Category: LGBTQIA+
Drag Queen Storytime Continues to Stir Up Controversy as Well as Excitement Among Library Patrons
Since its creation in 2015, Drag Queen Storytime or Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH), as the official organization calls it, has gained as much negative attention as it has positive among library patrons and community members.. In 2019, 30 challenges were reported to the OIF for Drag Queen Storytimes and other Pride related events. But there are many Drag Queen Storytime fans and advocates out there as well, with LGBT-friendly churches stepping in to host events when libraries no longer can, to people coming to these events to show their love and support in the face of angry protesters. And while these programs tend to draw in big crowds because they are fun, they also have educational benefits as well.
LGBTQ+ Mis/Disinformation Is a Public Health and Safety Issue
The inaugural Social Media Safety Index report from GLAAD, when combined with recent anti-LGBTQ+ education legislation, reveals that LGBTQ+ mis/disinformation has created public health and safety issues based on an unsound free speech argument.
Happy Belated Birthday, Raina Telgemeier!
May 26 is Raina Telgemeier’s birthday! If you are a youth librarian like me, then you know who Raina is — without a doubt. If not….well she is the most popular graphic novel creator known to young ladies across America.
Throwing the Baby Out with the Bath Water: Challenges to Call Me Max and Equity Book Bundles in Murray School District
A challenge to the book Call Me Max by Kyle Lukoff, a picture book about a transgender child, led to the Murray School District in Murray Utah temporarily suspending their equity book bundle program. The equity book bundle program is a program to help provide teachers with more diverse titles, particularly racially diverse titles, to add to their curriculum. Call Me Max is not part of the equity book bundle program, which has led to many questioning why the school district made the decision to put the program on hold in light of the challenge.
Stop Bullying Trans People!
A U.S. Court of Appeals upholds an elementary school’s decision not to publish a 4th grade student’s essay encouraging people to stop bullying transgender people.
Happy Birthday David Sedaris!
David Sedaris was born on this day in 1956. He is an award winning author and comedian, and he is a regular, longtime contributor to The New Yorker and the National Public Radio (NPR) show This American Life. His essays are known for their satirical and self-deprecating humor, and read like diary entries (which many of them are), a window into Sedaris’ clever mind.
J.K. Rowling’s Magical Thinking is Censorship
Harry Potter is one of the most frequently banned series. J.K. Rowling doesn’t understand that when she silences the real, lived experiences of trans people, she is banning a narrative that is not only crucial to the feminist and social justice movement but to humanity as well.
The Library is Closed: Reflections on Self-Censorship, Pride, Silence, and Solidarity
By guest contributor E. F. Schraeder. These are risks and possibilities when a librarian opts to honor PRIDE month or recognize LGBTQ authors and readers throughout the year in other ways. Each June almost like clockwork, it seems some library or other is on the receiving end of public noise: shame or praise, for hosting or cancelling an event with LGBTQ community members in mind.
Pride Displays During Rainbow Book Month
June is Rainbow Book Month, presented by the ALA Rainbow Round Table. Their work is especially important in its 50th year, with censorship of Rainbow library books, programs, and displays on the rise. Since the OIF began tracking Display Challenges in December 2016, 40 of the 54 reported challenges are for LGBT content (74%). Many libraries have policies for book challenges but displays are not always specifically written in.
Twelve Terrific Challenged LGBTQIAP+ Titles for Kids and Teens
By: guest contributor Brian E. Wilson, ALSC Liaison for the ALA Committee on Professional Ethics. In honor of Pride Month and ALA’s Rainbow Book Month, here is a list of Twelve Terrific Books that have ended up on the Top Ten Most Challenged Books list during the past decade.