Wake school librarians defend LGBTQ-themed books that some parents want removed
Some Wake County school librarians are speaking out in defense of LGBTQ-themed books at a time when some parents want them removed from school libraries.
Parents in Wake County and across the nation are challenging books, often with LGBTQ content, that they say are pornographic because of graphic language or images related to sex.
But a group of Wake County school librarians urged the county school board this week to reject book challenges and to keep a diverse selection of literature in school libraries.
“This board needs to decide what story will be told about WCPSS when our students’ identities were challenged and access to books in our libraries were jeopardized,” Chris Tuttell, the librarian at South Garner High School, told the board. “Did we speak up in favor of tolerance, empathy and compassion or did we remain silent?
“Our students are watching and listening and they deserve a board that shows them our beliefs aren’t just words but actions.”
Critics, however, say the graphic content in the books being challenged make them unsuitable to be in school libraries.
“Remove the books with extreme sexual content from school libraries,” Shelley Peele said in written public comments submitted for this week’s board meeting. “Why does a school child need access to books describing how to engorge a clitoris with blood for orgasm or visual depictions of oral sex?”
Book challenges and legal complaints are being filed across North Carolina and the nation.
A group of parents and community activists filed nine criminal complaints in December with the Wake County Sheriff’s Office accusing the school system of distributing obscene and pornographic material. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman says she won’t file charges because she doesn’t believe the complaints rise to the level of being a criminal matter.
‘Lawn Boy’ challenged
Some of the books targeted include “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” “Lawn Boy” and “Melissa,” formerly called “George.” Those books previously have come under fire in North Carolina from Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and nationally for their sexual content.
Chad Slotta, a parent at Cary High School, had challenged having “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison in the school’s library.
“Lawn Boy” is a coming-of-age story about a 22-year-old man who is growing up in poverty. A News & Observer analysis of the book found it has three scenes involving sexual situations, including the main character recalling how as a 10-year-old he had oral sex with another boy at a youth group gathering at their church.
A six-member committee of parents, teachers and staff at Cary High unanimously rejected Slotta’s challenge. Slotta appealed the decision to a district review committee, which in January voted 6-1 to support Cary High on the grounds that the book has literary merit and contributes to the diversity and representation of characters and experiences in the library’s collection.
The district committee also pointed to how “Lawn Boy” is not used in classrooms so reading it is voluntary.
Slotta told the school board last month that he planned to appeal Cary High’s decision. Slotta read aloud excerpts from “Lawn Boy,” saying the language there would not be allowed if it was said in a classroom.
“We have a responsibility to protect and safeguard our children,” Slotta told the board. “Exposing them to obscene, sexually explicit and pornographic material harms their physical and emotional health by normalizing the sexualization of children and stealing their innocence.”
Wake County Public Libraries rejected a challenge made against “Lawn Boy.” The library system briefly removed “Gender Queer” before returning it to circulation while it reviews the process for handling book challenges.
“Gender Queer” is a graphic novel, or story told in a comic-strip format, about author Maia Kobabe’s journey of identifying as nonbinary and asexual. An analysis by The News & Observer found “a few sexual scenes in this book, as well as a few illustrations involving nudity and erotic scenarios.”
Book challenges ‘harm the students’
Amid the challenges, several Wake County school librarians attended this week’s board meeting to argue that the district needs to stand up against banning books. They did not mention specific book titles.
Julie Stivers, the librarian at Mt. Vernon Middle School in Raleigh, called the recent book challenges an attempt to deny the ability of minority and LGBTQ students to see themselves reflected in the books in their libraries and classrooms.
“These challenges target Black, Latinx and queer stories,” said Stivers, the Wake County school system’s librarian of the year. “Not only does this harm the students whose identities are authentically and thoughtfully portrayed in this literature, it harms all students who do not get to learn and build empathy.”
Stivers read comments from students talking about how having diverse books makes them want to read again and makes them feel safe and seen.
“I mean people know that reading about something in a book doesn’t mean we’ll go and do it, right?” Stivers said as she read one of the student comments. “Do they realize I read about dragons and don’t start breathing fire?”
But Peele, one of the parents who wants the books removed, said in her comments that “this isn’t anti-LGBTQ propaganda.”
“This isn’t about censorship of ideas,” Peele continued. “It is one of the most basic non-refutable arguments that simply can’t be ignored. You are in effect peddling porn to our children.”
Some want to ‘fire’ the librarians
The spoken and written public comments from the various school librarians has drawn both praise and criticism.
Some have thanked the librarians, saying they’re making sure that the voices of students are being heard.
“Powerful advocacy from WCPSS school librarians at last night’s board meeting in response to the recent wave of book challenges, most targeting LGBTQ+ titles,” Casey Rawson, a teaching assistant professor in library science at UNC-Chapel Hill, tweeted Wednesday. “So grateful for the tough work these folks are doing to ensure that ALL students are represented in the library.”
But some have called for the school librarians to be fired.
“The position of those woke librarians is that pornography should be allowed in schools,” Jon Warren, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, tweeted Wednesday. “Got it. Now fire them.”
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Wake school librarians defend LGBTQ-themed books that some parents want removed."
