LGBTQ+ Group Calls Effort To Ban Queer Normative Books From School Libraries Inequitable

FAIRFAX, VA — A group representing more than 425 LGBTQIA students from over 30 schools sent a letter Thursday to the Fairfax County School Board calling on its members to reject the effort by some parents to remove two books from school libraries.

The two books in question — Maia Kobabe’s "Gender Queer" and Jonathan Evison’s "Lawn Boy" — came under fire during the public comment section of the Sept. 27 school board meeting. Speakers told school board members the books describe pedophilia.

A former FCPS teacher, told the school board that Evison's book contains a passage where "an adult male character graphically describes engaging in fellatio with a male minor."

During his reporting of the story, Patch editor Mark Hand read the novel and found it does not include any depictions of adults engaging in sex with minors.

Evison's "Lawn Boy" includes passages where the protagonist of the novel recalls engaging in oral sex with a fellow 10-year-old when they were in fourth grade.

In "Gender Queer," Kobabe tells the story of growing up with a dislike for the female body. The graphic memoir uses text and illustrations, including of oral sex and masturbation, to tell the story of Kobabe's journey from a confused girl to a nonbinary and asexual teenager who today does not identify as a man or a woman.

Near the end of the book, Kobabe writes about adopting the gender-neutral pronouns "e" for he/she, "em" for him/her and "eir" for his/her and the frustration when people do not use the chosen pronouns.

"LGBTQIA+ representation in literature is critical to fostering validation, acceptance, and self-affirmation for queer students," the Pride Liberation Project said, in its letter to the school board. "Research indicates that positive LGBTQIA+ representation can empower Queer youth to both cope with discrimination and overcome the turbulence of adolescence and young adulthood. Given the elevated rates of depression, harassment, and bullying that LGBQ youth face in Fairfax County compared to our non-LGBQ peers, it is imperative that young adult novels depict positive LGBTQIA+ representations."

PLP criticized the lack of books available in school libraries presenting positive images of the LGBTQIA+.

"Moreover, depictions that do exist are often stereotypical, contributing to a lack of knowledge around gender expansive people in society," the letter said. "Removing two award winning books that dismantle LGBTQIA+ stereotypes from FCPS libraries only contributes to the dearth of positive representations of queer people perpetuating an unwelcoming school environment for LGBTQIA+ students."

Stacy Langton, a Fairfax City resident who was one of the speakers at the county school board meeting, also spoke at the Sept. 28 Fairfax City Council meeting.

After learning of the books' existence, Langton and her child, who is a student at Fairfax High School, visited the library there and checked out the two books.

In her comments to the city council, Langton repeated her claims that she was only trying to keep pornographic materials out of school libraries.

"It's actually worse than I could imagined, what is inside the books," she said, adding that they were offensive and had no place in any school in Fairfax County.

PLP acknowledged that "Gender Queer" and "Lawn Boy" did contain descriptions of sex.

"Nonetheless, our secondary school libraries cannot isolate themselves from broader societal dialogues, including conversations about sexual relationships, without compromising a student’s
ability to question, seek answers, and formulate opinions on an inescapable component of
human life," PLP said, in its letter. "'Gender Queer' and 'Lawn Boy' offer much needed explanations to students who aren’t able to ask staff or family members for fear of their safety."

The PLP's letter goes on to list a number of books in the county's school libraries depicting heterosexual relationships and descriptions of physical intimacy.

"By holding books that describe LGBTQIA+ relationships to a different standard compared to these novels, FCPS creates an inequitable, exclusionary, and heteronormative educational environment for queer students," the letter said. "As students, we are tired of being scrutinized and targeted for queer students."

In response to the citizens' comments, the FCPS suspended circulation of the two books in high school libraries. Two committees made up of staff members, students and parents led by the school system's library services coordinator will examine the "suitability of both texts for inclusion in high school libraries," an FCPS spokesperson told Patch on Sept. 27.

Related:

LGBTQ-Themed Books Removed From Fairfax County HS Libraries