Ban Bigots, Not Books

I can’t believe we’re having this debate in 2023, but here we are

Inclusive education includes sex education

Comprehensive and inclusive sex education is protective, not harmful, to students.

Students who have a strong knowledge of diverse sexuality, their own bodies, boundaries, and consent are less likely to be victims of sexual harassment, abuse, and assault.

Students who see themselves, their peers, their loved ones, and their diverse communities reflected in their books and other academic materials are more likely to be accepting of themselves and others.

Representation is important. Students who are LGBTQIA2s+ (and all students) have the right to access relevant and relatable books and other educational materials, not confined to only cis-het (cis-gendered and heterosexual) literature. How are they going to understand how to have safe, consensual sex if no one teaches them?

How will LGBTQIA2s+ students learn about safe, consensual sex if no one teaches them?

Who are the experts here?

Why are a few small-minded, backwards-thinking parents having the opportunity to speak for entire communities? Why are some parents, who clearly lack knowledge themselves, trying to overrule the expertise of trained educators and administrators?

I certainly don’t want someone else’s bigoted beliefs influencing my son’s education, nor anyone else’s. Our kids and our communities deserve so much better than that.

I want my son to grow up in an inclusive, welcoming community and to be educated in an inclusive public school system. I want him to see the adults in his life standing up against homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of oppression and marginalization.

“Libraries have a core responsibility to safeguard and facilitate access to constitutionally protected expressions of knowledge, imagination, ideas, and opinion, including those which some individuals and groups consider unconventional, unpopular or unacceptable.” — CFLA

Ban bigotry, not illustrated books

The bigoted book-banning brigade has come to my community.

Last month, the board of trustees in Brandon Manitoba rejected a delegation to ban books in Brandon school libraries, so the failed movement is seeking out smaller, easier targets.

According to their poorly-worded, ignorant petition, a couple of parents within our own school division recently discovered a book or two they didn’t like in a school library.

The main book in question is This Book Is Gay, by Juno Dawson. These narrow-minded parents call a book which includes diverse sexual education, including same-sex partners, “pornography”.

That is some hateful, homophobic rhetoric which I will not tolerate in my community, nor in my son’s school community.

To be clear, the images they are calling pornographic are cartoon images showing a cartoon person with a penis and testicles. Further, this book is available in a middle school (grade six and up, or over 12 years old), not an elementary school (grades K-6).

Yes, they’re getting their proverbial panties in a bunch over a cartoon drawing.

There are no drawings of cartoon characters engaging in sex, but a written description of how two people with penises would have sexual intercourse.

I don’t know what kind of porn those parents are watching, but I think maybe they should get out more.

Inclusive education is a fundamental human right

I’m pretty sure everyone needs to be told how sex happens at some point in our lives. Why do only cis-het students get access to representative sexual education, while anyone who is part of the LGBTQIA2s+ community has to figure it out for themselves?

I’d certainly prefer that point in time to be when my son is developmentally ready for the conversations (of which we’ve had many, with increasing information and specifics as he’s gotten older).

I’d also prefer my son to have those conversations with safe adults, trained educators, and his loving parents. Students are going to learn more from peers and the Internet as they get older, so it’s very important we provide factual information about being safe, consensual, and respectful now.

According to their own petition, these hateful, over-stepping parents also tried to access a list of students who had borrowed that book from the library, an invasion of privacy, and an attempt to breach confidentiality.

“Libraries have a core responsibility to safeguard and defend privacy in the individual’s pursuit of expressive content.” — CFLA

My community includes everyone

That includes our school community.

I want my son to grow up in a community, and be educated in a school, which embraces and celebrates differences, not one which fears and oppresses those who are different.

My son and I are both Neurodivergent, so we’re already different. We’ve experienced our share of discrimination and ostracization based on having different neurology from the majority population.

I have seen and experienced first hand what ignorance, prejudice, and closed-mindedness does to children and their families. I work with parents every day whose children are being mistreated by their school because of their differences.

Most of these issues stem from lack of knowledge and understanding.

“…all persons in Canada have a fundamental right, subject only to the Constitution and the law, to have access to the full range of knowledge, imagination, ideas, and opinion, and to express their thoughts publicly.” — CFLA

The solution is more information and education, not less. People can’t do better if they don’t know better.

© Jillian Enright, Neurodiversity MB

Related Articles

References

Banerjee D, Rao TSS. Comprehensive Sex Education — Why Should We Care? Journal of Psychosexual Health. 2022;4(2):73–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/26318318221092076

Canadian Federal Libraries Association (2019, April). Statement on Intellectual Freedom and Libraries. [Online].

Goldfarb, E. S., & Lieberman, L. D. (2021). Three Decades of Research: The Case for Comprehensive Sex Education. Journal of Adolescent Health, 68(1), 13–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.07.036

Shalihin, M. S. E. B., Mohd Razib, M. Z., Mahadi, F. H., Harun, N., & Suhaimi, N. F. N. (2023). A review of sex education impact in health promotion and teenage behaviour. International Journal of Allied Health Sciences, 7(1), 2853–2862. https://journals.iium.edu.my/ijahs/index.php/IJAHS/article/view/756

United Nations. (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child. [Online].

For local parents and concerned community members

I have resources available on my website for those who wish to get involved and stand up against this homophobic bigotry.