Sara Zarr shared on Twitter today a CNN article about parents in a Wisconsin city trying to ban YA books in their local library for affirming homosexuality, providing pornography to teens' tender ears, among other reasons. Read the whole article here. I encourage you too. It's quite infuriating and makes me livid. There is no doubt that for some things in teens' lives, their parents' opinions are best, but as many people have said better than me, the best thing that parents can do for their children is to let them read what they want. Experience is learning; sheltering a kid and providing them with only the watered-down nuggets of real life is not.
And that's not even getting into the outrageously out-of-fashion attitudes towards any type of sexuality in general. When it comes to reading taste, the target audience knows best what they want to read and how much and what they can handle. From the turbulent and widespread mass of literature out there we seek out what we enjoy and can relate to. Keeping teens sheltered and in the dark? Acting with the stubborn belief that ignorance is bliss? (Is it really, now?) Failing to remember how you were as a teen: inquiring, yearning, learning, breaking, mending, creating...?
Is trying to keep history stationary or even going backwards in time really helping any one of us grow to make the world a better place?
I'll turn it over to you now. How did you react to the article?
It would be ridiculous to take away YA novels because then the teens would be forced to read adult novels which are WAY more pornographic.
ReplyDeleteMost parents would be jumping up with joy if they found their teens reading a book. I guess these people think ignorance is bliss and ignorance breeds more ignorance among the ignorant. I mean, I thought parents want their children to read and educate themselves. Silly me.
ReplyDeleteI had to skim over the article because anytime a book burning is promoted, I start to get ragey. I hope it dies out quickly because it does not have any basis in law and it is one of the dumbest things I have ever heard about.
I haven't read the article, but I will say that, in my experience working with teens, there's a huge developmental gap between a 13 year old (technically teen) and a 15 year old and a 17 year old. Censorship in no way should be allowed in libraries or schools, but if my kids, at the age of 13, got a hold of Undiscovered Gyrl (for example), I'm not sure if I'd be okay with it.
ReplyDeleteAs for keeping history stationary - trust me, there's never been an age of history where parents were totally happy with what your kids were exposed to.
I will go read the article and be back.
I am a teenage girl and my parents don't really keep tabs on what I read. I censor them myself if I start reading a book and I become uncomfortable with it I will stop reading it. The library should not make distinctions on what is "right" or "good" to read. The parents should do that if they are concerned with what their children are reading they need to research the books and then help their teens pick out books. Also if they are so concerned about what their teens are reading they should have instilled the principles that they think their child should be reading about previously so they know not to read what their parents think is wrong. But that's just my opinion!
ReplyDeleteOh, yeah, okay, no. No way should the library censor its books. Trust me, things were much worse with Harry Potter in the south. There will always be parents who want to take the lazy route instead of *gasp* actually talking to their kids.
ReplyDelete(PS - the I wouldn't be okay with them getting hold of a copy of UG would be totally on me to discuss with them and enforce - obviously I wouldn't want the library not to carry it.)
ReplyDeletewow that just made me mad. Honestly "banning" something makes me want it more
ReplyDeleteI can't believe that we even have to have these discussions in this day and age. I grew up with parents who encouraged me to read and never banned anything. And I believe that it made me a better educated, open-minded, forward thinking individual. It didn't make me "less Christian". If the books I read discussed anything that went against our beliefs, then we discussed it as a family. I agree - when things are banned, they are more exciting. I love coming across banned book lists to see what I've read on them and which books I still need to read. I also think that they make such a big deal with these books and really end up providing them with free publicity. I'm sure the publishers of Harry Potter were welcoming the controversy - sales skyrocketed as a result!
ReplyDeleteI'm still traumatized by the gory birth scene in Breaking Dawn... and I'm an adult. Can we burn that book?
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, though, once you let a small, vocal group dictate what people can and can't read, you're headed down a dangerous path. What happens when someone takes offense to supernatural creatures (vampires, werewolves, immortals, fairies) in YA literature because they're "unholy" or "anti-Christian"? There wouldn't be much left in the teen section of the library...
