New Alberta school library standards ban ‘sexually explicit’ books

After previously flagging several LGBTQ2S+ titles as “inappropriate,” the province says schools must remove “sexually explicit” books by Oct. 1

By Mel Woods

Censorship

China is cracking down on gay fiction and erotica writers

ANALYSIS: Danmei authors say they have been increasingly targeted with arrests and censorship

By Cody Corrall, Mel Woods

Politics

Alberta’s attack on books is another page out of the authoritarian playbook

OPINION: The conflation of homosexuality, gender change and pornography should have everyone in Canada on edge

By Dale Smith

Censorship

Activist groups reportedly gave Alberta list of LGBTQ2S+ books to investigate

ANALYSIS: Action4Canada is calling Alberta’s move to investigate “inappropriate” school library books a “massive win”

By Mel Woods

Censorship

Alberta to create standards for ‘age-appropriate’ school library books

Maia Kobabe’s “Gender Queer” and Alison Bechdel’s “Fun Home” are among the books flagged as “extremely graphic”

By Mel Woods

Censorship

The Supreme Court hears book ban by another name

In Mahmoud v. Taylor, parents are trying to erase LGBTQ2S+ representation from schools

By Meg Simons

Politics

Trump’s anti-trans attacks will embolden Poilievre

OPINION: We can expect Canada’s likely future PM to follow the example set south of the border

By Dale Smith

Censorship

Could the Trump administration criminalize queer speech online?

ANALYSIS: Here’s what you should and shouldn’t freak out about when it comes to Project 2025’s plans for digital communications

By Jude Ellison S. Doyle

Censorship

Etsy crafts new puritanical policy

Opinion: Queer communities deserve platforms that won’t cast us off once they realize that queerness isn’t just rainbow pins and marketable slogans

By Noelle Perdue

Activism

The queer book bike serving Brooklyn

Providing books for queer kids and teens is at the core of the Nonbinarian Book Bike’s mission

By Jill Webb

Maia Kobabe’s ‘Gender Queer’ tops American banned book list … again

The graphic novel memoir topped the American Library Association’s annual list for the third consecutive year

By Xtra Video

Censorship

How a U.S. TikTok ban would censor trans people

ANALYSIS: Far-right campaigners are leveraging censorship to promote their own anti-trans agenda

By Jude Ellison S. Doyle

Tech

The (missing) context around using AI to ban books

ANALYSIS: The case of an Iowa school district employing ChatGPT to enforce a statewide book ban has garnered significant attention—what concerns does it raise around AI-aided censorship?

By Jon Heggestad

Video

Why is RuPaul’s online store Allstora filled with homophobic books?

The online bookstore co-founded by the ‘Drag Race’ icon defended its choice to carry the controversial books

By Xtra Video

Immigration & Refugees

As war brings new oppression, queer Russians decide whether to stay or flee

With new elections on the horizon, more LGBTQ+ Russians than ever before are being pushed to leave the country

By Katie Marie Davies

Queer View Mirror

Radical, tender and unapologetically queer: ‘Tongues Untied’ still speaks volumes

Why a 30-year-old film talks circles around its modern cousins

By S. Bear Bergman

Politics

Poilievre’s concern over press freedom is just dystopian world-building

OPINION: In his false, bifurcated view of reality, queer and trans people are treated as villains

By Dale Smith

Censorship

America’s latest LGBTQ2S+ book hysteria hits too close to home

OPINION: Police were called into a Massachusetts middle school library after someone complained about a queer book. The incident brought back memories of my time growing up in the district

By Katelyn Burns