Gender Queer

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

                                             

On July 10, 2023 NY Post writer Karol Markowicz wrote an opinion piece about NEA’s (National Educators Association) summer reading list for teachers. This writer claimed that the “summer reading selections aim to indoctrinate kids, not educate.” You can read that here if you choose: https://nypost.com/2023/07/10/the-national-education-associations-summer-reading-selections-aim-to-indoctrinate-kids-not-educate/?utm_source=url_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign=site%20buttons

From there, misinformation spread like wildfire as Commentator Tomi Lahren claimed the reading list was aimed at kids and specifically called out one of the books on the list, “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe, as being pornographic and used to groom and brainwash children. Cue in Tim Ballard, founder of Operation Underground Railroad. Tim and his organization try to combat human trafficking. It was on his Instagram page (3 days after the NY Post article) that he used Tomi Lahren’s video to justify why the mainstream media is against his movie The Sound of Freedom.  He called the book “gay porn” and stated that this book is sexual in nature, whereby it sexualizes children. 

I immediately googled the summer reading list and learned that it was for educators and not students. I chimed in in the comments stating so and that misinformation needs to stop. There were people questioning as to why educators would even need to read that book. As an educator, I am astounded that people do not understand the purpose of a recommended reading list. Or even that as educators, we are constantly learning and evolving. We learn and evolve to become better educators. We learn about issues that affect our student population. Learning about various aspects within the LGBTQIA+ community is crucial. The LGBTQIA+ community is currently being vilified and villainized. These are human beings being told they are imposters, pedophiles, groomers, live twisted lives etc. It’s vile how they are being used as pedophilia and human trafficking scapegoats. But back to the book. Some comments that were made on Tim Ballard’s Tomi Lahren post were that conversations revolving around LGBTQIA+ content should happen only between child and parent. Educators should not be sharing their ideas with students. The book doesn’t belong in schools. These types of books influence and indoctrinate children. It’s pornography! It went on. 

Being an educator myself, and having 2 children that are part of the LGBTQIA+ community, I engaged in responding to certain comments on Tim Ballards post. As you might have guessed, mInds were already made up with outrage over the book without looking into what exactly the book is about. As a result, unlike most who commented on Tim’s post, I did a little research. One commenter stated that the book is still in school libraries in certain states. That is true. The explanation given (for one district), was that it would stay in the High School library as it is a topic of relevance for students. This educator put that to the test. The following day, I went to my own local library to check out the book. Originally, I looked in the young adult graphic novel section of the library. It was not there. I located the book in the adult graphic novel section. I admit, I had no clue that my local library had an adult graphic novel section. There, I found books that I have seen High School students read. So right away I’m thinking, “how bad could this book be?” It’s an award winning book as well. I took the book home and began reading. I started with the back blurb.

Here’s the blurb from the back of the book:

Maia's intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma of Pap smears. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be non-binary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: It is a useful and touching guide on gender identity - what it means and how to think about it - for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere. 

I admit, I’m not an avid graphic novel reader. I generally prefer fiction over non-fiction. I also was not sure what I expected of this book. There was an introduction from ND Stevenson who is an American cartoonist and animation producer. He is the creator, showrunner, and executive producer of the animated television series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, as well as the co-author of the Lumberjane series. In the introduction, ND praises the book, its story and message ultimately stating that he wished this book had been around when he was struggling with his identity. Educators have been hearing often within these last few years that representation matters for our students. Here was another author saying just that. That he wished he found that representation when he was younger. 

While reading the book, there were moments I chuckled, reliving parts of my own adolescence and making connections with Maia and eir experiences being AFAB (assigned female at birth). I also became privy to what struggles my own children might have encountered before coming out to me: my oldest transgender, while my youngest nonbinary. This book became a little personal for me, while at the same time giving me some tools, should there ever be a need for me, to support one of my students in this way. I don’t understand why or how that is wrong for educators. In 234 pages, 1 picture frame showed a visual representation of the author’s fantasy of eir gay ship (2 men on top of one another kissing). Two picture frames showed fellatio with a strap on. One picture showed 2 naked men touching each other’s penis. Mind you, both pictures involving two men were pictures to demonstrate what the author was thinking. These were the only pictures that were sexual in nature. They are comic book in nature with minimal details and usual writing that goes along with the pictures showing the author’s thoughts. However, others would have you believe that they are pornographic. Even after defining pornography as: the depiction of erotic behavior intended to cause sexual excitement. This book is not Playboy or a racy romantic novel. It is a memoir. A story about a point in a person’s life. It is insane for people to mix up the two. I can only think that they do not have a healthy relationship with their own sexuality in order to claim the book promotes pornography. Mostly, it’s probably because they are indeed homophobic. I’ll never know. I can ask why all I want, but  I can only presume the answer. 

Questioning is something I always do. I was raised to question things and to be a thinker. It is a part of who I am. As an educator, that is what I would like my students to do. Think and come up with their own ideas and opinions based on what is in front of them. 

Someone once told me that I am a “doubting-Thomas.” That if Jesus were next to me, I would need him to prove that he was Jesus. Damn straight! If I didn’t think for myself, I’d be hopping on the bandwagon of crucifying a book because of what other people think of it. I am so tired of the scapegoating and removal of rights from the LGBTQIA+ community. It sickens me to the point where I cannot sit back without saying anything and I will continue to chime in. After reading the book, I wholeheartedly agree with keeping this book in High School libraries. Representation matters.