I find myself rather sad reading this. As a kid, I loved reading tons of books, but I never had access to books featuring people "like me". I grew up in a religious family and went to a religious...
I find myself rather sad reading this. As a kid, I loved reading tons of books, but I never had access to books featuring people "like me". I grew up in a religious family and went to a religious school, and had minimal (rational, well-explained) exposure to LGBTQ content/characters. Sadly, I was rather slow on the uptake of actually realizing I was gay, accepting it, etc. I obviously can't put "lack of LGBTQ characters in books" as the sole contributor to this, but if I had more exposure—especially in this medium, which I love—I can certainly say I would have realized sooner.
(It's worth going to the list directly and reading previous years too.)
I grew up the exact same way. I had nothing representative of me in the books that I read. It wasn't until I was in my 20s that I read a book with a gay character in it! The good news is that...
I grew up the exact same way. I had nothing representative of me in the books that I read. It wasn't until I was in my 20s that I read a book with a gay character in it!
The good news is that LGBTQ content for younger ages is becoming increasingly more prevalent and accessible. Part of the reason LGBTQ literature occupies so much space on the list of challenges, I'd argue, is because there's been a corresponding increase in its reach. It used to be that such literature simply didn't exist and therefore couldn't be challenged. Now books like George are commonplace in schools and are widely read by many, which is what is prompting all those challenges in the first place.
While it's tempting to focus on the pushback as a negative, I try instead to celebrate that kids today have more LGBTQ literature available to them than ever before.
I find myself rather sad reading this. As a kid, I loved reading tons of books, but I never had access to books featuring people "like me". I grew up in a religious family and went to a religious school, and had minimal (rational, well-explained) exposure to LGBTQ content/characters. Sadly, I was rather slow on the uptake of actually realizing I was gay, accepting it, etc. I obviously can't put "lack of LGBTQ characters in books" as the sole contributor to this, but if I had more exposure—especially in this medium, which I love—I can certainly say I would have realized sooner.
(It's worth going to the list directly and reading previous years too.)
I grew up the exact same way. I had nothing representative of me in the books that I read. It wasn't until I was in my 20s that I read a book with a gay character in it!
The good news is that LGBTQ content for younger ages is becoming increasingly more prevalent and accessible. Part of the reason LGBTQ literature occupies so much space on the list of challenges, I'd argue, is because there's been a corresponding increase in its reach. It used to be that such literature simply didn't exist and therefore couldn't be challenged. Now books like George are commonplace in schools and are widely read by many, which is what is prompting all those challenges in the first place.
While it's tempting to focus on the pushback as a negative, I try instead to celebrate that kids today have more LGBTQ literature available to them than ever before.