The American Library Association has revealed its annual list of the most challenged books in the United States.
And, guess what? Queer and trans content was listed as a reason seven of the top 10 books on the list were targeted for censorship.
Maia Kobabe’s memoir Gender Queer topped the list for the third consecutive year with reasons that looked almost identical to the latest challenges.
Several other books on this year’s list are also repeats including All Boys Aren’t Blue, Flamer and The Perks of Being a Wallflower—all of which are in the Top 10.
The library association’s new report indicates a 65 per cent increase of titles targeted for censorship in 2023 compared to the previous year.
Groups advocating for censorship “focused on public libraries in addition to targeting school libraries,” the association said in a statement. “The number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries increased by 92 per cent over the previous year, accounting for about 46 per cent of all book challenges in 2023.”
You can read the full report, along with what advocates are doing to fight censorship, on the library association’s website.
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