Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme that was originally created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books starting in August 2019, and was then cohosted with Dani @ Literary Lion from May 2020 to March 2022. Book Nook Bits has hosted since April 2022.
This is an interesting topic, and unfortunately way too relevant in the US right now. A little different if you’re in a different country, but I’ll get into that below, so let’s dive in!
Let’s Talk Bookish September 27th:
Banned Books Week
Prompts: September 22-28 is Banned Books Week. As the numbers of challenged books continue to surge, it is critical to protect the right to read. The ALA (American Library Association) has a lot of resources to combat censorship as well as information on targeted books including a list of The Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2023. Have you read any of the books on the list? Have you experienced or noticed books being challenged or banned where you live?
So – I want to start this by clarifying I’m in the UK. This topic is pretty American-centric, which makes sense and I definitely think all book lovers should pay attention to these kind of things. It’s important to be aware of what’s happening in other countries when it comes to forms of censorship, and we can’t get complacent here. I did try to find out if there were any currently banned books here, but all I found were historically banned books. That’s good! But it doesn’t mean we definitely won’t have a fight in the future, and with the far-right on the rise here, who knows what the future may hold. Oppression is simply in different forms – we’ve seen protests against drag reading events, and a library was targeted during the recent riots. So, we should be aware of the situation and take note of what’s happening, as we never know when it might come into play here.
To get it out of the way here, then, no, books aren’t typically banned where I live. We don’t have the kind of culture/setup (as far as I’m aware – but totally happy to be corrected!) for books to be ‘challenged’ like they are in the US, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s on the horizon.
What tends to stand out when I hear about book bans is that they’re often by margenalised writers and about margenalised people. Queer authors and writers of colour are disproportionally targeted by these kind of bans, limiting the amount of exposure kids who identify as queer, or who are any ethnicity except white, get to writers who are like them. As someone who was educated under the shadow of Section 28, I know the kind of harm this can do and it’s, quite frankly, disgusting this is still ongoing in 2024. The queer books on this are challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and for claims that they’re sexually explicit, despite the fact these books are aimed at children and young adults, and there are books by white authors with het characters which do feature sex (because, SURPRISE, teenagers have sex!) which are not challenged. But exploring these themes through books often give kids a safe space to explore and understand their own feelings, to learn about consent, and give them tools for navigating situations in real life. Holding books back from these children and teenagers does more harm than good.
I haven’t read any of the books on this list, but I do want to talk about some of them!
Even though these challenges are taking place in the US, authors from other countries are still impacted. Although I haven’t read This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson, but I’m familiar with and enjoy Juno’s work. I can’t imagine the positive impact this book would have had on me and my friends if we’d had it when we were teenagers, but reading the blurb, it’s clear why this was challenged. This is the exact kind of book many teenagers should be able to read and which will help them during their teen years, yet ignorance and bigotry will likely keep this book away from the kids who need it most.
I was surprised to see The Perks of Being a Wallflower – maybe surprised because I haven’t read it, so don’t know what the book deals with? The reasons for this being challenged are “claimed to be sexually explicit, LGBTQIA+ content, rape, drugs, profanity” and to that I have to say are you kidding me? As someone who watched Skins as a teenager, trust me, seeing/reading about drugs doesn’t automatically make teens go out and try them, and when those kind of topics are handled well, again, they can really give kids the tools to deal with them. Teenagers deal with rape. Teenagers deal with drugs, either taking them, seeing their friends take them, or dealing with peer pressure around them. Those are the realities of life, and if you’re trying to gatekeep kids from books that deal with those topics, then I have to conclude you don’t actually care about protecting teenagers at all, but only care about controlling them.
Teens need access to information, and they need access to reliable, honest information. It might be that, in some cases, parents will purchase these books for teenagers who need them. But as for the teens who don’t have understanding, supportive parents, if they are unable to get these books through libraries, they’re going to rely on what they find on the internet, or hear from their peers, which is not going to give them the tools they ultimately need to understand relationships, sex, and more. Not to mention the younger generations are growing up under much more surveillance than we ever had. If they don’t have the opportunity to explore these areas, the moment the leash comes off they’re going to end up in trouble. Our understanding of these topics is constantly evolving, too, and educators – including writers – are the most adapt at conveying topics like consent and safe sex in ways teenagers will understand and, most importantly, listen to.
Which brings me to the last book I want to mention – Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human. What exactly is wrong with teenagers learning about these things? We know issues arise when teens are kept ignorant. Teens will explore and experiment, and giving them the tools to understand what safe sex – not just in terms of protection, but consent as well – means, and how to navigate this, and allowing them space to consider this and maybe a safe adult they can ask about it, means they are less likely to indulge in risky behaviours, or become victims, or end up being groomed, etc. I was given – or found! – books like these as a teenager, I was allowed to go to the GP on my own and discuss going on the pill, and I was more than willing to wait until I found a partner I felt safe and comfortable around! I was never pressured into doing anything I didn’t want to, and I felt comfortable enough saying ‘no’ often enough.
I think we know that the folks who are putting forward these challenges and supporting these bans aren’t interested in protecting children. They’re not interested in allowing them a safe space to explore sexuality, gender, relationships, or even to understand concepts like consent, grooming, and internet safety. They want control, they want children to grow up not realising people who feel like them exist, and, let’s face it, abusers themselves are incredibly keen to limit access to books that might help those they abuse recognise what’s going on.
I’m going to stop there – this rant has gone on long enough! But if you’re in the US, I encourage you to check out the resources available. If you’re not, I don’t think this is something we can ignore, and if you do have young adults in your life, these kind of books might be worth picking up for them.
Unwrapping Words 