I agree that the language of “banning” is overwrought. The private space is replete with all manners of content for almost any taste.
There is a difficult question here with regards to schools. Libraries are public spaces, in the school context. A child can linger and wander through the stacks and find something intriguing or affirming, and this can be valuable, especially for gender diverse or gay children.
Not all children will avail of the library, but not all children need it either
Pruning the selection of options is always a choice, and always a political one. Deliberately pruning out the gay or gender diverse content probably won’t “stop” children from being that way, but it might alienate them further.
So who is harmed by the presence of these books? I’m not sure. But of course, there is also the issue of space. You can’t have everything in the library. So this comes back to choices.
I agree that the language of “banning” is overwrought. The private space is replete with all manners of content for almost any taste.
There is a difficult question here with regards to schools. Libraries are public spaces, in the school context. A child can linger and wander through the stacks and find something intriguing or affirming, and this can be valuable, especially for gender diverse or gay children.
Not all children will avail of the library, but not all children need it either
Pruning the selection of options is always a choice, and always a political one. Deliberately pruning out the gay or gender diverse content probably won’t “stop” children from being that way, but it might alienate them further.
So who is harmed by the presence of these books? I’m not sure. But of course, there is also the issue of space. You can’t have everything in the library. So this comes back to choices.
I’m not sure.