Seven of the American Library Association’s annual list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books were challenged for their LGBTQIA+ content—and Gender Queer, a memoir about growing up nonbinary and asexual, topped the list for the third year in a row.
The Challenges
The Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2023 list was released today, Right to Read Day, as part of the American Library Association’s (ALA’s) annual “State of America’s Libraries Report.” The list comes just a few weeks after the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) announced it had documented challenges to a record 4,240 unique titles, compared with 2,571 unique titles in 2022, 1,858 unique titles in 2021, and only 3,637 unique titles in the entire two-decade span between 2001 and 2020.
“Challenges” are documented requests to remove materials from schools or libraries, calculated from censorship reports submitted through the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom as well as from media mentions. Such book challenges may result in the book being restricted, withdrawn, or retained in the collection. I’ll add that even when a book is retained, it is often unavailable for a period of time while the challenge is evaluated.
The “State of America’s Libraries Report” also noted that demands for censorship in public libraries was particularly up last year, comprising 32% of the total titles versus 16% in 2022. This was largely because of “organized pressure groups’ efforts to censor the same books in public libraries that they had previously targeted for censorship in school libraries.” The report explains that half of the challenges reported to OIF were to titles recommended for censorship by websites maintained by these pressure groups, “whose lists of ‘bad books’ disproportionately target those books reflecting the voices and lived experiences of those who are LGBTQIA+, Black, Indigenous, or persons of color.”
ALA President Emily Drabinski (who also happens to be a queer mom) said in a statement, “It’s obvious that the pressure groups are targeting books about LGBTQIA+ people and people of color. At ALA, we are fighting for the freedom to choose what you want to read. Shining a light on the harmful workings of these pressure groups is one of the actions we must take to protect our right to read.”
The Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2023 were:
- Gender Queer, by Maia Kobabe. Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
- All Boys Aren’t Blue, by George M. Johnson. Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
- This Book is Gay, by Juno Dawson. Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, sex education, claimed to be sexually explicit
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky. Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, LGBTQIA+ content, rape, drugs, profanity
- Flamer, by Mike Curato. Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
- The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison. Reasons: Rape, incest, claimed to be sexually explicit, EDI content
- (TIE) Tricks, by Ellen Hopkins. Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, drugs, rape, LGBTQIA+ content, and
- (TIE) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, by Jesse Andrews. Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, profanity
- Let’s Talk About It, by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan. Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, sex education, LGBTQIA+ content
- Sold, by Patricia McCormick. Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, rape
The Good News
There is some good news, however. The report observes that librarians and library patrons are pushing back against censorship attempts, citing examples of people coming together in Louisiana, New Jersey, and Texas to defend school and public libraries.
The report notes that there has been some legislative movement as well, “Federal legislators held hearings to highlight the harms of censorship, and state and federal legislators began to craft legislation intended to stem the tide of unconstitutional and discriminatory book bans.” Additionally, “Courts in the United States are rejecting the claims of elected officials and advocacy groups that are defending the censorship of library resources.” It points to a decision in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, which enjoined (paused) enforcement of an Arkansas law that “would restrict minors’ access to books in bookstores and libraries located within the state and allow any person residing in Arkansas to demand the removal or relocation of a library book if that person believes the book to be ‘inappropriate.’” Similar cases are pending in Florida, Iowa, California, and Iowa.
What to Do
The Top 10 list should not just be data to consume, but a tool to inspire mobilization and action. Here are some ways you can do so.
- Confidentially report censorship attempts to the ALA and/or to the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC).
- Visit Unite Against Book Bans, an ALA-led coalition that includes LGBTQ organizations, publishers, and others, for talking points, suggested actions, and more resources.
- Participate in town, school board, and library meetings. Vote even in purely local elections. The ALA and PFLAG have created some helpful tips for testifying at such meetings.
- Consider running for school and library boards yourself.
- Donate to organizations fighting book bans, if your means allow.
- Recommend books about LGBTQ and other marginalized people to your local libraries to show there is community support and need for them. Also recommend them to the young people you know so that they check them out.
- Leave reviews for LGBTQ- and BIPOC-inclusive children’s and young adult books on Amazon, Goodreads, and similar sites to counter reviews that claim they are inappropriate.