They're also evidence of why the book banning doesn't really work as well today as conservatives would like it to.
Book banning was an effective way of controlling what your young population was exposed to before the internet and social media. It worked best when the young weren't even aware of the information they were being denied.
But social media is making sure they're all very much aware of what has been hidden from them. They know what's going on. You will find teenagers in particular are kind of resistant to being told no by an authority, so they're going to do something about it.
Now, don't feel too excited about this, because there's a threat here. Every single time you see a conservative talking about more stringent age verification for things on the internet, part of what they're actually trying to do is create an avenue to control the information kids are exposed to. They are pretty open about how LGBT issues, particularly the T ones, can be labeled as "sexual" and "inappropriate". With very simple changes to the regulation, they can suppress children's access to anything they like as long as they make a half-assed argument that it's "inappropriate".
My high school English teacher did this, although we didn't know it at the time. It wasn't until I was doing an essay on banned books in college that I realized all of the ones we read in his class were banned. Really made me appreciate him more.
Parents: We must ban all the books we disagree with!
Kids: That's fine, no one reads physical books anymore anyways. Just don't touch the library internet filter - we are getting tired of finding ways around the block list.
I'm assuming that getting books banned from libraries requires them to be there in the first place (in most cases at least), so any arguments using examples age rating issues should rather focus on why those books got into a school library in the first place.
Surely the ones responsible don't just blindly choose some books to fill the library without at least making sure they're not as wildly inappropriate as some people like to say.
This is referring to a few books that were banned from school libraries a while ago (not sure what they were doing there in the first place).
Anyway, one of the books that were banned showed males sucking each other off. That's hardly something you would be eager to show a kid unless you are a groomer. A common theme between these books in general was that they were pornographic. The fact that there was, and still is an outrage from the LGBT community till this day because of the bans is telling.
Also, do make note of the people here comparing the bans to Nazi Germany. Yeah, not showing kids gay porn is like being a Nazi, apparently. Disgusting.
I hate kneejerk bullshit, so this teacher is going to teach some real shit books because the author included enough hate speech and perversion that it's clearly not suitable for school age kids?
You think the media teacher has the same attitude 'they said I couldn't show you this in class but screw them! get ready for hard core porn...'
There have been good books banned but also we need to be reasonable and live in reality, not all books are suitable for children. The conversation should be about criteria for banning books in school or the process, etc. it's incredibly dumb just saying 'i don't care if it's three hundred pages of glorified rape and racism if you try to stop me teaching it to children you're the baddie'
And yes I know 'but we actually mean something different to the meme we're upvoting...' it's ok upvote this post because I do too, right, that's how it works?
It feels like most of your position comes from a place of misunderstanding just what goes into a lesson plan about literature; possibly even a deliberate misunderstanding. Schools aren't giving children books with smut and senseless violence. These materials are constantly being reconsidered and reevaluated. Vonnegut was something taught when I was in school, and removed right after I graduated.
This comic is pointing at the fact that nearly every book on these lists isn't there because the content is actually a problem. The lists just have books that some religious group dislikes regardless of whether or not they're being used.
Besides, somehow the christian Bible is somehow still "approved" while having more rape and violence and men kissing men than any book I ever had to read for school.
I think the comic is the one that is pushing sillyness about lesson planning, it's saying not to do to that and instead just assume the banned books have value simply because they're banned.
Why don't we just agree that there are plenty of books on the list that genuinely don't belong in schools and that if we have a problem with the legislatory system we should propose sensible ways of screening books rather than pretending every banned book is Ray Bradbury and acting like every time a book isn't passed for inclusion in the curriculum it's literally nazi 1984.
It's so strange that you clearly understand the intent of the comic, but are still getting wound up by something you admit the comic isn't saying at all.
I know what it's trying to say but it's not saying that - this is defund the police all over again, why is it so hard to say fund better alternatives rather than relying on police in situations they're not suitable...
Like this is a very simple logic on the comic, banned book list becomes reading list - a commonly held foolish notion it seems. This isn't what anyone wants to happen, everyone here minus a few wingnuts is saying that it should be a process based on merit - one person even said it should be tasked to people with masters degrees in determining suitability of literature for children.
What's the next one 'kick puppies' where we say everyone should kick puppies,' by which we mean of course stroke them gently and cuddle with them.
I don't understand why supporting sensible thungs that might actually convince people is anathema to the left. You don't need to just say the dumbest thing and hope people assume you mean something totally different and sensible.
You can look at banned book lists. There are plenty of banned books which are banned simply because there are queer themes. Some because they talk about race in a frank way. The top 10 most challenged books of 2022 include books by John Green and Toni Morrison. A Handmaid's Tale also often pops up on banned books lists because we can't have girls learning about what fascists have planned for them.
By the way, your local public library should have all of these books, but if they don't, you can either request the library get them or get them through inter-library loan.
-Gender Queer would be banned from my old schools if the blowjob depicted on pg 167 was between a straight couple too, even despite the fact that it's "strap on play" not "an actual blowjob." It's also rated 14+, so I could see why it wouldn't be allowed in elementary and middle school libraries.
