Last week, I was among those who lambasted the new kid-friendly search site Kiddle for blocking and stigmatizing LGBTQ- and sexuality-related searches. It’s since taken steps to improve, and at least one other search site has followed suit.
Kiddle, the new “visual search engine for kids,” promises a safer browsing experience for the younger set. Its LGBTQ-related results are inconsistent at best and stigmatizing at worst, however.
It’s Banned Books Week, so here’s a video of author Lesléa Newman reading from the new edition of her book, Heather Has Two Mommies, and talking about its “big controversial message.”
The American Library Association (ALA) has released its annual list of the 10 most frequently challenged books—and once again, ones with LGBTQ content are on it.
Here’s a roundup of some of the things happening in the world of LGBTQ parenting while I was busy with my own family this past week.
This week marks not only the start of fall, but also Banned Books Week, the annual celebration of the freedom to read. LGBTQ-inclusive books for children and young adults are often among those challenged by parents or library patrons — but many have escaped attempts to ban or restrict them. Is this good news or bad?
Let’s round it up, folks. Here’s what’s been happening while I was busy cooking and stuffing myself on turkey and pie this past week or so. (I’m Jewish; I take this whole “eight-day holiday” thing seriously.)
I’m having a feeling of déjà vu. Four years ago, I was waiting to see if Barack Obama would be elected president; waiting to see the outcome of a ballot measure in California that would decide the legality of marriage equality in that state; and baffled that a patron of a Colorado library had asked for the removal or reshelving of the children’s picture book Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, claiming it was “inappropriate for children” because it showed two anthropomorphic male guinea pigs getting married.
This week marks the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week, bringing issues of LGBT content in children’s books once again to the fore.
It’s Banned Books Week, the annual celebration of the freedom to read! In honor of the event, here’s a video of gay dads Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, authors of And Tango Makes Three, reading from their book, which for several years topped the American Library Association’s list of most challenged books.
