Humans are curious by nature. Everyone has a secret dream of living becoming a young wizard, a secret agent, or an intergalactic nomad. These dreams live inside books, but now, some of these dreams are under attack.
Pushing Up In Sales
For many young queer people, reading books with queer storylines has become increasingly important. After all, a story is most powerful when readers can see themselves inside it. Reflecting this, LGBTQ+ themed literature has been steadily increasing over the past few years.
Smoke Rising
Equally rising in popularity is the sentiment to ban these books. The main battleground for this tension has been taking place in public schools, as activists and traditionalists determine what is appropriate for children to be reading.
Features Of Homophobia
Several factors contribute to banning LGBTQ literature, including local politics, regional cultural attitudes, and religious affiliations.
Once a Drop, Now An Ocean
Previously, queer books only made up a fraction of the books challenged by conservative groups. Other themes that were targeted revolved around women’s rights, racial diversity, and novels containing any sexual content.
Think Of The Children
Conservatives huff that kids should not be reading such mature content as it might indoctrinate them or, at best, confuse them. Many of these protestors are also motivated by theological ideals.
Defying Divine Order
Many books that have been contested this year, such as Gender Queer and Perks of Being a Wallflower, deliberately defy church teachings. The lessons on self-exploration and acceptance fall outside of what certain Christians deem tolerable.
A Valuable Lesson
Those on the other side of the fence reject the notion that books should be banned. Advocates say that books contain valuable life lessons that students can learn from. They also propose that reading literature about sensitive topics can help facilitate discussion and empathy.
Each Book Is A Mirror
Most importantly, LGBTQ+ literature supporters note that for many young kids, reading about other queer experiences could be fundamental in understanding their own identity. Students could connect with characters that align with their sexuality or gender, bringing comfort.
Pride vs Politics
This struggle is just one of many that LGBTQ+ students are enduring in a dicey political landscape. Many schools are already cracking down on trans students using restrooms and participating in sports.
Erasing Empathy
There may be progress being made for LGBTQ+, but certainly not without challenges. By banning queer literature, students may also not have the opportunity to learn about people of different backgrounds, erasing any narrative that queer or straight students could learn from.
An Unlikely Library
In spite of the backlash, several groups have emerged to further the right to access knowledge, specializing in LGBTQ+ literary materials. One such organization is the Queer Liberation Library.
QLL
The Queer Liberation Library (QLL) has been creating a platform for queer novels since October. The organization has over 2,000 works cataloged, and is fully digital. Membership to the group is completely free.
What’s The Point?
The project’s founder, Kieran Hickey, established the online library as a means to circumnavigate increasing censorship. The aim was to provide a service that would bridge the gap between queer students and queer books.
Protect The User
The online method allows easy access to those who may feel uncomfortable loaning materials from an in-person library. It offers a safe, anonymous space where each user is welcome to explore at their own leisure.
An Easy Out
The website’s design is also highly self-aware. It provides a banner at the top of the screen that allows automatic redirection to another website, without the option to go back using the back arrow.
Not Without Reason
While the library is undoubtedly an incredible resource for queer individuals in unsafe environments, its existence is one out of necessity. Projects like this one would not exist on the scale they do if sexuality and gender identity were not hot-ticket items on the political agenda.
Positivity Galore
QLL has received many messages, praising the website and expressing gratitude for its work. A majority of these messages come from queer people living in rural locations, where queer culture may be lacking or completely absent.
Seeking Asylum
As America continues to toil over issues regarding the LGBTQ+ community, organizations like QLL offer a safe haven for those who do not have it.
The post How One Organization Is Fighting Back Against LGBTQ Book Banning first appeared on Pulse of Pride.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / John Gomez.
For transparency, this content was partly developed with AI assistance and carefully curated by an experienced editor to be informative and ensure accuracy.
