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[CCBC-Net] Dramarama, fluff, and supporting teens coming out
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From: Nancy Silverrod <nsilverrod>
Date: Fri, 30 May 2008 13:07:42 -0700
I agree that everything shouldn't be all serious, and it's great that there are more and more books where the sexuality of the protagonist is not the focal point of the plot. This one just didn't do it for me.
One of the things I've been thinking about lately is the sense that today's young LGBTQ teens are having an easier time of accepting themselves, coming out, and being accepted, and have no idea of what we all went through in the past. What's sadly true, is that while they may have no sense of our history and struggle, they are often still going through the same type of rough times. My seventeen-year-old stepson, the child of lesbian moms, who grew up among a loving gay community in San Francisco, has been through a terrible time of depression and drinking in the last couple of years, which (hopefully) seems to be abating as he's now in his first relationship with a man. He's never been pressured in any way about his sexuality or gender identity, and when we've talked in the past to him about future relationships, and about safe-sex, we've always made a point of referring to girlfriends or boyfriends. We've wondered over the years about the implications of his tendency to cross-dress, but have supported that as well. It's been painful to see that despite our openness and acceptance, he has had such a hard time.
Unfortunately, despite being the child of librarians, he's only become a willing reader in the last year or so, and he reads adult books--so he's missed out on all of the great LGBTQ YA books that might have helped where we didn't seem to be able to. As a librarian, I wonder about how to better reach kids like him--kids who are non-readers, but could really benefit by what we have to offer.
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
Received on Fri 30 May 2008 03:07:42 PM CDT
Date: Fri, 30 May 2008 13:07:42 -0700
I agree that everything shouldn't be all serious, and it's great that there are more and more books where the sexuality of the protagonist is not the focal point of the plot. This one just didn't do it for me.
One of the things I've been thinking about lately is the sense that today's young LGBTQ teens are having an easier time of accepting themselves, coming out, and being accepted, and have no idea of what we all went through in the past. What's sadly true, is that while they may have no sense of our history and struggle, they are often still going through the same type of rough times. My seventeen-year-old stepson, the child of lesbian moms, who grew up among a loving gay community in San Francisco, has been through a terrible time of depression and drinking in the last couple of years, which (hopefully) seems to be abating as he's now in his first relationship with a man. He's never been pressured in any way about his sexuality or gender identity, and when we've talked in the past to him about future relationships, and about safe-sex, we've always made a point of referring to girlfriends or boyfriends. We've wondered over the years about the implications of his tendency to cross-dress, but have supported that as well. It's been painful to see that despite our openness and acceptance, he has had such a hard time.
Unfortunately, despite being the child of librarians, he's only become a willing reader in the last year or so, and he reads adult books--so he's missed out on all of the great LGBTQ YA books that might have helped where we didn't seem to be able to. As a librarian, I wonder about how to better reach kids like him--kids who are non-readers, but could really benefit by what we have to offer.
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
Received on Fri 30 May 2008 03:07:42 PM CDT
