Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, Oni Press | Tagged: gender queer, graphic novel, Maia Kobabe

Gender Queer Graphic Novel Remains A Polarising, Political Grift

Bleeding Cool continues covering book bans in libraries, schools and bookstores, especially graphic novel Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe,

Bleeding Cool has spent the last couple of years covering, repeatedly, the rise of New Puritan book bans in American libraries, schools and bookstores, and the politics that surround them, that focus on books involving sexual orientation, gender identity and race relations. And more often than not, the graphic novel Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, a non-binary coming-of-age graphic novel published by Oni Press is the declared bullseye of many of them and has been used by politicians to both win local elections – and also to lose them. But earlier this year, things took to a new level as mainstream politicians jumped on board.

John Kennedy Reads Gender Queer In The Senate

In September, the 71-year-old Republican Sen. John Kennedy from Louisiana, during a relatively routine Senate Judiciary committee meeting, Book Bans: Examining How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature, began reading sexually explicit passages from the novel All Boys Aren't Blue and Gender Queer, to interrogate those who have pushed for and against freedom of speech legislation for schools. Reading a passage from Gender Queer, "I got a new strap-on harness today. I can't wait to put it on. It will fit my favourite dildo perfectly." Before following "Mr. Secretary, what are you asking us to do? Are you suggesting that only librarians should decide whether the two books that I just referenced should be available to kids?" Kennedy asked Giannoulias.

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias replied, "With all due respect, Senator, the words you spoke are disturbing, especially coming out of your mouth, it's very disturbing. But I would also tell you that we're not advocating for kids to read porn. We are advocating for parents, random parents, not to have the ability under the guise of keeping kids safe to try and challenge the worldview of every single manner on these issues. When individual parents are allowed to make a decision of where that line is and 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' which involves a rape scene, should that book be pulled from our libraries? I think it becomes a slippery slope."

"You heard the books we're talking about. We're not talking about 'Catcher in the Rye" John Kennedy said. "So tell me what you want, who gets to decide? And all I've heard is the librarians. And parents have nothing to do with it. And if that's your response, what planet did you just parachute in from?" Giannoulias responded: "Senator, with all due respect, parents absolutely have a say. My parents were immigrants, came to this country. We never checked out books without our parents seeing what books were reading. They encouraged us to read books."

Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin of Illinois said "Every student deserves access to books that reflect their experiences and help them better understand who they are," and all agreed that some books contained passages too sexually graphic for young readers but failed to define what authority either the state or parents should be able to wield in response.

Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said "These school districts are acting in response to legitimate parental concerns. They should be removing these. Shame on them if they don't and shame on those who want to groom children sexually."

Dick Durbin countered that witnesses were not "advocating for sexually explicit content to be available in an elementary school library or in children's section of the library. That's a distraction from the real challenge. I understand and respect that parents may choose to limit what their children read, especially at younger ages. My wife and I did. Others do, too. But no parent should have the right to tell another parent's child what they can and cannot read in school or at home. Every student deserves access to books that reflect their experiences and help them better understand who they are."

That nuance wasn't reflected in much of the media coverage, which focused on passages being read aloud, and repeatedly mocked on late-night talk shows.

Maia Kobabe Says Gender Queer Was Never For Younger Kids

In October, the author of Gender Queer Maia Kobabe responded to Kennedy in the Washington Post, first saying "it's interesting he chose to read the words without showing the images. Because the images on that page are not salacious at all — it's an illustration of me sitting at my job, which was in a library, reading text messages from someone I was dating". Then e added "It keeps being called a children's book. Senator Kennedy implied it was a children's book. But I think that's coming from a misreading of the comic-book form. 'Gender Queer' is a comic, and in full color, but that doesn't mean it's for children. I originally wrote it for my parents, and then for older teens who were already asking these questions about themselves. I don't recommend this book for kids."

Previously e had stated, "If I'd had a book to read like this, specifically, when I was like a freshman in high school, it would have saved me years of questioning and confusion about my identity, and could have really helped me figure out who I was and how I wanted to interact with people through the world and who I wanted to be much sooner. I didn't really figure that stuff out until I was in my late 20s."

And now e clarified, "Many books that are being challenged often wrestle with a difficult topic, like historical atrocities, or experiences of racism, or something dealing with sexual health. … I would rather young readers encounter information in books than in random unstructured Googling."

Carver County Comes Out In Favour Of Gender Queer

While Minnesota's Carver County library board voted unanimously to keep the Gender Queer on the shelves after a request to remove it from the shelves. While in the past, movements have been organised to ban the book, that went the other way in Carver County as 75 people packed the conference room and twenty spoke out in favour of keeping the graphic novel. Board president Charles Teh said, "It's been an enlightening and interesting journey for the last month," as local Liya Oertel of Chaska said "Just because you don't like something does not mean you get to decide for others. This is not the Soviet Union." While local Darcie Baumann of Waconia said, "The more we bring up our objections, the more we can learn about each other."

Alachua County Comes Out Against

While Florida's Alachua County school district has removed Gender Queer for a second time, as it was previously removed and returned,  this time permanently. It was first removed in November, then placed back into circulation after they realised that woman who challenged it had not been an Alachua County resident, only for two new challenges from residents to be made. Including from Tim Marden, the GOP county chairman

Police Called To A Great Barrington School

However, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, a police officer was called to W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School after receiving an anonymous complaint that Gender Queer was being read inside an eighth-grade classroom, which is ages 13 to 14. Police and teachers were unable to find a copy.

