LGBTQ-themed books most targeted by bans, says American Library Association

More than half of the most challenging library books in 2023 include LGBTQ themes or characters, the American Library Association (ALA) announced Monday.

Genderqueer, a 2019 graphic novel about Maia Kobabe’s exploration of gender identity and sexuality, topped the organization’s list of the 10 most challenging titles for the third year in a row. Her next four books also have LGBTQ themes.

Mr. Kobabe’s memoir is aimed at adults, teens and older, the author says, but conservative groups and lawmakers often cite it, saying certain titles are inappropriate for children and should be removed from schools and libraries. It is claimed that.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) read the book aloud during a September hearing on the book ban, defending the banning of similar titles from schools.

“When you look at the titles of the most controversial books last year, it’s clear that pressure groups are targeting books about LGBTQIA+ people and people of color,” ALA President Emily Drabunski said in a statement Monday. Stated.

Monday’s report said the Book Challenge soared in 2023, rising 65 percent from 2022 and reaching the highest level ever recorded by the organization, which began tracking such data in 2001. Last year, more than 4,200 unique titles in schools and public libraries were targeted.Ara said in marchThis is a significant increase from the previous record high of 2,571 in 2022.

According to the ALA, last year’s surge was driven by individuals and “pressure groups” demanding the removal of multiple books, often dozens or hundreds at a time. Titles that elevate the voices and experiences of LGBTQ people and people of color accounted for 47% of the 2023 challenge.

“These books contain ideas, opinions and voices that censors want to silence – stories by and about LGBTQ+ people and people of color,” said the association’s director of intellectual freedom. Deborah Caldwell-Stone said. “Each challenge and demand to censor these books is an attack on our freedom to read, our right to live the lives we choose, and our library as a community institution that reflects the rich diversity of this country. It’s an attack on.”

“If we allow censorship, we risk losing all of this,” she says.