“Let's acknowledge the incredible power of literature as a tool for learning and empathy. Books open doors to new worlds, they enlighten us, and they nurture understanding across divides.”
- Palace Leavitt, Gays Against Groomers
How do you know that the book on your child’s school reading list is safe and age-appropriate? The school board and teachers certainly wouldn’t allow your child to read inappropriate material…right? Think again.
A few months ago, a parent who believed that teachers had his children’s best interests in mind found out otherwise, and he and his family have been paying the price for it ever since. Carlos found out that his 11-year-old son had to read a transgender book called My Shadow is Pink by Scott Stuart, to a kindergartner. This book is about being transgender and not fitting into your body as a child. The California school was using older children to spread gender ideology to young children.
But that was just in California…right? Let’s take a look at some of the books found and promoted in libraries, schools, children’s YouTube channels, drag queen story hours, politicians, etc. Reading programs, such as the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten, American Library Association’s (ALA) Rainbow Book Month™, book suggestions for TransKids, and the Association for Library Service to Children DIA the book lists can seem safe or overwhelming for parents and often children are left to their own devices with book choices. As long as children are reading, it doesn’t matter what kind of book they are reading…does it?
It shouldn’t. However, there is a modern-day book burning occurring. Historically, libraries were destroyed by conquerors in order to erase the culture and history of the conquered. Gender Queer Ideologists have compared concerned parents, guardians, and even Gays Against Groomers, to those who want to burn books.
The desire to ensure children are not exposed to pornographic material is not the same as book burning, book banning, or censorship.
There has to be laws in place to protect the innocent. That is what laws are intended to do, otherwise, we’d have an uncivilized, lawless society. In fact, the ALA's website on book banning admits that their research is faulty and biased: “The information in these resources is compiled from news reports, individuals, libraries, schools, and other organizations about challenges to materials and services. OIF does not always track the progress or eventual outcome of each censorship attempt reported to it, nor can it assure that data items are consistent across each report.” (ALA Banned, 2024).
Furthermore, the ALA refuses to share their database, knowing it is not statistically valid. Yet, it is widely quoted and used by libraries and politicians to push their narrative: “Because the censorship database does not have the statistical validity demanded by many social scientists and researchers and may be vulnerable to misinterpretation and misuse, we must deny any request asking OIF to share raw data” (ALA Banned, 2024).
Radical queer activism can be seen as a modern-day book burning because it seeks to disrupt and erase culture, history, and even biology. It is rooted in Marxism and Communism. At its core, queer theory seeks to create chaos. Flooding libraries, schools, and social media with this ideology, especially in children's books, serves to erase history, culture, and censor innocence.
The book Camp by L. C. Rosen is about a sixteen-year-old named Randy who goes to a summer camp for queer teens. He enjoys theater and makeup but is willing to change himself to make Hudson, a masculine teenager who only dates other masculine boys, fall in love with him. However, young adult books like this are intended for children as young as 12 years old.
Your pre-teen will be exposed to descriptions of sex between two underage boys:
I’m already hard—I have been since the moment I heard him take off his shorts. First blow job. That’s happening now. This is not how it happens in porn. I grab his hair with both my hands. Moments have no meaning, time-wise, until I can feel that I need to stop him, or else ask him if he’s a spitter or a swallower. I’m not super sure how to do this, so I just open my mouth as wide as I can and go as far as I can. I’m surprised by the taste. My first time giving a blow job. “I want you in me,” he says. “Let’s start with your finger.” I hold out my hand, and he opens a packet of lube onto his hand and mine, then he reaches behind himself. He smiles and turns onto his stomach so I can watch him lube everything up and push his own finger into himself. He sighs deeply, then pulls it out. “You,” he says, reaching for my lubed hand. Carefully, I push my finger into him. He stops me after a minute, pulling my hand out. “More lube,” he says. “Now in and out,” he gasps. I follow his instructions, moving my finger as he makes noises that make every part of me stand on end. At his instruction, I curl my finger slightly, and the noises grow louder. “Two fingers now.” He slowly lowers himself, grabbing my body and guiding me, easing me into him. At first, the tightness is so intense it almost hurts. “Oh yes,” he says, and starts moving up and down on me. (Rosen, pp. 338-343, 2020)
Middle-grade fiction, intended for children ages 8 to 12, has increasingly included such themes. Alex Gino’s books, George and Melissa, introduce young readers to concepts surrounding transgender identities. These books suggest that children’s parents may not understand them, while other adults who affirm their identities do. Sound familiar?
