The Dark Reality of the Wave of Calls for Book Censorship in the United States
Within the last several years, the United States has experienced an unprecedented onslaught of attempts to challenge or outright ban books throughout schools and libraries alike. The American Library Association (ALA) which tracks instances of book challenges and censorship attempts saw that in 2022, there were 1,269 demands to censor library books, the highest number on record since the ALA began collecting this date more than 20 years ago. That number is being challenged, though, by the statistics from this year alone which threaten to create a new record. January 1-August 31 of 2023, there were 1,915 unique titles under fire and being called to be censored. Why is this happening? Why is the number of books being challenged each year exploding in number, and why is this damaging for the readers of America, especially the young ones?
To get to the heart of the issue, it should be noted the kinds of books which are being challenged to begin with, and for whom they were written. Among the 13 most challenged books of 2022, 7 of them were claimed to have varying degrees of LGBTQIA+ content, and a majority of them were written for young adult audiences. The same issue arises in 2021, with a majority of the books challenged containing some measure of LGBTQIA+ content, and/or messages of inclusivity for young people, whether that be on a racial or queer level, or both. Some books are said to contain “sexually explicit material,” although some who are challenging these books often conflate simply including LGBTQIA+ content of any kind with explicit material, which is just flat-out incorrect and harmful to the LGBTQIA+ community. Seeing as how between 2022-2023, a record number of hundreds of anti-LGBTQIA+ bills have been either introduced or passed into law in various state and local legislatures around the nation, and discussions around LGBTQIA+ people’s place in society having never felt more volatile and frightening in recent memory, it suddenly becomes much clearer as to why these specific books are being targeted during this specific moment in history.
Ultimately, the crusade against books for young people speaks to a symptom of conservative-manufactured moral panic currently taking the United States by storm, as some parents are being gripped by unsubstantiated fears of their children being “indoctrinated by the LGBTQIA+ agenda” by reading queer or diverse books. It is a sentiment which, at its core, is a completely unfounded and bold-faced attempt to censor and eradicate LGBTQIA+ content from all aspects of public life, as well as gatekeep that content from some kids who desperately need that type of representation in their books. The truth of the matter is that this type of censorship only harms children and young adults in the long run, the exact opposite effect of what many are attempting to paint as a fight to “protect the children.” Children who are allowed to read not only books that feature queer stories, but books that have variously diverse storylines with representation from all walks of life, are able to develop empathy for others, and see the world in a much more colorful light.
They are able to see and experience perspectives that are different from their own community or identity, and this is the building block of compassion. In some instances, it can be a safe outlet through which a child can explore their own identity, or use a fictional protagonist or real life narrative to relate to what they’re going through if they happen to be facing personal struggles. There is nothing more powerful than feeling “seen” by the media one is consuming, to be able to see yourself and your own struggles being represented by a story. Imagine how empowered a child with a disability might feel to see someone with their condition as the protagonist of a novel, or how much less alone a queer or racially diverse child growing up in a conservative town might feel by reading a book about the joy that comes with being able to live as your authentic self. At the end of the day, the challenging of or outright banning of books is often a symptom of a larger systemic issue, and if books are successfully censored, children and young adults are the ones who are going to suffer the most when their ability to have a window into the outside world and into different perspectives other than their own is stolen away from them under the guise of protecting them. It is crucial for young people to foster a sense of empathy for the world around them, and sometimes, books are the only friends many young people who feel lost and alone truly have, when they aren’t accepted by their communities or even their families. There are no winners when censorship prevails, only people who are made to feel even more ostracized and alone because the written narratives of their identities are deemed too “extreme” or “explicit” for public view.
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