I was disappointed to learn that Scholastic, one of the largest education publishers in the world with broad influence over the reading materials of children everywhere, began down a path of homophobic censorship.
The publisher is censoring a book that depicts a girl character with two moms because they consider it inappropriate for children, preventing it from appearing in its Scholastic Book Fairs. By censoring the book, Scholastic is sending the discriminatory and harmful message to children everywhere that same-sex relationships and gay/lesbian parents are wrong and should be hidden from sight.
This is exactly the opposite of the message of tolerance we should be sending to children.
I encourage villagers to offer a hand in fighting prejudice, let Scholastic know that you think they should stop censoring gay-friendly books immediately.
6 comments:
While I agree with your position, I think it will take time for parents to warm up to the idea of going to a book fair and seeing gay-friendly books on sale. People have been boycotting books for years. Recently I wrote about a petition in OC California to ban Maya Angelou's book "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."
Scholastic chose to err on the side of their base rather than rock the boat. Let's be real, most parents would be upset if they went to the book fair and saw gay-friendly books. That doesn't make it right, but it's the sad reality we live with today. I think it will change, but slowly.
Maybe this is because I live in Minneapolis. But I question whether most parents would be upset about this. Whether it's from a gay or person of color, parents I've been in tough with here seem to want their kids taught well. But I realize this may different in other parts of the country, which I think is sad.
I agree this is disappointing, but I've got to say I hardly find it surprising. It's gonna be awhile before we start seeing gay-friendly books for children given a formal stamp of approval by any major book publisher. For one thing, it puts parents in the position of having to suddenly discuss the issue of homosexuality with their children, and even some of your more liberal-leaning parents don't exactly want to have to have that conversation with their kids at home.
Hi there!
I don't think that they should be banned.
There are all sorts of "children's" books on the market glorifying violence, Eurocentrism, hetero-supremacy, male supremacy...
Peace, blessings and DUNAMIS!
Lisa
This article is false. Please check your information before publishing it. There is no ban. In fact, Scholastic featured the book on the cover of it's monthly sales flyer.
All - I'm woefully behind in my emails and such. Hopefully, y'all realize that Scholastic Books did reverse their initial decision!
They sent me a letter. I'll post it later this week.
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