Morning Wire XX
[0] Over the last few years, the battle over so -called band books has intensified.
[1] Some parents have been alarmed about the content found in books given to their children at school, while some educators and lawmakers are rallying around those books, arguing that they celebrate LGBT themes.
[2] In this Sunday episode, we take a closer look at the books that are under the most scrutiny and how each side is framing the battle.
[3] Warning to parents who are listening with kids, this episode contains some graphic language.
[4] Thanks for waking up with us.
[5] It's May 7th, and this is your Sunday edition of Morning Wire.
[6] Joining us to discuss all the controversy surrounding banned books is Daily Wire investigative reporter Marade Allorty.
[7] So, Mairead, there's a long history of parents expressing disapproval about books assigned to kids at school.
[8] A pretty famous example is Catcher in the Rye.
[9] In that case, parents weren't keen on the profanity and the references to drinking and suicide, and it was seen by some people as kind of anti -family.
[10] Is this just history repeating itself?
[11] Hi, Georgia.
[12] Well, a lot of people on the left today are saying the current book battle is more of the same.
[13] They point to books like Catcher in the Rye and say that books that address the gritty realities of life are engaging for young learners and inspire a love of reading.
[14] They're digging their heels into, as they frame it, protect kids access to these books.
[15] But a lot of parents say these new books are a far cry from Catcher in the Rye and have no place in K -12 schools.
[16] They also point out that keeping a book out of an elementary or middle school library is not banning a book at all.
[17] And obviously, the vast majority of books are not in school libraries, so decisions are constantly being made about which are included and which are excluded.
[18] Now, let's get to the actual books.
[19] And again, note to parents, there is some graphic content ahead.
[20] What are some of the specific books that are causing the most controversy these days?
[21] Well, the American Library Association generates a list of the most challenged books each year.
[22] which basically means the books that most frequently inspire parent backlash and attempted removals.
[23] In 2022, the graphic novel Gender Queer by Maya Kobabe topped the list.
[24] I should note, six of the top ten challenged books were challenged over LGBT content, and all top ten were challenged for sexual content.
[25] The reason parents object to gender queer is not specifically that it's LGBT, but rather that it includes graphic depictions of sex between two males with a sex toy as well as oral sex, masturbation, and other sexually explicit content.
[26] Parents say this is pornographic and promotes misleading ideas about sex and gender, and that it doesn't serve an educational purpose due to its simplistic prose and vocabulary.
[27] They say the book should be replaced with a more edifying option that has more challenging vocabulary.
[28] In terms of the rigor, it's been designated as seventh grade or above, but that rating is largely due to the sexual content.
[29] It's typically been used in high school classrooms, and parents say that's another problem, they want their kids to read more challenging books while in high school.
[30] So what is the actual literary content for genderqueer?
[31] What's the book about?
[32] So it's a memoir of a gender non -conforming author exploring her sexuality.
[33] The jacket describes gender queer as a useful and touching guide on gender identity.
[34] Here's a sample.
[35] This is a female character speaking.
[36] Again, parental warning here.
[37] Quoting, for years, my standard method of masturbation was stuffing a sock into the front of my pants.
[38] and manipulating the bulge.
[39] This would evolve into hip thrusting while thinking of my latest gay ship.
[40] Memorably, I got off once while driving just by rubbing the front of my jeans and imagining getting a blowjob, end quote.
[41] This is hardly the most graphic part of this book, but it gives a sense of some of the gender discussion.
[42] Just a reminder, this is a female character exploring a male identity.
[43] The next scene in the book is a conversation between this character and her sister who both taste their, quote, vagina slime.
[44] Another character in genderqueer becomes a non -binary pagan priest.
[45] One passage in genderqueer describes the main character sexting at work.
[46] Here's that passage.
[47] Quote, I got a new strap on harness today.
[48] I can't wait to put it on you.
[49] It will fit my favorite dildo perfectly.
[50] You're going to look so hot.
[51] I can't wait to have your in my mouth.
[52] I'm going to give you the blowjob of your life.
[53] Then I want you inside me. This is the most turned on I've ever been in my life.
[54] I am dying, end quote.
[55] Again, parents say this isn't what they want their kids spending time reading while at school.
[56] But some educators are pushing back saying it's transphobia and anti -LGB sentiment that's driving the criticism and that kids need to be exposed to diverse sexualities in order to be tolerant and inclusive.
[57] Okay, so genderqueer is the most challenged book.
[58] What else is on the list?
[59] Some of the other top books parents have worked to pull from schools are titled Lawn Boy, My Friend, and Dahmer, Out of Darkness, in the Dream House, The Hate You Give, Flamer, looking for Alaska, Hopeless, The Handmaid's Tale, a picture book called Dim Some for Everyone, and the New York Times 1619 Project.
[60] Of the top 10, most of the complaints from parents are about vivid descriptions of sex acts, but in the case of the 1619 project, for example, parents object to overt political messaging.
[61] Here's one mom talking to the Cherokee County School Board in Georgia in March of last year.
[62] She was shut down by the board when she read passages from a book called Homegoing that was available to high schoolers in the district.
[63] Here's an excerpt, and I'm going to really try to be careful so I'll get kicked out.
[64] Excited now, he pushed into her.
