“He Kneeled Down Behind Me…” Senator Reads Gay Passage To Committee
Conservatives have been on a crusade to prohibit certain books from classrooms. The books in question all allegedly relate to topics around critical race theory, gender identity and sexual orientation.
In a bizarre twist, senator John Kennedy read out a sexually explicit excerpt from All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M Johnson to try to make his point.
Like listening to nails on a chalkboard
It was during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that Kennedy quoted from All Boys Aren’t Blue. The excerpt was selected specifically due to its graphic nature about queer male sex. Senator Kennedy also read out passages from Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer. These books are the second-most and the most banned books in the USA, reports Pink News.
Both books are works of YA nonfiction written by LGBTQIA+ authors. Admittedly, passages from both books contain sensitive material and distribution among young children is not advised. But George M Johnson recounts how his book has helped queer Black youth feel heard and seen.
“Students… have publicly said on record that works like mine have saved their lives, works like mine have helped them name their abusers, works like mine have helped them come to terms with who they are and feel validated in the fact that there is somebody else that exists in the world like them,” says Johnson.
Democrats and anti-censorship activists strongly opposed these actions, arguing that using sexually explicit excerpts from controversial books was a diversion from the larger issue. They argued that removing certain books from school curriculums entirely is not the solution. They offer that parents should have the option to opt their child out of reading such books rather than trying to censor them for all students.
DNA OPINION
Despite the highly contentious reading by senator Kennedy, it’s very telling that the books he chose centre around a specific narrative. One that is alternative to the cisgendered, heterosexual and (often) male narratives in books that are permitted. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice And Men remains in many curriculums, yet contains racial slurs. Catcher In The Rye contains Holden Caulfield’s anecdotes of sexual adventure and remains in curriculum.
With understanding that not all books are appropriate for children, we need to tread carefully. It’s funny to hear Kennedy reading about anal sex to a senate committee, but the ramifications for diverse literature in schools could be devastating.
