The American Library Association (ALA) has released its top 10 most challenged books of 2023, and seven of them were challenged for containing LGBTQ+ content.
“In looking at the title of the most challenged books from last year, it’s obvious that the pressure groups are targeting books about LGBTQ+ people and people of color,” said ALA President Emily Drabinski in a press release.
The vocal protests of the ALA emphasize the ways in which libraries and their workers have striven to address the needs of their readers with progressive and crucial services.
“At ALA, we are fighting for the freedom to choose what you want to read. Shining a light on the harmful workings of these pressure groups is one of the actions we must take to protect our right to read,” Drabinski said.
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The number of titles at risk for censorship increased by 65% in 2023 compared to the year before, the highest ever recorded by ALA.
The 10 most challenged books of 2023 are as follows:
- Genderqueer by Maia Kobabe
- Reasons: LGBTQ+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
- All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
- Reasons: LGBTQ+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
- This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson
- Reasons: LGBTQ+ content, sex education, claimed to be sexually explicit
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
- Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, LGBTQ+ content, rape, drugs, profanity
- Flamer by Mike Curato
- Reasons: LGBTQ+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
- Reasons: Rape, incest, claimed to be sexually explicit, EDI content
- Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
- Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, drugs, rape, LGBTQ+ content
- Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
- Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, profanity
- Let’s Talk About It by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan
- Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, sex education, LGBTQ+ content
- Sold by Patricia McCormick
- Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicitly, rape
“These are books that contain the ideas, the opinions, and the voices that censors want to silence — stories by and about LGBTQ+ persons and people of color,” said Deborah Caldwell, director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.
“Each challenge, each demand to censor these books is an attack on our freedom to read, our right to live the life we choose, and an attack on libraries as community institutions that reflect the rich diversity of our nation. When we tolerate censorship, we risk losing all of this. During National Library Week, we should all take action to protect and preserve libraries and our rights.”
According to the ALA, most of the challenges prior to 2021 sought to remove access to a single title, whereas more recent challenges – fueled by the so-called parents’ rights movement and anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups like Moms for Liberty – target multiple titles 90% of the time.
“Overwhelmingly, we’re seeing these challenges come from organized censorship groups that target local library board meetings to demand removal of a long list of books they share on social media,” said Caldwell-Stone.
“Their aim is to suppress the voices of those traditionally excluded from our nation’s conversations, such as people in the LGBTQIA+ community or people of color. Each attempt to ban a book by one of these groups represents a direct attack on every person’s constitutionally protected right to freely choose what books to read and what ideas to explore. The choice of what to read must be left to the reader or, in the case of children, to parents. That choice does not belong to self-appointed book police.”