Bodycam footage showed that officer O'Brien asked who might have borrowed the book before saying that it should be turned over to the principal when they bring it back. "it's not the general material itself, it's the images that are in it that constitutes material that you can't disseminate to children… I would make it a point yourself, as a teacher, to go through the books that are there to make sure there's no other images that would be deemed stuff like that… We could sit here and search every room and ask every teacher. I'd rather not go that route and, you know, disrupt everything over one book." The teacher then noted that the book is kept 'separate on purpose' upon request from a general circulation area.

The search led to a walkout and protests by students at the nearby Movement Mountain Regional High School, as well as condemnation from both the ACLU and Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, the first openly lesbian governor in America, who also praised the student protesters, saying "Book banning has no place in Massachusetts. Our administration stands with educators who are committed to ensuring that their students have inclusive, comprehensive resources. I'm proud to see these students stepping up to support their teacher, their peers and an inclusive learning environment."

Police later stated that it was a "matter to be managed within the Berkshire Hills Regional School District." District Superintendent Peter Dillion said in a statement that the book was "not a class text but a supplemental material that students can request to sign out" and the school's librarian, Jennifer Guerin, told the Berkshire Eagle that it was "critically important for concerned community members to remember that the current situation is not about forcing a book into students' hands. It's about the freedom to read. It's about providing voluntary access to a well-written, highly acclaimed resource in a safe place for a teenager who might want or need it,"

On the 22nd of December, Police Chief Storti posted an apology to the Great Barrington Police Department Facebook page. "As the Chief of Police for the Great Barrington Police Department, I apologize to anyone who was negatively affected by our involvement at the WEB Dubois Middle School on December 8, 2023. Over the years, our relationship with our schools has been positive and collaborative, so together we worked with the school to try to navigate this sensitive situation. If our involvement caused distrust and alarm, that was not our intention. I promise you our actions were not meant to disenfranchise anyone or influence school curriculum. We are aware every day of larger issues that can stoke anger, hatred, and lead to discrimination. It's been my personal goal as your police chief to head a department that can act as an ally to our community in times that can be polarizing. Whatever your race or gender, ethnicity, legal status or mental health, we strive to serve you all equally. I wish to emphasize again to our residents, teachers, students and wider community that it is not our role to seek out, censor, or "ban books" in our schools. I appreciate that I cannot take our alliance with our community for granted. The professional actions of police do, and will, come under scrutiny. It is our job to act with integrity and professionalism. We make our best efforts to be transparent about our work. If there is an opportunity to be included in these discussions going forward, we welcome a seat at the table."

Ron DeSantis & Sean Hannity Vs Gavin Newsom

California governor Gavin Newsom appeared with Floridan Governor Ron DeSantis on Fox News as part of a Red State Vs Blue State debate. DeSantis claimed "This is pornography. It's cartoons aimed at children, and it's wrong. This should not be in schools. Some of it's blocked out. You would not probably be able to put this on air" and held up photocopies censored pages to the camera.

Moderator Sean Hannity asked, "My question to you, Governor Newsom, those books, do you believe that is appropriate for school districts to teach kids, yes or no?"

Newsom responded, "Oh, come on, that's not part of the curriculum. They're not teaching that… We don't provide that for K-3rd grade education; that kind of curriculum, it is just made up. These guys make it up. It is part of this cultural purge… What I find offensive, Sean and Ron, is the very significant number of these books happen to be LGBTQ books. A significant number of these books happen to be about African-Americans… We have sex education in middle school and high schools where it is appropriate. This is a ginned-up, made-up issue to divide this country. You talk about dividing this country. This is part of the culture war, the weaponization of grievance. This is using education. We are focusing on math, science. We are focusing on reimagining our schools. He is criminalizing teachers and criminalizing librarians."

I do confess, I would love to hear the conversation between Sean Hannity and his Palm Beach neighbour Ike Perlmutter – the biggest single donor both to Donald Trump's campaigns and to trans surgery research and operations in the world – about trans issues. But moving on.

Swear By Gender Queer

While Fairfax County School Board member Karl Frisch was sworn into office this month as the newly elected chair, voted in with a 67 percent vote. and rather than choosing a religious text to be sworn in on, on a stack of the five LGBTQ-themed books most frequently banned by other school systems, including Gender Queer. Mirroring that of newly appointed Central Bucks Board of School Director Karen Smith in Bucks County, Pa. He stated "Fairfax County residents want safe and inclusive schools with exceptional, well-compensated educators and equitable access to the rigorous academic and enrichment opportunities every student needs to succeed. I am grateful for the trust Providence District families have placed in me, and with tonight's oath, I commit to standing strong for these values and advancing these priorities with my new and returning colleagues."

Getting The Banned Back Together

However, it seems that the biggest impact of all this media and political coverage was sales. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and George Mason University found that the circulation of banned books grew on average 12 per cent compared to similar, non-banned titles. Ananya Sen, a Carnegie Mellon assistant professor, said 'conversations about the bans often garner attention on a wider scale. 'This increased attention can either deter people from reading the book or influence consumers to read it, which would be an unintended consequence.' I understand that Gender Queer  Oni Press, best-selling title ever, selling seven figures, even though the initial print run was only four. Oni is a comic book publisher owned by a famous conservative family the Stewards. I understand that this has led to some interesting dinner party conversations with other conservatives. But the bottom line is the bottom line, and they are more than happy with how Gender Queer has gone down. However it appears that Maia Kobabe will be finding another publisher for eir upcoming new books.

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