Washington, D.C. — Yesterday, Fairfax County Public Schools announced that it would be re-adding two sexually explicit books, “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe and “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison, to its library. In September, the school district had removed these books following parent complaints regarding the explicit content and references to pedophilia.
Carrie Lukas, vice president at Independent Women’s Voice, released the following statement:
“Earlier this fall, Independent Women’s Voice wanted parents to be aware of what’s in their kids’ libraries with an ad entitled ‘Toxic Schools,’ featuring content from ‘Gender Queer: A Memoir.’ The advertisement we made to show adults the images and words from the book was considered too obscene for a late night TV audience, too explicit for Facebook, and too raw for text message marketing. Why is FCPS so committed to making this content available to my 14-year-old and her adolescent peers?
“The Left and much of the media has tried to make anyone who raises concerns out to be book burners who want to prevent kids from reading Toni Morrison books. That’s simply wrong. We are talking about pornography. I urge everyone to take a look at these books that FCPS just approved. Look at the cartoon images. Would you show that to your 14-year-old? The overwhelming majority of parents are going to say absolutely not. This decision is further evidence that the leadership of FCPS is simply out of touch with the parents and communities they are supposed to serve. Families deserve better.”
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