Latest news with #GenderQueer
Calgary Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Library officials, education minister meet over book controversy
A delegation from the Library Association of Alberta met Tuesday morning with provincial Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides, warning that the government is moving into dangerous territory if it dictates what books should be weeded out of school libraries. Article content 'Our key message was that we feel that decisions about what belongs in school libraries and learning commons are best made by trained educators and librarians,' said Laura Winton, past president of the Library Association of Alberta and the organization's lead on this issue. 'Obviously, he's not in agreement with our viewpoint.' Article content Article content Article content In May Nicolaides said the government would be consulting the public about possible standards that could be implemented when it came to books that are available in school libraries. Four books were used as examples of materials that the ministry found objectionable due to their sexually explicit content: Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer, Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, Craig Thompson's Blankets, and Flamer by Mike Curato. The four books that were highlighted by Nicolaides deal with 2SLGBTQIA+ themes. Article content Article content After the education minister made the announcement, conservative Christian Canadian lobby group Action4Canada said that members of its Calgary chapter had met with Nicolaides and had highlighted the four books in question. Nicolaides confirmed he had met with Action4Canada, but said his decision to look at placing standards on what can and can't go in school libraries was based on wider feedback he received from parents. Article content Article content Winton said that if Nicolaides goes through with a ministerial order, which she said was discussed in their meeting, Alberta would be the only province where the government set limits on what goes in school libraries. Article content Article content She said if school libraries are asked to do collection reviews, it will tax a system that is already short-staffed. Article content 'It's really intensive to do a collection review. Weeding is time-intensive and requires trained staff.' Article content Nicolaides said he and the librarians disagreed on many points. Article content 'School boards and parents have been clear, they do not want these types of books on a library shelf where a young student could access them, full stop,' he said in a statement issued Wednesday. 'I'm disappointed the Library Association is advocating against the involvement of parents. Article content 'During my meeting with the Library Association of Alberta, I asked them if they could provide me with evidence-based, peer-reviewed research and literature that defends exposing young students to oral sex, pedophilia, child molestation, self harm and other extremely sexually explicit material. They had no answer and no evidence to back their claims.'
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Oregon ‘freedom to read' library bill heads to governor's desk
Gender Queer, a graphic memoir by Maia Kobabe, was the most challenged book in America in 2022, according to the American Library Association. (New Jersey Monitor) A bill to protect access to school library books that discuss different religions, sexualities, disabilities and a number of other topics, and to ensure they are not banned on the basis of those themes, is headed to Gov. Tina Kotek's desk, where she's expected to sign it. Senate Bill 1098 passed the Oregon House of Representatives Monday on a 34-21 vote. It would prohibit school libraries from removing books on the basis of their being about, or by, a member of a protected class as defined in Oregon's anti-discrimination in education law. Those protected classes include: race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, age and disability. Under the bill, parents, guardians or school staff would still be able to file complaints about textbooks or library material. Oregon would join at least eight other states — including Colorado, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Vermont, Minnesota, Maryland and Washington — who have adopted similar legislation either protecting library workers from lawsuits or prohibiting libraries from restricting access to books with diverse viewpoints, according to the American Library Association. State Rep. Travis Nelson, a Portland Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill, said on the House floor it is about celebrating the freedom to read and standing against discrimination, censorship and the erasure of diverse voices. The bill already passed the Senate in March in a 18-10 vote. All House Democrats present Monday voted in favor of the bill. Only one Republican, state Rep. Cyrus Javadi, of Tillamook, voted in favor. Javadi on the House floor shared the story of his son, who grew up in rural Oregon and who read books to help him understand his identity as a young gay man. 'You can remove a book if the content is too graphic,' Javadi told lawmakers. 'You can remove it if it's not age appropriate, but you can't remove it just because the author is gay or Muslim or Black or because the story centers someone that makes you uncomfortable.' In 2024, 151 books were challenged in Oregon schools and libraries — the greatest number since 1987, when the Oregon State Library began tracking attempts to remove books. According to the American Library Association, the most challenged books in the country are books with LGBTQ+ characters or themes related to sexual assault. While lawmakers in Idaho, Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas and others have adopted policies meant to prevent minors from accessing some of those books, Oregon's bill seeks to maintain the availability of them in public libraries. 'Let's not teach our kids that their stories are too controversial to belong on the shelf,' Javadi said. Multiple Republicans spoke in opposition to the bill, sharing concerns that it undermines family values, the public school system and existing non-discrimination policies. 'The entire bill is redundant, unnecessary, inflammatory, politically, sexually motivated and a threat to family values,' Rep. Boomer Wright, R-Reedsport, said. 'Preventing books that promote radical ideologies with regard to gender and sexuality from getting into the hands of minor children is an obligation, not an option. This bill is not in the best interest of children and families.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Edmonton Journal
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Edmonton Journal
Lorne Gunter: Schools have a duty to remove, or strictly control, sexually graphic content in books
