Homosexuality Tops Challenged Books Subject Matter

The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) received a total of 546 challenges last year. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school, requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.

"The number of challenges reflects only incidents reported," said Judith F. Krug, director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom. "For each reported challenge, four or five likely remain unreported."

The "10 Most Challenged Books of 2006" reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:

1. "And Tango Makes Three" by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, for homosexuality, anti-family, and unsuited to age group;
2. "Gossip Girls" series by Cecily Von Ziegesar for homosexuality, sexual content, drugs, unsuited to age group, and offensive language;
3. "Alice" series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor for sexual content and offensive language;
4. "The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things" by Carolyn Mackler for sexual content, anti-family, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
5. "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison for sexual content, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
6. "Scary Stories" series by Alvin Schwartz for occult/Satanism, unsuited to age group, violence, and insensitivity;
7. "Athletic Shorts" by Chris Crutcher for homosexuality and offensive language.
8. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky for homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, and unsuited to age group
9. "Beloved" by Toni Morrison for offensive language, sexual content, and unsuited to age group;
10. "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier for sexual content, offensive language, and violence.

While nobel prize winner Toni Morrison has an edge with TWO separate books on the list, the big topic this year is homosexuality. 

For some reason, people who challenge the appropriateness of books in libraries has swung away from the old favories like Salinger’s  "Catcher in the Rye" and Mark Twain’s "Huckleberry Finn" and decided that the real threat to our children’s well being is FACTUAL knowledge about two male penguins raising a baby penguin together.

Sexual content is a commonly cited problem in books that have been challenged.  I can understand parents wanting control over how their children learn about sexuality and in what context they are exposed to matters of that nature.  What I don’t get is how parents can consider the story of two male penguins raising a baby to be "antifamily" or "homosexual". 

I guess we should be grateful that they are not trying to ban Kipling’s stories about Mowgli.  A human "man cub" being raised by a wolf pack must conjure up some pretty sick sexual imagery in people who see same-sex penguin parents as a threat to the American family.