[65] As she squeezed her eyes and tightly as she could, her tongue circled her lips.
[66] He pushed harder, his breath heavy and labored.
[67] She scratched his back and he cried out.
[68] She bit his ear and pulled his hair.
[69] There's a lot more to it.
[70] It's 50 shades of gray in CCSD.
[71] Excuse me. Yes.
[72] We have children at home.
[73] I understand.
[74] And it's really not a problem.
[75] Don't you find the irony in that?
[76] You're exactly saying exactly what I'm telling you.
[77] Ironically, she was asked to stop reading because there are children present, which she says is precisely the point.
[78] Here's another Texas mom reading.
[79] from the perks of being a wallflower to the Frisco Independent School District in Texas in November.
[80] She too was scolded by a school board member that there was a child present.
[81] He reached to take off her pants, but she started crying really hard.
[82] So he reached for his own.
[83] He pulled his pants and underwear down to his knees.
[84] Please, Dave, no. But the boy just talked soft to her about how good she looked and she grabbed his penis with her hands and started moving it.
[85] The boy pushed the girl's head down and she started to kiss his penis.
[86] she was still crying.
[87] Finally, she stopped crying because he put his penis in her mouth, and I don't think you can cry in that position.
[88] I ask you why this book is to survive two attempts.
[89] Your time is that.
[90] Thank you so much.
[91] And there's a child in our boardroom, so I'd like for you to please stop reading that.
[92] The Frisco School District eventually voted to remove certain books from the school library.
[93] I also want to note, parents aren't the only ones who've raised concerns.
[94] Some students have also spoken up about feeling uncomfortable with the level of sexuality in the material there being assigned.
[95] Here's an 11 -year -old reading a passage from the book Nick and Charlie at a school board meeting in Maine a couple months ago.
[96] My back over my hips as I ask if we should take our clothes off.
[97] And he's saying yes before I finish my sentence.
[98] He's pulling off my t -shirt laughing when I can't undo his shirt buttons.
[99] He's undoing my belt.
[100] I'm reaching into his bedside drawer for a condom.
[101] We're kissing again.
[102] We're rolling over.
[103] Obviously, you can see where this is going.
[104] Now, this book was at my middle school, and it was on a stand.
[105] When I rented it out to show my dad it, the librarian asked if I wanted more and if I wanted a graphic novel version.
[106] By the way, the U .S. is not the only country where this culture war is happening.
[107] Canada has a children's book called My Sister Wants a Penis about a small girl who likes to play with her brother's penis.
[108] The author actually won a taxpayer -funded award of $2 ,000 from the Montreal Arts Council for the book, which was a point of contention for many citizens.
[109] So the phrase book banning is pretty fraught.
[110] No one wants to be accused of banning books.
[111] What do these parents actually want to happen with these books?
[112] Do they want them to be removed from the curriculum, barred from schools, barred from publication?
[113] What do parents want?
[114] In most cases, the parents want the books removed from the K -12 libraries and curricula.
[115] I'm not aware of any major efforts to have the books discontinued by publishers or removed from bookstores.
[116] Educators, though, say removal from the library is tantamount to a ban, but parents counter that school.
[117] school libraries have limited space and there's only so much time in the school year, so time and space are better spent on books that shape their kids' character in a positive way.
[118] That really gets at the central conflict here because educators, too, believe these books are important for shaping kids' character.
[119] So it really comes down to a battle between who has the right to shape a child's character, the parent or the teacher.
[120] So that brings us to parental rights legislation.
[121] Legally speaking, who has the right to decide what kids are reading at school?
[122] Well, it's a balance.
[123] Parents vote for school board members in local elections, and those school board members ultimately make policy.
[124] But educational organizations also have a lot of sway.
[125] And many of the leading literary organizations like Pan America, the American Library Association, are backing up the teachers and books like genderqueer.
[126] But in recent years, there's been a push towards legally restricting certain types of books in schools in some states, including Florida, Arizona, Iowa, Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
[127] Oklahoma.
[128] One Florida district, Martin County, has removed dozens of books from its middle schools and high schools.
[129] According to one estimate from Penn America, Florida ranks first for the number of book removals while Texas is in second place.
[130] Some critics in Florida say schools were having mass bannings, which led some teachers and librarians to complain that the policies restricting books are vague.
[131] Kathleen Daniels, the president of the Florida Association for Media and Education, said they have a whole new level of fear.
[132] However, However, conservatives and parents and even Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have repeatedly stressed that they only want to restrict books that are clearly inappropriate or those which push a political narrative.
[133] The American Library Association counted more than 1 ,200 book challenges in 2022, almost twice the number of challenges in 2021.
[134] We should note, not all of these challenges came from conservatives, although most of them did.
[135] Progressives want books like Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn removed for racist language.
[136] To Kill a Mockingbird has also been challenged.
[137] by progressives over its portrayal of race.
[138] Some publishers are even rewriting classics to make them more politically correct.
[139] Again, at the heart of it is really a battle over which values we are imparting to the next generation and who has the right to make that decision.
[140] Right, this issue is really emblematic of the moment we're in.
[141] Mairee, thanks for reporting.
[142] Thanks, Georgia.
[143] That was Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade Allorty.
[144] And this has been a Sunday edition of Morning Wire.