Why can't these people just worry about their own kids and let other parents make their own decisions? It's not up to the library to police what teenagers read; if these folks don't want their kids reading certain books, it's up to them to do something about it.
I agree with you- the idea of cencorship infuriates me. To me the solution that the board needs to uphold is simple. Parents need to give permission for the issuance of a library card to minors. Keep the books where they belong and let the parents moniter what their own children bring home -in effect "minding their own business".
ReplyDeleteI could go on forever about this topic, but I think you said it best:
ReplyDelete"Failing to remember how you were as a teen: inquiring, yearning, learning, breaking, mending, creating...?"
Truth is, they HAVE forgotten.
Shelter does many things. It keeps the sun out of yours eyes, the rain off your hair, the wind from your cheeks. But teens are old enough to decide what they are afraid of, what excites them, and what doesn't.
Plus, as one of the other reviewers said -- banning something will only make teens want it more. I know I was that way.
To all of the adults who support such bans: Shame on you. You should be happy your kid is reading. If you're not, you need a serious reality check.
I don't think libraries should censor, but I don't have a problem with parents checking what their kids are reading if they are preteens/younger teens. I know when I was a preteen most young adult books were "innocent" whereas today there's a wide range of YA books, from no inappropriate content at all (If I were a parent, I'd be fine with an 11 year old reading, for example, the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies), to graphic violence/sex, and I think it's ok if a parent would prefer that their 11/12/13 year old not read books in the second category - but in that case it is the parents' job to investigate what their kids are reading, not the bookstore or library's.
ReplyDeleteI am not for censoring. I mean there are other alternatives. How about placing a sticker on those books that may be contain "questionable" content. That way the parents have been warned, yet teens are free to choose material suitable to their needs and wants. But to rid teens of material that interests them is just going to take reading for pleasure away from them, and is just plain ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI wrote my comment before reading the article, so I have something to add. Who is to decide what other people's children should or should not read? When will people get a life of their own and stop telling others how they should run their lives?
ReplyDeleteTo have books removed from the YA section is crossing the line. Like I said, in my opinion, the most extreme action they should take is to place a sticker on the book (keep it in the YA section) and I'm still not sure I feel comfortable with that, because who gets to decide what is deemed sexually explicit?
And requesting the library order books by "ex-gays" because books with homosexuality were gay affirming??? Oh, come on! It's 2010 people, let's be open minded and respect ALL people and their choices.
As somebody who catalogs YA books for a public library, I want to add that parents should consider librarians don't have time to read every book before it's placed in their collection. The director sees a short review before ordering and that's it. When we started our graphic novel section someone suggested placing warning stickers on the more explicit books, but the director said we are not qualified to do that.
ReplyDelete*headdesk*
ReplyDeleteI've been following this book banning for awhile-the librarian has been posting on YALSA. What makes me mad is that the parents aren't taking responsbility for what their children read. If they are going to be picky about what their kids read, then they need to be the ones enforcing that, not the library. The library is for everyone, no matter what types of books you read.
ReplyDeleteI read the words 'book burning' and nearly screamed. honestly its like murder in my opinion. plus this is just plain stupid. its called a public library for a reason. its public, and since everyone has differeing opions people should be able to decide for themselves. if the parents are that concerned then they check the books. though i can see how some parents might not want 12 yearolds reading some of the more explicit books still its why they check. this just makes me thankful I'm allowed to read whatever i choose
ReplyDeleteBanning YA books from the libraries is just weird. It will increase the kids' curiosity and well, they can just go out there and find the books their way. Parents should just check the books their children read often cos we all know that there're YA books that are too much for young readers. But, preventing them from reading on serious/heavy issues only make them more frustrated when encountering those in real life.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I read an article like that, all I can think of is how the writers of the article are like angry, grumpy old men shaking their fists at all us "darn kids" to get off his lawn.
ReplyDelete