I loved reading Day of the Triffids back when I was a girl. It didn't make me want to poison people or even devour them. I loved reading Wuthering Heights at the time but didn't wish to be a single person in that extremely frightening book. I've read a bunch of books to my children and they didn't grow up to be wild things, run chocolate factories or become muddle-headed. That, they have left to their ageing mother.
Create a free account to read this article
or signup to continue reading
Which brings me to the very strange councillors at a local government area in Sydney who have voted narrowly, six votes to five, to remove books about same sex couples and their children, to "take immediate action to rid same-sex parents books/materials in council's library service".
Everyone else sees rainbow families doing their regular shopping, cooking, school drop-off and pick-up - but Cumberland City Council (at least some of the councillors) sees horror and depravity because the books don't - only- portray hetero families, as if somehow hetero families are the pinnacle of life (spoiler alert: they are not).
Former Cumberland mayor Steve Christou said: "Our kids shouldn't be sexualised ... this community is a very religious community, a very family-orientated community." I just wonder whether Christou is a bit sad he is no longer mayor and having an attention-seeking hissy fit.
My head is spinning with this one. How is reading a book, Same-Sex Parents by Holly Duhig, about a family in any way sexualising children? Reminds me about the uproar over cute kids' book And Tango Makes Three, about two male penguins bringing up a baby together.
Is Christou terrified the book will turn kids gay? Swear to god, if kids were that impressionable my own would running insurgent armies in dystopia. Be Bugalugs Bum Thieves. Or at the very least, be very good at doing homework. Yet nothing. No armies. No homework. Blessedly no devastatingly handsome coercive vampires.
So I asked one of a tiny handful of people in Australia who could give me a decent understanding of the backlash to books about queer families. Meet Paul Venzo, senior lecturer in literature at Deakin University. I tell him I'm puzzled - since I'm pretty sure there were books with gay families portrayed back when my own children were kids last century. He says it's been at least 30 years. Jenny Lives With Eric and Martin was published in Danish in 1981 and translated into English in 1983. I mean I know the Danes are light years ahead of the rest of us in terms of progressive social values but that's now more than 40 years ago.
Now Venzo says we have hundreds of books which deal with rainbow families, all different permutations of families. And what's been the impact?
He says on the one hand, for people who identify as part of the queer community, the response has been incredibly positive.
"Everybody wants to be able to find a book that either mirrors their own family situation or perhaps provides a window into how others experience their idea of family," he says. I personally would very much like to read a book where the women are not always neat, tidy and well-groomed.
But of course, there are what I call the grumps, the people who want only their own world view. Venzo says he has observed in the US, seven out of 10 LGBTQIA+ books were challenged as additions to US libraries.
But Venzo makes another excellent point. Sure, some books may get removed from libraries but the surrounding discussion ensures there are many people who will go looking for that book.
"It generates interest and Tango Makes Three is the prime example of that," he says. The books end up being better known than they might have been otherwise. He's a living example - when the discussion of this particular book came up, Venzo sought it out.
"But there are also negative consequences for some communities when books like this are targeted ... people feel targeted," he says.
The good news is so many people have responded positively, including the friends and allies of the queer community who live in this particular local government area. The petitions to have the book reinstated. The parents and friends of rainbow families have united to stand up to this complete hogwash.
Venzo hopes it will encourage people into their local library and start asking questions. But remember to always be lovely to your librarians who are deities among us - they aren't responsible for the craziness of the people in charge.
This week turned out badly for Cumberland Council. They look like they are Neanderthals and have behaved badly. And any decision to ban books is a break of the NSW government's Public Library Network Guidelines. Linda Scott, the president of the Australian Local Government Association, gave this week's keynote address to the Australian Library and Information Association.
She said In Australia, diversity was rightly celebrated and protected by law. "I'm confident complaints will be lodged about this council decision with the Australian Human Rights Commission, and they will be considered in accordance with law. It's so important our public librarians work in a safe environment, and that they are valued and celebrated for the important role they play in educating our communities," she said.
Turns out old mate Christou hadn't even read the book he proposed banning. I can show him a few books which actually sexualise children. Lolita, for example. And I've never seen him campaigning to get rid of that one.
Sure, practise censorship on yourself if you must. No one is making you read anything. And as for what I'd like to get rid of? Well, those coercive vampires are right up there on the list. On second thoughts, no. I reckon a whole bunch of young women recognised just how creepy they were, straight up.
- Jenna Price is a regular columnist and a visiting fellow at the Australian National University.
Jenna Price is a Canberra Times columnist and a visiting fellow at the Australian National University.
Jenna Price is a Canberra Times columnist and a visiting fellow at the Australian National University.
