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Double Standards
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From: sully_at_sully-writer.com
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2010 11:52:53 -0700
Maia brings up the issue of double standards and I agree there is a gr eat cultural double standard when it comes to violence and sexuality. I t's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris and Michael Emberly, the bes t book I know on human body development and sexuality, is consistently in t he top ten of most challenged and banned books. I rarely see violent conten t cited as a reason for challenging a book. It is most often related to som e hint of sexuality, followed by profanity, and then supernatural content o f some kind. The most horrific acts of violence seem acceptable while a picture of a breast, a description of a sexual encounter, or use of the word "fuck" makes all the would-be censors crawl out of the woodwork. T hat is a reflection of some incredibly twisted and disgusting values in Ame rican culture.
If libraries do purchase books like It's Perfectly Normal , li brarians often make those titles as inaccessible as possible to the kids th ey are written for by placing them in parent or teacher collections, or lim iting it to in-library use only. There's a topic for "professional responsi bility."
I don't see those books as "glamorizing" sexuality, nor do I see books about war and weaponry "glamorizing" violence either. Books about sexualit y are not going to have any adverse on the moral development of the kids wh o read them and neither are books about wars and weapons.
Incidentally, there is an interesting artic le in The New Yorker about sex education books at "Too Much Information" href="http://tinyurl.com/32yk9u8." target=_blank http://tinyurl.com/32yk9u8 .
Edward T. Sullivan, Rogue Librarian Author, The Ultimate Weapon: Th e Race to Develop the Atomic Bomb (Holiday House, 2007) Visit my web sit e, http://www.sull y-writer.com Visit my blog, Rogue Librarian: All About Books and Rea ding http://s ullywriter.wordpress.com Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/sullywriter
Received on Thu 14 Oct 2010 11:52:53 AM CDT
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2010 11:52:53 -0700
Maia brings up the issue of double standards and I agree there is a gr eat cultural double standard when it comes to violence and sexuality. I t's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris and Michael Emberly, the bes t book I know on human body development and sexuality, is consistently in t he top ten of most challenged and banned books. I rarely see violent conten t cited as a reason for challenging a book. It is most often related to som e hint of sexuality, followed by profanity, and then supernatural content o f some kind. The most horrific acts of violence seem acceptable while a picture of a breast, a description of a sexual encounter, or use of the word "fuck" makes all the would-be censors crawl out of the woodwork. T hat is a reflection of some incredibly twisted and disgusting values in Ame rican culture.
If libraries do purchase books like It's Perfectly Normal , li brarians often make those titles as inaccessible as possible to the kids th ey are written for by placing them in parent or teacher collections, or lim iting it to in-library use only. There's a topic for "professional responsi bility."
I don't see those books as "glamorizing" sexuality, nor do I see books about war and weaponry "glamorizing" violence either. Books about sexualit y are not going to have any adverse on the moral development of the kids wh o read them and neither are books about wars and weapons.
Incidentally, there is an interesting artic le in The New Yorker about sex education books at "Too Much Information" href="http://tinyurl.com/32yk9u8." target=_blank http://tinyurl.com/32yk9u8 .
Edward T. Sullivan, Rogue Librarian Author, The Ultimate Weapon: Th e Race to Develop the Atomic Bomb (Holiday House, 2007) Visit my web sit e, http://www.sull y-writer.com Visit my blog, Rogue Librarian: All About Books and Rea ding http://s ullywriter.wordpress.com Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/sullywriter
Received on Thu 14 Oct 2010 11:52:53 AM CDT
