• @UnderpantsWeevil
    link
    English
    39 hours ago

    https://pen.org/report/beyond-the-shelves/

    Disproportionate to publishing rates and like prior school years, books in this prominent subset overwhelmingly include books with people and characters of color (44%) and books with LGBTQ+ people and characters (39%).

    Over half (57%) of the banned titles in this subset include sex-related themes or depictions, due to ramped up attacks on “sexual content.”

    Nearly 60% of these banned titles are written for young adult audiences, and depict topics young people confront in the real world, including grief and death, experiences with substance abuse, suicide, depression and mental health concerns, and sexual violence.

    If you pick around for schools with bans, you can occasionally find 1984 on the list. But that is primarily because of the extramarital sex scene between Wilson Smith (the protagonist) and his lover Julia.