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[CCBC-Net] GLBTQ Literature
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From: Nancy Silverrod <nsilverrod>
Date: Tue, 20 May 2008 09:15:58 -0700
I'll start with some brief comments. Overall, we are definitely seeing a move toward the view that being lesbian or gay is an acceptable, even positive, sexual identity. Many young adult books these days even have minor characters who are gay. There are still very few books that take on the subject of bisexuality--fewer than those dealing with transgender characters. However, there are still very few lgbtq books for children as opposed to the growing number of books for teens, and many of them are being published by small presses, or are self-published, making them difficult to find. A number of these latter books have the tendency to be didactic, and libraries often have to balance that, and the sometimes poor artwork, against the subject needs.
There are a whole range of subject needs that are under-addressed, or not met:
1. More books about gay marriage, particularly more fiction, all ages
2. Books about bisexuality, fiction and non-fiction, all ages
3. Books about having a transgender family member (there are a few exceptions in young adult fiction) -- both fiction and non-fiction, all ages
4. Books about transgender parents (yes there are a number of them) -- both fiction and non-fiction, all ages
5. Books about gender-variant young children (even more of those than transgender parents) -- both fiction and non-fiction
6. Books about the various ways lgbtq people become parents
(adoption, pregnancy, surrogacy, etc)
7. Books about young lgbtq people joining together to fight back the homophobia and violence they face
Subjects that have possibly(or hopefully) been beaten to death:
1. Boo-hoo, my boyfriend's gay
2. Oh no, I'm gay, my life is ruined, my parents will hate me
3. Car wrecks, suicide attempts, gay-bashing
More thoughts later, after I've woken up...
Nancy Silverrod, Librarian San Francisco Public Library 100 Larkin St. San Francisco, CA 94102-4733 415-557-4417 nsilverrod at sfpl.org
Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind. -James Russell Lowell, poet, editor, and diplomat (1819-1891)
A closed mind is like a closed book: just a block of wood. -Chinese Proverb
-----Original Message----- From: ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
[mailto:ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu] On Behalf Of Megan Schliesman Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 8:20 AM To: ccbc-net, Subscribers of Subject: [CCBC-Net] GLBTQ Literature
Thank you for the posts on literature for children and teens about the Middle East. While we'd like to spend more time on this topic to encourage additional posts, but time being time, we need to turn our attention to the topic for the second part of May: GLBTQliiterature.
Even more than literature about the Middle East, this area of publishing
for youth has grown tremendously in recent years.* *We have been struck
by the fact that since first talking about this topic on CCBC-Net, in June of 2004, publishing reflecting the experiences of lesbian, gay, bixesxual, transgendered, and questioning youth has grown exponentially,
and in that growth we are seeing more new voices and greater diversity of experience. (Unfortunately, books for younger children reflecting the
many families with gay or lesbian parents are still few and far between.)
We invite you to share what you've observed about GLBTQ literature in recent years for the remainder of May.
Megan
Date: Tue, 20 May 2008 09:15:58 -0700
I'll start with some brief comments. Overall, we are definitely seeing a move toward the view that being lesbian or gay is an acceptable, even positive, sexual identity. Many young adult books these days even have minor characters who are gay. There are still very few books that take on the subject of bisexuality--fewer than those dealing with transgender characters. However, there are still very few lgbtq books for children as opposed to the growing number of books for teens, and many of them are being published by small presses, or are self-published, making them difficult to find. A number of these latter books have the tendency to be didactic, and libraries often have to balance that, and the sometimes poor artwork, against the subject needs.
There are a whole range of subject needs that are under-addressed, or not met:
1. More books about gay marriage, particularly more fiction, all ages
2. Books about bisexuality, fiction and non-fiction, all ages
3. Books about having a transgender family member (there are a few exceptions in young adult fiction) -- both fiction and non-fiction, all ages
4. Books about transgender parents (yes there are a number of them) -- both fiction and non-fiction, all ages
5. Books about gender-variant young children (even more of those than transgender parents) -- both fiction and non-fiction
6. Books about the various ways lgbtq people become parents
(adoption, pregnancy, surrogacy, etc)
7. Books about young lgbtq people joining together to fight back the homophobia and violence they face
Subjects that have possibly(or hopefully) been beaten to death:
1. Boo-hoo, my boyfriend's gay
2. Oh no, I'm gay, my life is ruined, my parents will hate me
3. Car wrecks, suicide attempts, gay-bashing
More thoughts later, after I've woken up...
Nancy Silverrod, Librarian San Francisco Public Library 100 Larkin St. San Francisco, CA 94102-4733 415-557-4417 nsilverrod at sfpl.org
Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind. -James Russell Lowell, poet, editor, and diplomat (1819-1891)
A closed mind is like a closed book: just a block of wood. -Chinese Proverb
-----Original Message----- From: ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
[mailto:ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu] On Behalf Of Megan Schliesman Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 8:20 AM To: ccbc-net, Subscribers of Subject: [CCBC-Net] GLBTQ Literature
Thank you for the posts on literature for children and teens about the Middle East. While we'd like to spend more time on this topic to encourage additional posts, but time being time, we need to turn our attention to the topic for the second part of May: GLBTQliiterature.
Even more than literature about the Middle East, this area of publishing
for youth has grown tremendously in recent years.* *We have been struck
by the fact that since first talking about this topic on CCBC-Net, in June of 2004, publishing reflecting the experiences of lesbian, gay, bixesxual, transgendered, and questioning youth has grown exponentially,
and in that growth we are seeing more new voices and greater diversity of experience. (Unfortunately, books for younger children reflecting the
many families with gay or lesbian parents are still few and far between.)
We invite you to share what you've observed about GLBTQ literature in recent years for the remainder of May.
Megan
-- Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 608/262-9503 schliesman at education.wisc.edu www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/ _______________________________________________ CCBC-Net mailing list CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe... http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-netReceived on Tue 20 May 2008 11:15:58 AM CDT
