Celebrating Gay Penguins and Other Banned Books

categories: LGBT and the Media, LGBT Education

Published September 09, 2009 @ 04:32AM PT

And Tango Makes Three

You have to hand it to those gay penguins -- they really know how to rile up the right-wing. This year marks the third straight year that And Tango Makes Three, the book about two male penguins who take in and raise a baby penguin, tops the list of the American Library Association's most banned books.

It's odd that a book about the power of love and family continues to be despised by very conservative forces. But with each passing year, numerous right-wing parents object to the book because of its gay-friendly themes. In fact, LGBT themes and/or sexual themes are the reason most books end up banned, at least according to Deborah Caldwell Stone, the Director of the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom.

As a means of responding to parents that go on book burning crusades, the American Library Association created a "Banned Books Week," which will take place at the end of September (September 26-October 3, 2009). The goal is to promote the more than 1,000 books that have been banned since 1982 by the 'family values' crowd. Books for this year include And Tango Makes Three, of course, as well as The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Uncle Bobby's Wedding, both of which touch on the subject of homosexuality. Seven other books make up the top-ten this year, including the best-seller The Kite Runner.

Really? The Kite Runner? For goodness sake's...the book was sold in Starbucks it was that popular!

Guess that just goes to show the lengths some parents and folks will go to censor information from their communities. And speaking of, the American Library Association has launched a fascinating interactive map that allows you to see where in the country folks are getting their pantaloons in a bunch over books. You can see that in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, wingnuts tried to ban The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye. Or in Waltham, Massachusetts, The Lovely Bones was moved to the faculty-only section because folks thought it was too scary for middle-school students. Or in Baxley, Georgia, where a minister objected to John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.

It's almost embarrassing to think that all throughout the country, we're engaging in the type of book-banning that is popular in authoritarian countries. But then it's also kind of sad to realize that many communities get deprived of some of the best literature of our day.

All the more reason to celebrate Banned Books Week later this month, and get these banned titles out in front of eyes that otherwise wouldn't be allowed to see them.

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Comments (8)

Amazing post.

Posted by Soodle Billy on 09/09/2009 @ 05:03AM PT
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I love banned books week. It's a great time to stock up on titles for my niece and make a few contributions to local schools that *don't* get their panties in a twist over a couple of gay penguins.

Posted by Tobias Fangor on 09/09/2009 @ 04:03PM PT
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Intolerant conservatives must not given the authority to ban books in libraries, but only those who can the understand the message and view the book's benefit on readers. It's unfortunate that "And Tango Makes Three" is a book which the American Library Association ranks as a top banned book. However, there must be progress in dispersing tolerance for books that are tolerant of LGBT people and related topics because oppression is unjustified.

Posted by Edwin Bonilla on 09/09/2009 @ 04:44PM PT
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Perhaps it's time to try to put the Bible, the Torrah and the Qu'ran on the banned books list :) After all, they are probably the most violent of all books on our library's bookshelves.

Oh lighten up! I'm kidding!

Posted by Dave Hershey on 09/09/2009 @ 04:55PM PT
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Perhaps so BUT it would serve the bible thumpers well and truly right...

Plus a better case could actually be made to ban them...

Posted by Thomas McHugh on 09/09/2009 @ 09:04PM PT
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Why ban when you can burn. Heck the bible makes a perfect kindling. In fact I stock up every winter on bibles and phone books since it saves us money on starter logs for our Franklin stove.

Posted by Chris Marshall on 09/11/2009 @ 06:31PM PT
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The fact that the bible thumpers wanna ban these books just makes me wanna check them out...

Posted by Thomas McHugh on 09/09/2009 @ 09:04PM PT
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Whatever that books tells us we must still respect those authors and even though it was a banned books we must give them a sort of consideration.

Posted by carol subang on 09/09/2009 @ 09:21PM PT
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Michael is the Communications Director for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, and previously was Communications Director for Pax Christi USA, a progressive Catholic human rights organization.