Fight Censorship: Science Is NOT Porn
No case of censorship gets us more hot under the collar than book banning. Every time a book is removed from library shelves we feel like Guy Montag goaded by Captain Beatty in Fahrenheit 451. Yeah, we know it’s dark! But we’re bookworms and how does Beatty know all that stuff if he’s not reading those books himself?! Book banning is nothing new and the reasons for such behavior runs the gambit. No excuse gets this blogger more peeved than the accusation that a book of science and medical discovery is pornographic, so we bring to you, our wonderfully reasonable readers, three reasons why science is not porn.
Argument #1
Pornography is defined as writings, pictures, etc., intended to arouse sexual desire.
In January 2010, Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition was removed from the shelves of Riverside County, Calif. schools when it was discovered that the text defined oral sex. Naturally, I looked up the aforementioned term in my own edition of Webster’s and was sad to find the listings moving from “oral history” to “orange”. Disappointment ensued. Joking aside, it’s safe to say that no one is receiving Christian Grey style filthy thoughts at the hands of a dictionary.
Argument #2
Dry, accurate descriptions of medical conditions and treatments do not equate to nudie mags.
Recently The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which tells the story a woman’s body tissues being removed, propagated and studied without her knowledge and the medical discoveries that took place as a result, was challenged by one Tennessee parent. The accusations against Rebecca Skloot’s best seller include the notion that references to Lacks’ cancerous tumor found on her cervix, her husband’s infidelity that resulted in STDs, and Lacks’ cancer treatment are too pornographic to be read by students. The challenge held little weight and the book remains on that sophomore class summer reading list.
Argument #3
It’s perfectly normal to read a book about your changing body.
Robie Harris has written many wonderful books geared towards children that help navigate the confusing and often embarrassing time when everyone suddenly discovers armpit hair. These include It’s Perfectly Normal, which discusses puberty, and It’s Not A Stork, which explains where babies come from in a easy and relatable way. Harris’s books are frequently challenged due to their “pornographic” content. If you don’t want your kids reading these books, that’s totally fine. You parent how you parent. If you do want to use Harris’s children’s books as a tool to explain to your children the completely natural changes taking place, you should be able to do that too. No one should decide what your child can or can’t read for you.
Every year the American Library Association releases a list of the most challenged and banned books of the year. Books that seem harmless to you can find ways onto the ALA Banned Books List. Something as avoidable as mistaken identity can lead to the removal of a beloved children’s book from classroom shelves. More often than not these books become contraband without consideration for context.
We hope that people will refrain from challenging a book because it uses medically correct terms for parts of the human anatomy, but instead use it at a developmentally appropriate opportunity to create a conversation about biology. Celebrate your right to read all month long at your local Bookmans. Each store hosts Fight Censorship-themed events throughout September including our Banned Book Mug Shots. Come by any of our stores to take a pic with your fave prohibited materials and share on social media using the #BannedBookSelfie and #FightCensorship.
* Bookmans is your store to explore. We can’t guarantee stock so if you are interested in a particular banned, challenged or censored book, please give us a call and we’ll check our orange shelves for you. Otherwise, we hope you will come and browse.
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