The 50 Most Banned Books in America
Originally posted Nov 18 2022
Banning books is the antithesis of free speech. What is possibly so scary we have to gag the authors? This banned book list comes from a CBS news report, and I will place the titles into rough categories so we can understand what has twisted all the knickers into knots.
I can see that people are trying to protect their children. Perhaps parents are worried that books can plant a seed. Maybe they think that ignorance is bliss when in reality, it just makes you ignorant. When kids can find trauma and controversy in a swipe and porn without passwords, is banning books a suitable solution?
The upstairs landing of our house was lined with a six-foot by twenty-foot bookshelf that buckled from the weight of all that paper. I was a greedy reader as a child, shunning many social events in favor of a book. I would wander up and down, often selecting titles that were most definitely not age-appropriate. I vaguely remember the birds and bees conversation with my Mom. She was obviously uncomfortable, and I was painfully empathic, so I helped her speed through it as quickly as possible.
I do recall seeing “The Joy of Sex” on the bookshelf, and it had surreptitiously been pulled out a bit to catch my eye. Well, not only did that book discuss sex, it had illustrations! Lots of illustrations! Now that was an educating read. I probably shouldn’t have read “The Happy Hooker” at such a tender age, but again, another eye-popper. And no, it didn’t lead me into the sex trade.
Had Mom known I was diving into such risqué titles, she might have tried to prevent it.
Or maybe not.
Perhaps she wanted me to be shocked and awed. To me, this is the point of books. We get to dive into another life. It allows us to make educated decisions, as in, I didn’t want to become a prostitute. Nor did I want to be a murderer. I don’t think people become gay, or trans, or violent criminals because they read a story.
Instead, reading helps a person develop empathy, compassion, and the recognition that the world doesn’t revolve around our one little life. When I read Toni Morrison’s books, I was able to feel racism, something my white skin didn’t give me as a life experience.
Reading makes us better humans.
On to the most banned books.
Eleven titles talk about LGBTQ themes.
Nine discuss racism.
Nine cover sexual topics.
Nine are about transgender life.
Five depict rape.
Three are about suicide.
Three are traumatic.
One title each covers death, drugs, and murder.
Sex, queer sex, racism, violence, substance abuse, and death. Indeed, these can be hot, painful, and traumatic topics. But again, I stand by my view that we need them. We need to understand “the other’s experience” so that we can become more compassionate humans.
And let’s not forget the power of books. They allow us to open conversations that otherwise are unapproachable. This is incredibly useful for children and teens. Adults, too, truth be told. A teen who is gay, trans, or floundering in hormones might say, “Dad, read this book,” and that broaches a discussion.
Or maybe, a mother leaves “The Joy of Sex” to be discovered, knowing that the book will give a decisively more thorough education than she possibly could.
The complete list is categorized roughly. Some titles cover more than one topic.
Homosexuality/Homophobia
“And Tango Makes Three” is based on the real-life story of two male penguins raising a chick together.
“Two Boys Kissing” tells the story of two boys looking to break a world record by kissing for 32 hours.
“More Happy Than Not” discusses teen issues of suicide, depression, pregnancy, and LGBTQ themes.
“Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” is a memoir about growing up with a closeted gay father.
“Jack of Hearts” talks about a queer teen sex column.
“Flamer” is the experience of growing up as a gay Catholic boy.
“Drama” is about a middle-school girl crushing on another girl.
“This Book Is Gay” is an informative nonfiction book about LGBTQ+ life.
“The Lawn Boy” is supposedly homoerotic.
“All Boys Aren’t Blue” is the experience of growing up as a queer Black boy.
“Gender Queer: A Memoir” was the most banned book in 2021–2022. It covers the author’s sexual discovery.
Racism
“Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” discusses racist behavior.
“How to Be an Antiracist” is a commentary on racism and ethnicity.
“Dear Martin” is the story of a Black teen writing to the late Martin Luther King, Jr. for advice.
“Monday’s Not Coming” is based on real-life missing Black girls who are ignored by the media and police.
“All American Boys” is about police brutality and racism.
“Beloved” is based on the real-life story of fleeing slavery in the 1850s.
“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” talks about a Native American’s experience with racism.
“The Hate U Give” is the experience of a Black girl who attends an elite private school.
“Out of Darkness” talks about a mixed-race love story.
Sex
“The Infinite Moment of Us” covers teenage love and sex.
“The Truth About Alice” talks about slut-shaming among teenagers.
“Real Live Boyfriends” is again about teenage slut-shaming.
“A Court of Mist and Fury” contains sexual content.
“It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex and Sexual Health” is a frank children’s book about puberty and sex.
“Tricks” contains sexually explicit content and drug use among teens.
“This One Summer” is about two teen girls becoming sexually interested in boys.
“Looking For Alaska” contains sexually explicit scenes and profanity.
“l8r, g8r” contains sexual content and profanity.
Transgender
“I Am Jazz” is a story about a trans child and her experience.
“Being Jazz” is the above author’s follow-up book talking about trans teen life.
“Almost Perfect” is a story of teenaged love and a trans teen.
“The 57 Bus” is a true story of two teenagers. One is transgender, and the other is Black.
“The Breakaways” is a story of a girls’ soccer team and discusses trans kids, sex, and racism.
“Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teen Speaks Out” is the story of six real-life trans teens and young adults following their transition and experience.
“Melissa” talks about a fourth-grade trans girl.
Suicide
“We Are the Ants” crosses into homosexuality as well.
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” discusses suicide, drugs, and sexuality.
“Thirteen Reasons Why” is a story about teen suicide, sexual assault, and substance use.
Murder
“Killing Mr. Griffin” is a novel about teenagers kidnapping and murdering their teacher.
Rape
“Lucky” is a memoir about surviving rape.
“Speak” was the fourth most-banned book in 2020, where the author tells her story of being raped, ostracized, and subsequently suffering mutism.
“Sold” contains violent sexual content about a girl who is sold into sexual slavery.
“The Kite Runner” has a brutal rape scene as it follows two boys in Afghanistan.
“The Bluest Eye” is the story of a Black girl and her traumatic experiences with sex and racism.
Trauma
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” talks about death, trauma, and grief after the September 11th terrorist attacks.
“Nineteen Minutes” covers graphic depictions of a school shooting.
“The Handmaid’s Tale” is here in the trauma category because the story is, frankly, traumatic on many levels.
Drugs
“Crank” talks about crystal meth addiction in a teen.
Death
“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” depicts death, drug use, and sexual content as it tells the story of a girl dying from cancer.