Books Challenged in Waukee Libraries

Just a month after Banned Book Week, a week which puts a spotlight on censorship within libraries and schools, several books have been placed under reconsideration at Waukee and Waukee Northwest high school. This came after a parent expressed concern at their inclusion in the library. These books were wrongly reported as “pulled” from the shelves, meaning that they were removed from the library, when they were in fact checked out by the district so they may be reconsidered as a part of the library. No books have been officially removed. This is the first time that books have been put under reconsideration at Waukee. 

Three books are currently under review within the school district. These books are Lawn Boy, by Jonathan Evison, All Boys Aren’t Blue, by George M. Johnson, and Gender Queer, by Maia Kobabe. All three books contain LGBTQ+ themes and storylines.

What makes these books so controversial? Parents reported that these books promoted incest, pedophilia, and contained graphic sex scenes. These themes fall under the category of “obscene material,” which is illegal to distribute to minors unless by their legal guardian, as reported by several parents on Facebook. However, there are exceptions to this law, including if the material has literary, scientific, artistic, or political value. This law, although up for interpretation, seemingly permits these books to be included in the library. 

The author of Gender Queer, Maia Kobabe, said in the Washington Post, “One of the charges thrown against it was that it promoted pedophilia— based on a single panel depicting an erotic ancient Greek vase.” 

Although some parents in the district expressed concern over these books being on the shelves for students to access, no students expressed their concern over the books, according to Waukee High School Librarian, Mrs. O’Connor. “The beautiful thing is that if a student decides a book is not a good fit, they can return it and check out something different,” she said. 

While these books contain explicit content, so do many other books provided to students, said Waukee High School senior Brett Jenecke. “Twilight was in the library when I was in 7th or 8th grade, so I was reading books about death, murder, and sex.” Jenecke discussed the importance of having books that represent diversity in school libraries. “These books are our only representation in the school,” he said.  According to the American Library Association (ALA), a study by the Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) found that of the top ten most frequently challenged books, 9 of them “contained diverse content.” 

As the American Library Association quotes former Los Angeles Times editor, “Censorship is the strongest drive in human nature; sex is a weak second.”