1. Gender Queer (Part 1: Why It's Banned)

We discuss Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, which was the most frequently challenged book in America in 2021. After it was published in 2019, the American Library Association (ALA) named Gender Queer an Alex Award Winner and a Stonewall Honor Book. 

In this episode, we discuss why Kobabe's memoir has been challenged or banned recently. We also offer our assessment of its pros and cons. Please listen to our second episode for a close reading of the book's characters, themes, and significance.

Trigger warning: we discuss the high suicide rate of trans teenagers from 19:30 to 21:40.

A note: since we recorded this episode, a judge in Virginia Beach rejected the effort to label Gender Queer as obscene and prohibit its sale in Virginia.  

Some of the sources mentioned in this episode:

• https://www.slj.com/review/gender-queer-a-memoir
• https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/gender-queer-a-memoir
• https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/04/books/banned-books-libraries.html
• https://www.ala.org/advocacy/statement-regarding-censorship
• https://northernvirginiamag.com/culture/culture-features/2022/02/07/maia-kobabe-banned-book-gender-queer/
• https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/01/books/maia-kobabe-gender-queer-book-ban.html
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32345113/ 

Thanks to Chris for our music and to Lizzie for our audio editing! Please visit our website for a transcript of this episode.

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