As Daily Kos has covered at length, we know Republicans (especially at the local and state level) have been deadset on demonizing trans people (and especially trans youth) during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Republicans trying to find a scapegoat to distract from their failures is nothing new, but that doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous. We’ve already seen some anti-trans legislation signed into law by Republican governors, for example, and we’ve seen reports of families picking up and moving states because of this hateful hysteria. At this point, attacks are widening from trans youth to all LGBTQ+ youth, and the focus of some conservatives is starting to feel like they pulled a page from the ‘50s.
One example? Books. Conservatives are raving about books that feature LGBTQ+ people. Specifically, as we saw in a months-long battle at a public library in Wyoming, conservatives don’t want these books available for kids and teens—and some even feel librarians should face criminal obscenity charges for stocking them. One school board candidate in Iowa is now going viral for writing that he wants to know the names of all the youth who checked out LGBTQ+ books from the library. And nope, this isn’t The Onion.
Here’s the deal: In late October, Amanda McClanahan, a community member (who, as noted by Axios, is not a parent in the district), appeared at a Waukee Community School District meeting in Waukee, Iowa, and read aloud from several LGBTQ+ books stocked in the teen section of a public high school library in the area. McClanahan read excerpts that included teenagers having sex for the first time, including oral sex. Mind you, these books are for teenagers, not young children, and it’s common for Young Adult novels to include sexuality and coming of age stories. These books aren’t erotica.
The books, including All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson, Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen, and Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, were removed from the Norwest High School Library. The school district ultimately made the call to pull the books. (You can check out an excellent op-ed Kobabe wrote about their book being banned here, by the way.)
So, that’s where we started. From there, however, Vin Thaker, a pro-Trump far-right Republican candidate for the school board, made a truly concerning Facebook post about LGBTQ+ books and students, as reported by Jezebel. Thaker claimed he wants to know the names of all the students who check out LGBTQ+ books from the library and notify their parents. He also wants whoever ordered the titles for the library to explain why they did so.
“I support the rights of parents to know everything about their minor child,” Thaker wrote in the Facebook post dated Oct. 28. He added: “These books have no place in our children's education.”
Obviously, this is a huge violation of privacy as it essentially “outs” vulnerable youth to their parents or guardians. This is not only emotionally traumatic but could result in youth being punished, harmed, or even kicked out of their homes. Not to mention the fact that anyone can read books with LGBTQ+ characters—someone might be exploring identities and sexualities, or they might simply like the book for other reasons and not be queer at all.
This isn’t out of character for Thaker in terms of what else he’s posted on social media. For example, as reported by the Iowa Starting Line, Thaker allegedly has a history of sharing nasty tweets about and to Squad members in Congress, including flinging racist and sexist language around. According to Iowa Starting Line, his Instagram also includes sexist and queerphobic memes; however, at the time of writing, the account appears to have been removed.
School board elections take place on Nov. 2.
One example? Books. Conservatives are raving about books that feature LGBTQ+ people. Specifically, as we saw in a months-long battle at a public library in Wyoming, conservatives don’t want these books available for kids and teens—and some even feel librarians should face criminal obscenity charges for stocking them. One school board candidate in Iowa is now going viral for writing that he wants to know the names of all the youth who checked out LGBTQ+ books from the library. And nope, this isn’t The Onion.
Here’s the deal: In late October, Amanda McClanahan, a community member (who, as noted by Axios, is not a parent in the district), appeared at a Waukee Community School District meeting in Waukee, Iowa, and read aloud from several LGBTQ+ books stocked in the teen section of a public high school library in the area. McClanahan read excerpts that included teenagers having sex for the first time, including oral sex. Mind you, these books are for teenagers, not young children, and it’s common for Young Adult novels to include sexuality and coming of age stories. These books aren’t erotica.
The books, including All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson, Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen, and Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, were removed from the Norwest High School Library. The school district ultimately made the call to pull the books. (You can check out an excellent op-ed Kobabe wrote about their book being banned here, by the way.)
So, that’s where we started. From there, however, Vin Thaker, a pro-Trump far-right Republican candidate for the school board, made a truly concerning Facebook post about LGBTQ+ books and students, as reported by Jezebel. Thaker claimed he wants to know the names of all the students who check out LGBTQ+ books from the library and notify their parents. He also wants whoever ordered the titles for the library to explain why they did so.
“I support the rights of parents to know everything about their minor child,” Thaker wrote in the Facebook post dated Oct. 28. He added: “These books have no place in our children's education.”
Obviously, this is a huge violation of privacy as it essentially “outs” vulnerable youth to their parents or guardians. This is not only emotionally traumatic but could result in youth being punished, harmed, or even kicked out of their homes. Not to mention the fact that anyone can read books with LGBTQ+ characters—someone might be exploring identities and sexualities, or they might simply like the book for other reasons and not be queer at all.
This isn’t out of character for Thaker in terms of what else he’s posted on social media. For example, as reported by the Iowa Starting Line, Thaker allegedly has a history of sharing nasty tweets about and to Squad members in Congress, including flinging racist and sexist language around. According to Iowa Starting Line, his Instagram also includes sexist and queerphobic memes; however, at the time of writing, the account appears to have been removed.
School board elections take place on Nov. 2.