Banned Books Week: Stories of Censorship
Students in the bridge experience course LI 202, Free to All: Public Libraries in U.S. Society, researched cases of censorships in public libraries over the last two centuries. Using primary sources they wrote short reports about these cases and designed corresponding posters for Banned Books Week. Browse this guide to learn about the variety of cases in libraries.
Course Instructor: Johanna MacKay
Poster and Report by Bella Lagata '26
Alice Oseman’s Young Adult graphic novels, Heartstopper, have seen massive success. Heartstopper, which consists of five volumes, currently has two seasons out on Netflix and is in the process of filming a third. Despite their popularity, the comics have recently faced opposition at the Marion County Public Library in Mississippi.
The attempted ban began in August 2023 when mother Heather McMurry filed a complaint about the series. McMurry claimed that she had first seen the book when she was in the library with her children. When McMurry looked at the back of one of the books, she “...uncovered that the book had some kind of sexual situations” (Valle). Later, McMurry visited a site called booklooks.org, which is run by parents who search children’s and Young Adult books for content that they deem inappropriate. According to the reports, the graphic novels feature “sexual activities, alternate sexualities, alternate gender ideologies, profanity and violence” (Chudy).
On Aug. 9th, the library held a board meeting which many community members attended to voice their objections to the series. Only opponents of the books spoke about the series, deeming it inappropriate for children or, like McMurry, pleading for the book to be moved to the adult section of the library. Many people who objected to the comics said that they are being used “to recruit your kid, my kid and grandkid to get into that lifestyle” (Iris). Other community members were simply bothered by the positive depiction of a queer relationship (Pittman).
The books were temporarily removed from circulation after the Aug. 18 meeting while they were under review. After the meeting, Heartstopper was moved from the Young Adult to the Adult section of the library, where teenagers need to ask for parental permission to check out the books. At one of the meetings, McMurry showed attendees a picture of the main characters, Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring, kissing, which apparently made many of the community members in attendance uncomfortable (Valle).
Community members classifying LGBTQ+ books as sexual or pornographic (when they do not contain material of that nature) is unfortunately nothing new. Heartstopper, which is widely marketed as YA, does not contain any explicit sexual scenes. The novel does contain brief “profanity and violence,” but those against the series seem to be more concerned about “alternate sexualities” and “alternate gender ideologies” that are shown throughout the comics.
While one may view this case as trivial since the books remain in the library, the Heartstopper graphic novels have been unjustly removed from the audience who need them the most. LGBTQ+ youth in the library no longer have access to a valuable set of novels that address sexuality, gender identity, mental illness, and other issues that they may be experiencing themselves.
Sources: