BRISTOL — The Newfound Area School Board took up the question of what books are appropriate for the school library after hearing from people on both sides of the question.
Three books in particular have come under scrutiny: All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson, Looking For Alaska by John Green, and Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe. During the March 11 meeting, one resident read sexually explicit passages from the books to illustrate the concerns.
Both parents and educators came to the books’ defense on March 25, saying that pulling those quotes out of context ignores messages of identity, trust, and friendship.
Ariel Maloney, chair of the English Department at Newfound Regional High School, argued that the books are not pornographic because, while they discuss sexual matters, they are “not sexy” in any way.
“Regardless of the decontextualized nature of the excerpts that others have claimed are pornographic, I’m not sure why it would be arousing to read about two bodies having sex and finding it unpleasant,” Maloney said, “and I also question the underpinning logic of teenagers seeking out this book in particular when an entire internet’s worth of pornography is literally available via their smartphones.”
School board member William Jolly of Groton attempted a compromise by suggesting that library books be classified similar to movie ratings.
“Nobody’ trying to ban anything,” Jolly said, “so please remove that from the vernacular. … The effort is to create an environment where age-appropriate material is offered to the kids whose parents want it for them. That’s it,” he said.
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