Library lists book as potentially “sexually explicit” because the author’s name is literally “Gay”

The Huntsville-Madison County Public Library (HCPL) in Alabama marked a book as potentially “sexually explicit” because the author’s last name is “Gay.” It appeared on a list of 233 books to be reviewed and potentially removed.

Read Me a Story, Stella, by Marie-Louise Gay, is about two kids who read books and build a doghouse. The School Library Journal says the book is appropriate for kindergarten through third grade. There is nothing sexually explicit about it.

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Book-banning fanatic assaults opponent. She’s demanding an X-rated section in the library.

Connie Nicholls Phillips has cost the library an estimated $72,000 with her hundreds of book ban requests.

Challenges to books in schools and public libraries have increased over the last several years as part of the larger “groomer” moral panic, which is the idea that kids seeing LGBTQ+ content can turn them gay or trans. According to PEN America, the number of books banned in schools increased by 33% in the 2022-2023 school year.

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While activists trying to ban books contend that they aren’t targeting LGBTQ+ content, PEN America found that 30% of targeted books had LGBTQ+ characters or themes. And Gay’s book appearing on the list could show that LGBTQ+ content is being systematically targeted.

HCPL Executive Director Cindy Hewitt told AL.com that the only reason Read Me a Story, Stella appeared on the list was because of the author’s last name.

“Obviously, we’re not going to touch that book for any reason,” she said, explaining that the library was trying to be “proactive instead of reactive.” She insisted that there is no intention to target LGBTQ+ people even while the library is putting books with any mention of the word “gay” under scrutiny. AL.com reported that 91% of the 233 books on HCPL’s list had words like gay, transgender, gender identity, or gender non-conforming in their subject headers. Hewitt admitted that she asked HCPL branch managers to search for books with words like “sexuality, gender, sex, and dating.”

“We wanted to be proactive and allow our library staff to look at our collection and make decisions about moving material to an older age group and not have someone from outside dictating that for us,” she said, adding that many of the books have been moved to the adult section.

HCPL employee Alyx Kim-Yohn called out Hewitt for “unilaterally moving all of this before anyone’s even complained about these books” but also called on people who support books to do more to support the library system.

“If you’re mad, what we need you to do is to come check these books out, come to story times, put in purchase requests for books that you want to see,” they said. “We need you to keep supporting the library.”

Gay, a 71-year-old Canadian author, hasn’t commented on her book appearing on the list, but her publisher released a statement.

“Although it is obviously laughable that our picture book shows up on their list of censored books simply because the author’s last name is Gay, the ridiculousness of that fact should not detract from the seriousness of the situation,” said Kirsten Brassard, Gay’s publicist at Groundwood Books, which published Read Me a Story, Stella. Brassard said that the book hadn’t been “mistakenly censored” elsewhere.

“This proves, as always, that censorship is never about limiting access to this book or that one. It is about sending the message to children that certain ideas – or even certain people – are not worthy of discussion or acknowledgment or consideration,” Brassard continued. “This is a hateful message in a place like a public library, where all children are meant to feel safe, and where their curiosity about the world is meant to be nurtured.