South Carolina’s Greenville County library board voted unanimously this week to move all children’s books with trans characters or others that show gender “in ways inconsistent with the minor’s biological sex” out of the children’s section—but they adopted an amendment so books with “tomboy” characters could stay. As a “tomboy” myself, I find this appalling rather than comforting.
The board’s action came after someone requested that Melissa, by Alex Gino, a middle-grade book about a transgender girl, be removed from the library system, reports the Freedom in Libraries Advocacy Group (FLAG), a group of Greenville advocates for the freedom to read. Library professionals reviewed the book and decided to keep it, whereupon the person appealed to the Library Materials Committee of the board. The committee voted to restrict Melissa to the Parenting and Early Childhood (PEC) sections of the libraries, only accessible by adults or by minors with parental permission—but “perhaps realizing” this “did not comply with the current policy” of what was in the PEC collection, said FLAG, it recommended that the full board change that policy.
The new collection policy approved by the board now impacts titles for ages 0 to 12, “in which the illustrations, themes or storylines affirm, portray, or discuss changing the appearance of a minor’s gender in ways inconsistent with the minor’s biological sex,” reports Greenville Online. This includes depictions of social transitioning, such as “pronouns or dress inconsistent with biological sex,” as well as of medical transitioning, such as puberty blockers or hormone replacement therapies.
The books will be moved to the PEC sections of the libraries. Only six of the library system’s 12 locations have such a section, however, reports WSPA, so some books may be relocated to other branches. One board member told Greenville Online that she has located about 20 affected books.
The board did amend the committee’s original policy recommendation so that books with “tomboy” characters, such as Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, would not be relocated, notes Greenville Online—to which I say that while not every tomboy is queer, the line is very fuzzy indeed, and allowing tomboys while not allowing gender expansive boys, say, is just absurd.
At least one board member seems aware of how hard it is to make the distinction—but takes the approach that this means we should restrict even more books. Per the Post and Courier Greenville, Board Member Elizabeth Collins said during the Library Materials Committee meeting, “I would rather we err on the side of our net being too wide and catching some books that maybe shouldn’t have been moved to PEC. I would rather To Kill a Mockingbird end up in PEC than we miss books that the parent should be the one overseeing if they should be exposed to it.”
The board’s anti-LGBTQ actions are nothing new, however. A FLAG report last October found that 81 titles with LGBTQ themes had been removed from shelves in the past year, while others were moved to “improper” sections, where they are harder to access, reported the Post and Courier Greenville. The library also voted to ban “virtually all themed displays” after “receiving multiple complaints about Pride Month displays last June, as well as Juneteenth decorations.”
If the tragic death of trans teen Nex Benedict and so many other LGBTQ youth have taught us anything, it should be that marginalizing an identity through law, policy, or practice can create an environment that leads to harassment, bullying, or worse. The books in question at the Greenville libraries are books written for children, evaluated by library professionals. They’re all appropriate for kids. (No, I don’t know exactly which ones were restricted, but I’ve read and reviewed just about every LGBTQ-inclusive book for ages 0-12, so I’m fairly sure I know them, whatever they are.) And for every parent who claims it’s their “right” not to have their kids access those books, I’d bet there’s another who feels it’s their right to have representation of their kid and the kid’s world easily available in a public library. As a parent, I know, too, that our kids will inevitably encounter books and media (as well as people) with ideas that run counter to ours. The solution is not to make it harder for everyone’s kids to access them, but to communicate with our own to help them interpret and understand themselves and the world.
What’s happening in Greenville is not an isolated incident, but is part of a larger wave of book banning that has been sweeping our country. If you want to do more to take action against book bans, one good place to start is Unite Against Book Bans, created by the American Library Association and a coalition of other organizations, which offers talking points, suggested actions, and more resources.