living in the dysfunctional household of his mother’s psychiatrist. A central point to the memoir is the sexual relationship between thirteen year-old Augusten and thirty-three year-old Neil Bookman. This homosexual content, along with profanity, drug use, and “moral shortcomings,” led it to be banned in some high schools. 
3. ‘Maurice’
   E. M. Forster’s tale of homosexual love in early 20th century England, follows Maurice Hall from youth to adulthood and details his struggles, and eventual acceptance, of his gay tendencies and his relationship with another man. 
   
   The book was published in 1971 after Forster’s death. The author resisted publication because of public and legal attitudes to homosexuality — a note found on the manuscript read: “Publishable, but worth it?” So, in this case, the author himself was the one challenging the book, only because he knew how the book would be received in early 20th century England. 
4. ‘Annie on my Mind’
   This 1982 novel by Nancy Garden follows the romantic relationship between two 17-year-old New York City girls, Annie and Liza. 
   
   Although it was a widely praised piece of young adult fiction, it also brought critics, particularly in Kansas. Because of the gay themes, copies of the book were burned and superintendent Ron Wimmer of the Olathe School District ordered the book removed from the high school library to avoid controversy. 
   
   Garden later commented, about the burning: “Burned! I didn’t think people burned books any more. Only Nazis burn books…” 
5. ‘Howl and Other Poems’
   When Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl” was published in 1956, the iconic Beat poem was considered “obscene literature,” and U.S. Customs officials seized 520 copies of the poem. “Howl” contained references to illicit drugs and sexual practices, both heterosexual and homosexual. 
   
   At the obscenity trial, literary experts testified on the poem’s behalf. Supported by the ACLU, the California State Superior Court Judge Clayton Horn decided that the poem was of “redeeming social importance,” and it went on to become one of the most popular pieces of Beat literature. 
   
   
6. “Luv Ya Bunches”
   This children’s novel about four elementary school girls was pulled from Scholastic Book Fairs in 2009. Scholastic asked author Lauren Myracle to edit out some inappropriate language — “geez,” “crap,” “sucks,” — and turn one character’s lesbian parents straight. 
   
   Although Myracle was fine with changing the language, she saw nothing offensive about a child having gay parents and wouldn’t replace them with a heterosexual couple, so Scholastic didn’t accept the book for fear of getting hate mail from parents. 
   
   Myracle commented, “Over 200,000 kids in America are raised by same-sex parents, just like Milla. It’s not an issue to clean up or hide away… In my opinion, it’s not an ‘issue’ at all. The issue, as I see it, is that kids benefit hugely from seeing themselves reflected positively in the books they read. It’s an extremely empowering and validating experience.” 
7. ‘Revolutionary Voices’
   Edited by Amy Sonnie, this anthology was created by and for radical queer youth, committed specifically to youth of color, young women, transgender and bisexual youth, (dis)abled youth and working class youth. 
   
   The resource for queer students was widely controversial and was even targeted by members of Glenn Beck’s 9/12 movement and on theAmerican Library Association’s list of most challenged books in 2010. 
8. ‘The Color Purple’
   Alice Walker’s 1982 novel about the lives of black women in the 1930s American South is one the American Library Association’s frequently challenged classics, for reasons including “the homosexuality, rape, and incest portrayed in the book.” 
9. ‘Am I Blue?’
   Though 1994’s “Am I Blue?” — a collection of stories about being LGBT from authors like Francesca Lia Block, Bruce Coville, Nancy Garden and James Cross Giblin — was honored with awards from the ALA and the New York Public Library, it was also challenged for its content. 
10. ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’
    Stephen Chbosky’s 1999 coming of age novel details introverted Charlie’s first year of high school. Among controversial issues, such as drug use and suicide, the book’s coverage of homosexuality landed it third on the American Library Association’s list of the top ten most frequently challenged books of 2009.