In one scene from George, the school principal, Principal Maldonado, explains to George’s mother that she must affirm her child after George takes on the role of Charlotte in the school’s production of Charlotte’s Web. When George’s mother expresses hesitation, the principal whispers to George that her office is always available. The underlying message suggests that parents who do not affirm their child's identity are out of touch, and children should seek guidance from other adults instead.
These books also imply that if a boy displays traditionally feminine traits or engages in activities stereotypically associated with girls, then he must be a girl. Books like Gino’s and others, such as Just Lizzie by Karen Wilfrid, drive a wedge between children and their parents, conveying the message that parents won’t understand, and thus children should seek validation elsewhere.
Picture books targeting children ages 4 to 8 introduce concepts like sadomasochism, drag queens, and critical social justice. Grandad’s Pride by Harry Woodgate, for instance, includes illustrations of men in leather bondage gear kissing, with slogans like “Trans Rights Now,” mastectomy scars, and signs that say, “BREAK THE CIS-TEM.” In the story, a young girl named Milly organizes a Pride parade after discovering a Pride flag. Her grandad explains that Pride is a celebration of diversity, respect, and equality. This is the kind of “wholesome” content we're being told should be accessible to children:
Together: First Conversation About Love is another age-inappropriate book geared towards children. From the very beginning, children as young as 0 to 3 years old are introduced to "pronouns," as the authors' and illustrator's pronouns are listed on the inside cover of the book. The authors' note, also on the inside cover, explains that this is a queer-affirming book about queer love: "This queer-affirming book starts the conversation about what healthy love looks and feels like, and all the ways we love, have relationships, and make families."
Even if you skip the authors' note and don't immediately realize that you are reading your child a "queer-affirming" book intended to influence their understanding of gender and sexuality, the messaging soon becomes clear. The book includes phrases and illustrations such as: "There are lots of different ways grown-ups can choose to show this kind of love to each other, like going on a date or kissing on the lips"; "I'm a man who loves other men - I'm gay"; "We're lesbians!"; "I can love people of any gender - I'm queer"; and "I'm a man who loves women - I'm straight."
At the end of the book, there is a "Continue the Conversation" section that provides guidance on topics like sexual development, showing love, grown-up relationships, queer love, challenges in love, nurturing healthy relationships, resisting heteronormativity, and building a loving world.
Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott explain in their book, The Canceling of the American Mind, that a “new generation of employees in the publishing world seem exceptionally comfortable assuming the role of ideological gatekeepers” (p. 236, 2023). In Silenced in the Library, Zeke Jarvis states that the struggle with children and young adult books is due to the “unclear nature of who has the authority to make decisions about what children read.” (p. xxi, 2024).
References
1000 Books. (2024). Read it and recap. https://1000booksbeforekindergarten.org/find-a-program/
ALA (2024). American Library Association: June is Rainbow Book Month™.
ALA Banned. (2024). American Library Association: A Note About our Research. Banned & Challenged Books. 1996-2024.
ALSC (2024). Association for Library Service to Children.
DK (2022). Banned Books: The World’s Most Controversial Books, Past and Present. Penguin. Random House. 2022.
Gays Against Groomers. (2024). X Spaces: California Kindergarten Indoctrination Feat. Whistleblower Parent.
Gays Against Groomers. (2024). X (Formerly Twitter).
Gino, A. (2015). George. Scholastic, Inc.
Gino, A. (2015). Melissa. Scholastic, Inc.
Jarvis, Z. (2024). Silenced in the Library: Banned Books in America. Bloomsbury Academic. New York, NY. 2024.
Loonin, M. (2023). Banned Books: The Controversy Over What Students Read. San Diego, CA. 2023.
Lukianoff, G. and Schlott, R. (2023). The Canceling of the American Mind. Case Study: Publishing. p. 236. Simon & Schuster. New York, NY. 2023.
Madison, M. and Ralli, J. (2022). Together: First Conversation About Love. Rise x Penguin. 2022.
Miriam Laundry Publishing. (2024). Age Categories.
Palace (2024). Ohio school board. Kite Runner. Video.
Rosen, L. C. (2020). Camp. Little, Brown, and Company. New York. Boston. 2020. pp. 338-343.
Stuart, S. (2021). My Shadow is Pink. Little Distinct Books. Larrikin House US. 2021.
TransKids. (2024).
Wilfrid, K. (2023). Just Lizzie. HarperCollins Publishers. 14 November 2023.
Woodgate, H. (2023). Grandad’s Pride. Little Bee Books. New York, NY. 2023