-All Boys Aren't Blue I couldn't pirate, so I can't say beyond what I read about the book, which I don't like to make opinions based on. So far all I have is an explitive count that would have this one banned in my old schools too.
-The Bluest Eye, seems well written, but "He wanted to fuck her—tenderly. But the tenderness would not hold. The tight-
ness of her vagina was more than he could bear. His soul
seemed to slip down to his guts and fly out into her, and the
gigantic thrust he made into her then provoked the only
sound she made—a hollow suck of air in the back of her
throat. Like the rapid loss of air from a circus balloon.
Following the disintegration—the falling away—of sex-
ual desire, he was conscious of her wet, soapy hands on his
wrists, the fingers clenching, but whether her grip was from
a hopeless but stubborn struggle to be free, or from some
other emotion, he could not tell.
Removing himself from her was so painful to him he cut
it short and snatched his genitals out of the dry harbor of her
vagina. She appeared to have fainted. Cholly stood up and
could see only her grayish panties, so sad and limp around
her ankles. Again the hatred mixed with tenderness. The
hatred would not let him pick her up, the tenderness forced
him to cover her.
So when the child regained consciousness, she was lying
on the kitchen floor under a heavy quilt, trying to connect
the pain between her legs with the face of her mother looming over her." would have this banned in my old schools too.
-Flamer I have queued up for download right now, 2697th in line but it should go quick.
-Looking for Alaska, also in queue.
-Perks of Being a Wallflower I saw the movie and it definitely wouldn't have been shown in my schools until at least highschool. Movie was alright though, I may read the book.
-Lawn Boy: "Goddamn-fucking-cunt-fuck-shit-ass-fucker!” I yelled. Yup, that'll do it.
-The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, couldn't pirate.
-out of darkness, couldn't pirate.
-A Court of Mist and Fury: “I’ve had a long, long time to think about how and where | want you,” Rhys said onto the skin of my neck, his fingers Sliding under the band of my pants, but stopping just beneath. Their home for the evening. “I have no intention of doing it all in one night. Or in a room where | can’t even fuck you against the wall.”
-Crank, I can see why the rape scene would have it banned especially in elementary and middle schools, but high schools probably need this one lol.
-Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl, couldn't pirate.
-This book is gay: The author claims we're taught about straight sex at age 10, and this isn't exactly untrue, it just was a bit different than:
Handies: Perhaps the most important skill you will master as a gay or bi man is the timeless classic, the hand job. The good news is, you can practise on yourself. The bad news is, each guy has become very used to his own way of getting himself off. Learning how to find a partner’s personal style can take ages, but it can be very rewarding when you do.
Something they don’t teach you in school is that, in order to be able to cum at all, you or your partner may need to finish off with a handie. A lot of people find it hard to cum through other types of sex. This is fine, and certainly not something you have to apologise for.
A GOOD HANDIE is all about the wrist action. Rub the head of his cock back and forth with your hand. Try different speeds and pressures until he responds positively.
A BAD HANDIE is grasping a todger and shaking it like a ketchup bottle.
Finally, my misunderstanding about rubbing two peens together wasn’t far off the mark – rubbing them together in one hand feels awesome – MEGACOMBOHANDIE (trademark pending).
TIP: If your partner is circumcised (‘cut’) you will want to try a drop of lube – remember he hasn’t got as much skin to move around as uncut guys.
Blowies: Oral sex is popping another dude’s peen in your mouth or, indeed, popping yours in his. There is only one hard and fast rule when it comes to blowies – WATCH THE TEETH. Lips and tongue, yes; teeth, NO"
I can see why that would be banned from school libraries as well. It is to say the least "different" than said sex education classes at 10yo. I'm fairly certain that if any teacher said "Oral sex is when the women pops the man's peen in his mouth, or indeed, popping her puss in his. There is only one rule ladies, no teeth. (to straightify it)" to a group of 10yos they'd be fired on the spot.
Now, we can have the conversation on if "America's puritanical views on sex and profanity need to change," and I probably agree depending on what you mean (some people use that stance in an attempt to lower the age of consent so you have to be careful before agreeing), but as it stands now I'm not surprised any of the books I was able to access are not allowed in school libraries (which is what "banned" in this context means, because they are not banned for sale or ownership anywhere in America thanks to the first amendment, you are not banned from providing them to your children, and they're available in most if not all public libraries that are not school libraries), and as they'd be banned if they were all straight sex scenes or straight people saying "cunt" I'm hesitant to claim homophobia specifically, rather I think it's the same run of the mill puritanical views that got Tipper Gore all hot and bothered over Jello Biafra and H. R. Giger.
I wish I could have got access to the entire list, and with a bit of work I probably could, and I think having a centralized place for kids to easily pirate (read: get free access) to these banned books on their own would be a great thing, but I'm not surprised they're banned especially if the rest of the books follow the theme of "sexually explicit regardless of sexuality and contains words that get you sent to the office for repeating."
Yeah, as a parent, I’d be all for my library having a display of banned books. If we took the comic literally, I can’t support teachers choosing books because of an unrelated list like that. However I’m all for anything that will get kids to read and think on their own.