Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: gender queer, Heartstopper, library, mississippi

US Public Library Bans Heartstopper Graphic Novels For Under 17s

US Senators and Representatives present for South Mississippi Public Library ban on Alice Oseman's Heartstopper graphic novels for minors.

Thanks partially to its prominence as a TV adaptation, it seems that the Heartstopper graphic novels by Alice Oseman are the focus of a new push against LGBTQ books in US libraries. When Gender Queer was a focus of such attacks, the excuse was that it was for graphic imagery rather than having anything to do with gender or sexual identity. Not any more.

The Mississippi Free Press reports that the Columbia-Marion County Public Library board voted to restrict Heartstopper to the adult section and to review all other books in the young adult section for possible removal. The library defines a Minor member or Juvenile as one under 17, though the state has a majority age of 21.

The graphic novel series popular with young readers can now only be read by those seventeen or over. WDAM of Laurel, Mississippi, confirmed that the vote was unanimous.

The Heartstopper graphic novels tell the story of two British teenage schoolboy friends who fall in love but do not feature explicit scenes, with a reputation for stopping with hugs and kisses. They are a teacher's pick on Amazon.

The books were initially pulled from the shelves earlier in the month after an initial complaint by Heather McMurry, a parent who homeschools her children and works as the accreditation manager at the Columbia Law Enforcement Training Academy. NBC reported her as saying the book should be "pulled from the children's section". She told WDAM of Laurel, Mississippi, "I looked at the back of the book and uncovered that it had some kind of sexual situations. It was an LGBTQ book." She shared  a page from the book that depicts the two teenage boys kissing,

The Mississippi Free Press asked  McMurry what she found objectionable about the Heartstopper books, and she sent a kink to BookLooks.org, which claims the graphic novels contain "sexual activities; alternate sexualities; alternate gender ideologies; profanity; and violence. "However, specific examples are in the realm of "illustration on the bottom of the page (that) depicts two young men kissing." Claims received by the board included that the books in question were "pornographic" and after a claim made that "homosexuals" were using the Heartstopper books "to recruit your kid, my kid and grandkid to get into that lifestyle."

Marion County Library Director Ryda Worthy and Branch Manager Mona Swayze told the meeting that the only way a minor can obtain a book from the adult section, which now includes the Heartstopper series, is with parental permission. Other statements made by attendees included asking, "Who makes the decisions about buying these books that are not appropriate and are degrading to the morals of America? … Is it God's will for us to have this type of material that the taxpayers are paying for?"

Elected political figures Senator Angela Burks Hill, R-Picayune; Representative Bill Pigott, R-Tylertown; and Representative Ken Morgan, R-Morgantown, were amongst those in attendance at the meeting and Hill accused the library of violating state law with some of the books it carries in its young adult section, stating "Mississippi already has a statute that prohibits sexually explicit materials from being displayed to minors, so all of these books are in violation of both 97-5-27 and 95-5-29," followed by applause. Morgan added, "Remove the books. Pull the books," he said, adding "Just remember, the taxpayers pay for this institution to be here, and somebody is drawing a salary to be here, and if you can't clean it up, we'll get somebody who can".

Another gave a list of books they would like to be similarly restricted, as seen below, all written by women. McMurry passed the list out around the room.

• "The Nowhere Girls" by Amy Reed
• "Story of A Girl" by Sara Zarr
• "Dress Codes For Small Towns" by Courtney Stevens
• "What Girls Are Made Of" by Elan K. Arnold
• "Burned" by Ellen Hopkins
• "Ready Or Not" by Meg Cabot
• "Luna" by Julie Anne Peters
• "The Upside of Unrequited" by Becky Albertalli
• "Shiver" by Maggie Stiefvater
• "Eleanor and Park" by Rainbow Rowell
• "All the Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
• "Absolute Boyfriend" by Yuu Watase
• "A Bad Boy Can Be Good For A Girl" by Tanya Lee Stone
• "Girl in Pieces" by Kathleen Glasgow

Will Heartstopper be the next focal point for politicians trying to get elected? And given that the Netflix adaptation is already very popular, as well as the graphic novels, will this be even harder to justify?

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