Article content The four in question are Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, Blankets by Craig Thompson, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel and Flamer by Mike Curato. Before you make up you mind about whether these are appropriate for school kids, check out their contents on the website set up by the Alberta government. (
CTV News
30-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Conservative activists gave Alberta government list of ‘inappropriate' books in school libraries
Seen here in an Edmonton secondary school library, is one of four graphic novels Government of Alberta officials cited as examples of explicit and age inappropriate material that prompted new province-wide content guidelines. (Brett McKay, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter) Social conservative activist groups provided Alberta government officials with lists of books now facing prohibition under new provincial content guidelines for school libraries, the IJF has learned. On May 26, Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides announced the province is bringing in new rules for school libraries after investigations by his office found materials containing depictions of sexual acts, nudity, drug and alcohol use, profanity and other mature content on the shelves in Alberta K-12 schools. Alberta currently has voluntary guidelines for library books, but school boards follow their own processes for selecting age-appropriate and relevant materials for students. Because of the inconsistent standards between school divisions, 'sexually explicit material has made their way onto school library shelves,' Nicolaides said, and so public, separate, francophone, charter and independent schools will be required to follow province-wide guidelines starting in the 2025-26 school year. While the province said it identified multiple books with sexually explicit and inappropriate content, it has so far only named four coming-of-age graphic novels: Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, Blankets by Craig Thompson and Flamer by Mike Curato. Three of the four books focus on 2SLGBTQ+ characters and themes. Nicolaides told reporters in Calgary on Monday he was alerted to the issue by a group of parents who provided him with excerpts from 'many of these books and other materials' and showed him information suggesting they were available in different schools. However, members of the groups Parents for Choice in Education (PCE) and Action4Canada have since taken credit for supplying Nicolaides with the names of books they wanted removed from school libraries. In an email sent to followers, PCE celebrated the launch of Alberta's public consultation on 'sexually explicit' books in K-9 schools, telling members 'your efforts helped make this happen. 'PCE has worked with concerned parents for the past two years to expose this issue. Using a list prepared by Action4Canada, one of our dedicated volunteers submitted examples of graphic books to government officials—proof that titles like Gender Queer and Fun Home are available to children in Alberta schools. This consultation is a direct result of that work," the email newsletter reads. PCE is an Alberta-based parental rights group that has previously taken issue with sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) education in schools, gay-straight alliance laws and other 2SLGBTQ-related policies. Action4Canada is a conservative Christian group with more than 60 chapters across Canada. The group promotes deeply conspiratorial beliefs, claiming the Canadian government and education system have been 'infiltrated by radical LGBTQ activists' and that SOGI education and sexually explicit books are part of a 'global agenda to sexualize children, interfere with parental rights, eliminate the natural family and normalize pedophilia.' After Alberta announced its new library guidelines on Monday, Action4Canada posted on its website, thanking Nicolaides for meeting with their team and responding to their concerns about sexually explicit materials in Alberta schools. In the post, the group said its Calgary chapter has been communicating with government officials over several months, providing evidence of inappropriate books in schools and a 'comprehensive binder' that outlines supposed harms of SOGI education. Nicolaides told the IJF in an email he met with PCE and 'other concerned parents.' He did not respond to questions about whether he met separately with Action4Canada or when these meetings took place. Action4Canada has led campaigns to have sexual education and 2SLGBTQ+ themed books removed from public and school libraries in several provinces. A 36-page list of 'sexually explicit and pornographic books' available in Canadian libraries published by the group includes the novels Gender Queer and Fun Home. The list includes excerpts of text and images from the novels. Many of the same excerpts are found in a document the government of Alberta provided to reporters on Monday showing examples of sexually explicit and graphic content found in library materials. 'Misrepresentation' of meetings by education minister Corinne Mason, professor of women's and gender studies at Mount Royal University, said Nicolaides' initial claim that complaints about school library books had come from parents concerned about books their kids had access to in schools is a 'total misrepresentation of the facts.' 'It's a blatant lie from the minister about what's happened,' they said. Both Action4Canada and PCE are highly organized and well-funded lobby organizations, Mason said. And in the case of PCE, one with strong ties to the UCP government and Alberta's conservative movement. PCE executive director John Hilton-O'Brien was a founding board member and past president of the Wildrose Party of Alberta. During the 2022 UCP leadership race, Danielle Smith and other candidates participated in a forum on education hosted by PCE. Mason said that Action4Canada's campaigns have targeted 2SLGBTQ+ communities as ideological indoctrinators and dangerous to children in a time when the community is being violently harassed by hateful actors as pedophiles and groomers. And that it's problematic if the UCP government has been looking to them for frameworks around what is and isn't appropriate in schools. 'The fact that Parents for Choice in Education and Action4Canada, both of those organizations claim this as a win, I think that should be really, really concerning for folks like myself, who are very concerned about the influence of the parental rights movement generally in Alberta,' Mason said Nicolaides said in an email the actions being taken by the UCP government have nothing to do with the LGBTQ+ community. 'The fact that our actions of protecting young students from seeing porn, child molestation, self-harm and other sexual material in school libraries are being labelled as anti-LGBTQ is frankly irresponsible,' he said. Alberta Teachers' Association President Jason Schilling also expressed concern that the government was willing to meet with special interest groups about library materials, but not educators. 