Woman combats censorship of LGBTQ+ literature by shipping queer books to red U.S.A. states
July 8, 2024In San Francisco's Castro District, a determined individual is combating book bans — with literature.
In May 2023, Becka Robbins identified the most effective way to resist the unprecedented surge of book bans: by distributing those very books to people being deprived of them. She opened a small space at the back of Fabulosa Books in Castro and launched her “Books Not Bans” initiative, which sends banned books to community centers, schools, and individuals nationwide. This program has flourished, supported by customer donations. “The book bans are awful, the attempt at erasure,” Robbins told the Associated Press.
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According to ‘LGBTQ Nation’, Robbins has distributed 740 books so far to states including Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, and Alabama. She mentioned that enthusiastic supporters have been sending notes of encouragement along with their donations.
According to the free-speech and anti-censorship organisation PEN America, over 40% of all book bans in the 2022-23 school year occurred in Florida, followed by Texas and Missouri.
Approximately 86% of book bans were initiated by groups like Moms for Liberty, which has been providing book lists to its chapters nationwide, repeatedly targeting the same titles. These include Maia Kobabe’s ‘Gender Queer’, George Johnson’s ‘All Boys Aren’t Blue’, and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison’s ‘The Bluest Eye’, among others.
PEN America reports that 30% of all book bans have aimed at titles with LGBTQ+ characters or themes, while another 30% have targeted books featuring characters of color or discussing race and racism.
According to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, nearly 40% of the bans sought by Moms for Liberty have focused on LGBTQ+ identity.
One recent recipient of the “Books Not Bans” initiative is Jason DeShazo, a drag queen performer known as Momma Ashley Rose, who runs the LGBTQ+ community centre in Lakeland, Florida. He stated that Robbins's books are already available on the shelves.
“I don’t think a person of color should have to search so hard for an amazing book about the history of what our Black community has gone through,” DeShazo said. “Or for someone who is queer to find a book that represents them.”
For Robbins, these books include queer young adult romances, which she described as a rapidly growing genre despite attempts by Moms for Liberty and other anti-LGBTQ+ forces to erase queer identity.
“The characters are just like regular kids — regular people who are also queer, but they also get to fall in love and be happy,” Robbins said.
“Fiction teaches us how to dream,” Robbins added. “It teaches us how to connect with people who are not like ourselves. It teaches us how to listen and empathize.”
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