Parents in a community in Ohio continue to debate whether preschool and children's books with titles like "Making a Baby," "Own Your Period," and "Puberty Is Gross" should remain in the kids' section of the Ashland Public Library.
When the uproar started in June 2022, the librarians took out the book, "Wonderful Women of the World" by author Laurie Hasle Anderson and "This is Our Rainbow: 16 Stories of Her, Him, Them, and Us" by author Katherine Locke and Nicolle Melleby from the children's corner.
Apparently, the parents complained that these are not age-appropriate books because some have sexually suggestive illustrations, including drawings of genitalia. In answer to the uproar, library director Heather Miller decided that controversial books should instead be placed in the adult nonfiction section.
However, the Ashland Source reported that the library has not yet acted on the three other books in question. Thus, big crowds of protesters have been coming to the meetings with the board of trustees.
As of Aug. 11, nearly 200 parents and active community members were at the library to dialogue with the trustees and those who opposed the book's removal.
Mom claims these are health books
Rev. John Bouquet spoke up to protest that the books are introducing young minds to "sexually explicit materials" very early in their informative years. He objected to the books with graphic depictions of naked men and implied that the publishers may have a different agenda. The reverend also said that they are not asking to ban the books but to remove these types of contents from the children's area, per the Telegraph-Forum.
Dad William Herod, who has four children who use the public library, said that he also objects to the book's content. As an artist himself, the father made it clear that the illustrations have been carefully planned. For instance, there was one drawing where the child's face is directly in front of a male genital. Herod said that this was intentional.
However, mom-of-three Kathy Barnet, who is a reading teacher, does not believe in the narrative that there is an agenda behind these controversial books. She's more concerned about the danger of removing books from the library just because it ascribes to a different belief. Barnet also said that these books are, in fact, health books, which are usually not historically banned.
"I'm sure we've all heard them called the facts of life," the mother said. "They are facts."
Rev. Justin Hylden, on the other hand, also called for freedom, rather than censorship, to prevail. He said that these new books are far from being classified as pornography but the images could be "anatomically illustrative" for the purpose of educating the children.
Ashland Public Library will hold another meeting with the parents and concerned community members on Sept. 8.
Group of book-banning mothers files federal lawsuit
Meanwhile, in Georgia, a group of moms against sexually explicit books for children filed a federal lawsuit in late July, which claimed their First Amendment rights were violated.
The Mama Bears in Forsyth County are protesting against the book, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," by author Jonathan Safran Foer, because of its suggestive words and scenarios. But during their supposed meetings with the board of trustees, the Mama Bears claimed they are silenced and even banished, thus infringing on their rights.
Lawyer Kevin Goldberg told ProPublica that the mothers' claims have valid merit and a premise because all parents have the right to speak to these meetings. He believes this will not be the first lawsuit of this nature.
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