Banning LGBTQIA+ Books in TX

My apologies. I'm a little late in highlighting "Banned Book Week," which was Sept. 26-Oct. 2, 2021, sponsored by the American Library Association. One was George by Alex Gino, that was banned because of its LGBTQIA+ content. Then there are the old favorites to be banned: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck; To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee; The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison; and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. In the last few days, Beloved by Toni Morrison made a splash in the Virginia Governor's election, because the Republican candidate supported a person, who is probably going to vote for him, who wants to ban the book, Beloved from libraries in the Virginia public school system. 

Not to be left behind with repressive, hurtful, and suppressive acts towards minorities, including LGBTQIA+ people, Governor Abbott of Texas made sure that Texas is back on everyone's radar as being a state government that is largely anti-LGBTQIA+. For example, on Oct. 12, 2021, it was reported that Texas' Department of Family and Protective services removed a page on its website for LGBTQIA+ resources after a more conservative gubernatorial candidate chastised Governor Abbott for having such a page on a state-run website. Here's a link for more about that move: 

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/texas-agency-removes-webpages-resources-lgbtq-youths-rcna2929.

Today, Governor Abbott is back in the spotlight because his office would like to ban the book, Gender Queer, by Maia Kobaba. Referring to one's self as e/em/eir pronouns, Maia charts eir journey of self-discovery, coming out to eir's self, confusion over adolescent crushes, grappling with coming out to one's family, and bonding with friends of erotic gay fan fiction, and the trauma and violation of getting a pap smear. 

Here's a link for this book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Gender-Queer-A-Memoir/Maia-Kobabe/9781549304002.

A week ago, Republican state Rep. Jeff Carson wanted an investigation into "sexually explicit" books in school libraries that violated "pornography and decency laws," using Gender Queer  by Maia Kobabe as a prime example. So, in the last few days, Gov. boat wrote a letter to the state association of school boards warning against "pornographic or obscene" books in school libraries. 

Here's a link to that story: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/texas-governor-abbott-school-libraries-pornography-queer-books_n_61807898e4b06b9de8b9fc7f

Let the banning of books season continue! Not!

When I taught undergraduate and graduate students, including students at Duke Divinity School, one of the best "tools" for teaching complex subjects like theology and human developmental psychology was stories. Novels and autobiographies worked best. Also films, plays, dance, and art work for understanding these complex subjects. For understanding the complexities around non-binary and fluid gender expression, I would've chosen Gender Queer in a heart-beat.

Again, as always, I looked on denominational websites about what is going on in the state of Texas, and found nothing. The churches are silent about books being banned currently in the US. Does our silence say we, in the Church, are for the anti-intellectual movement in the US?

May it not be so.

Let's work hard to reverse this ongoing trend, whether there are new books being banned, or the same old books. How? By buying the books, and in some cases, especially in TX, purchasing the books for the libraries and church libraries. 

Let's make a change for the good, one book at a time.

The state Department of Family and Protective Services removed the pages after criticism from one of Gov. Greg Abbott’s Republican primary challengers.

The state Department of Family and Protective Services removed the pages after criticism from one of Gov. Greg Abbott’s Republican primary challengers.