(CNN) — Police in western Massachusetts apologized Thursday after an officer was sent to a middle school to search for a copy of “Gender Queer: ARead More
That seems to be the crux of it to me that people don’t want to acknowledge because, yes, it sounds bad and people can claim you’re homophobic for banning it from school libraries.
Honestly, considering pg 168 of this GN alone it would get banned in my past schools even if the blowjob depicted was between a straight couple. It is rated 16+, not Mature, but also not “all ages.” I could see it being in a highschool library just because it is about gay stuff, straight it would likely still be banned because it just always has been, and ime we didn’t have graphic novels in school at all, I had to buy them myself at the barnes & noble with allowance money until I got a job (15 mi in the snow both ways yadda yadda I’m old). Thankfully my parents are cool and let me (mostly) read whatever I wanted shy of actual pornography but even when they didn’t I just circumvented the blocks or downloaded it illegally. This isn’t out of the norm tbh, part of being a kid ime. At least y’all have internet archive now, I found the book in full in .2sec and so can anyone else.
To be clear, the blowjob isn’t REALLY a blowjob, it’s strap on play, and both characters at that stage are consenting adults, the main character states a few pages before that they are 25 and their partner has been married and divorced.
Ehhh yeah but schools usually ban strap on play too, so it’s still on brand for “normal school behavior” and I’m hesitant to say it is only because of the lgbt angle, since again, straight strap on play between two consenting adults drawn or otherwise is similarly “banned” from most elementary and middle school libraries, if not high school as well.
I’m not here to pass judgement on the characters for their actions or age difference or anything, I’m just saying “I’m not surprised and I don’t think it’s homophobia.” We could have the discussion on whether or not America’s puritanical views on sex are bad or not, sure, but strap on play being banned from schools is par for the course in my experience in school back in the day.
That seems to be the crux of it to me that people don’t want to acknowledge because, yes, it sounds bad and people can claim you’re homophobic for banning it from school libraries.
Honestly, considering pg 168 of this GN alone it would get banned in my past schools even if the blowjob depicted was between a straight couple. It is rated 16+, not Mature, but also not “all ages.” I could see it being in a highschool library just because it is about gay stuff, straight it would likely still be banned because it just always has been, and ime we didn’t have graphic novels in school at all, I had to buy them myself at the barnes & noble with allowance money until I got a job (15 mi in the snow both ways yadda yadda I’m old). Thankfully my parents are cool and let me (mostly) read whatever I wanted shy of actual pornography but even when they didn’t I just circumvented the blocks or downloaded it illegally. This isn’t out of the norm tbh, part of being a kid ime. At least y’all have internet archive now, I found the book in full in .2sec and so can anyone else.
To be clear, the blowjob isn’t REALLY a blowjob, it’s strap on play, and both characters at that stage are consenting adults, the main character states a few pages before that they are 25 and their partner has been married and divorced.
Ehhh yeah but schools usually ban strap on play too, so it’s still on brand for “normal school behavior” and I’m hesitant to say it is only because of the lgbt angle, since again, straight strap on play between two consenting adults drawn or otherwise is similarly “banned” from most elementary and middle school libraries, if not high school as well.
I’m not here to pass judgement on the characters for their actions or age difference or anything, I’m just saying “I’m not surprised and I don’t think it’s homophobia.” We could have the discussion on whether or not America’s puritanical views on sex are bad or not, sure, but strap on play being banned from schools is par for the course in my experience in school back in the day.