'Parents for Choice in Education and Action4Canada are special interest groups who frequently target the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Their claims that the provincial government is taking direction from them and not educators is questionable and alarming,' Schilling said. PCE told the IJF that its interest 'is in the reasonable rights of parents. Nobody who attacks those rights can expect to escape our criticism. Those claiming that we are discriminating against them are merely using the LGBTQ+ community to excuse their egregious actions.' Edmonton Public Schools, the Calgary Board of Education, and the Library Association of Alberta have all said the province hadn't contacted them about the issue of age-inappropriate books in libraries before Monday's announcement. 'Unprecedented' restriction of school library books All provinces provide general orientations about library content, but it remains the business of school boards to decide what books it uses, said James L. Turk, director of the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University. Setting guidelines that block certain types of books from being in any school libraries is 'really unprecedented,' he said. 'What they're doing is censoring books,' Turk said. 'It's an absolute break from whatever any other province has done. It's following the lead of Florida and Texas and Utah and some American states that are moving in this direction.' The Florida Department of Education has removed over 700 books from K-12 school libraries. The agency maintains that no books have been banned in the state and the materials are 'sexually explicit' and don't belong in schools. The number of banned books in Florida spiked after a 2023 law was passed requiring school districts to have a policy for challenging materials that 'depicts or describes sexual conduct, is not suited to student needs and their ability to comprehend the material presented, or is inappropriate for the grade level and age group for which the material is used.' The four books named by Alberta's government have been frequently targeted by censors throughout North America. Gender Queer has the distinction of being the most banned book in the U.S. in 2021 and 2023, and the graphic novel shared the title of the most banned book in U.S. schools in 2022 with Curato's Flamer. These novels have also received multiple literary awards and continue to be selected for library catalogues by educators because of their ability to grapple with difficult subjects young adults are coping with in their lives, Turk said. 'They do raise challenging issues, but young adults deal with challenging things in their lives, and nobody is forcing anyone to read any of these books when they're in school libraries,' he said. Turk said these books may have been found in K-9 schools in Alberta because for students in grade nine and up they are appropriate. He added that he would be surprised if they appeared in the library catalogues of elementary schools. Nicolaides told the IJF these materials were found in schools across the province, but said they are not naming the individual schools to ensure the safety and security of teachers, staff and students at these libraries. The only specific school that has been identified as part of the province's investigation is an Edmonton public school for students in grades 4-9. Garrett Koehler, press secretary to the minister of education, shared images on social media of Flamer and Gender Queer on the shelves of the school, commenting 'these problematic books were found in and around books like Goldilocks…' Gender Queer has been awarded the American Library Association's Alex Award, given to books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 to 18. The Government of Alberta's press release for its age-appropriate book guidelines policy states the recommended reading age for Flamer is 14 and up, or younger with adult guidance. By Brett McKay, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Investigative Journalism Foundation
Calgary Herald
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Christian conservative group Action4Canada lobbied for review of books in Alberta schools
Article content The president of the Library Association of Alberta believes a Christian lobby group may have played a role in the province's targeting of 'sexually explicit' books found in school libraries. Article content Article content Laura Winton pointed to posts on the Action4Canada website, where the group pats itself on the back for its 'behind the scenes' lobbying of the Alberta government over books its members find objectionable. Article content Article content Winton said that Action4Canada is known to contact librarians across the province over books that the group finds offensive. Article content Article content Earlier this week, Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said the government would be consulting the public in order to create some standards when it comes to explicit material in school libraries. Four books were used as examples of materials that the ministry found objectionable for children: Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer, Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, Craig Thompson's Blankets, and Flamer by Mike Curato. The books deal with 2SLGBTQIA+ themes, and have sexual imagery and language. Article content Tanya Gaw, Action4Canada's founder, said members of her team met with Nicolaides in the fall of 2024. This was confirmed by the education ministry, but both parties differ on the effectiveness of the meeting. Article content Gaw said Action4Canada sent binders to Nicolaides and Premier Danielle Smith which outlined the harms caused by the books in question, and also warned against the adoption of SOGI 123 by Alberta schools, Article content Article content SOGI 123 is a Canada-wide organization that makes programming and resources available to schools in the areas of inclusivity and positive acceptance of gender identities. Article content Article content 'We wanted to show the harm and risks that children are being put into,' said Gaw. 'When he (Nicolaides) saw the binder, he was genuinely shocked. We have the right to be concerned about what our children are being exposed to. We opened the minister's eyes to this.' Article content Nicolaides said his decision was influenced by what he'd been hearing from parents around the province. Article content 'No, we had been hearing from parents,' he said. 'I've been hearing from parents for quite some time, in fact, since I became minister, about items in school libraries that were of concern.' Article content When asked if Action4Canada's lobbying efforts had any impact at all, Nicolaides had this to say: 'I'm unsure. I mean, they had brought some materials to our attention so that that helped to get a better understanding of the nature of materials that was available in schools. But, you know, this is a topic that I've talked with many Albertans about.'
