Gay Teen Lit, Part 2: My new heroes

I've read very little YA fiction. But I have a new appreciation for teen authors, especially those writing books for gay teens. So I'm going to read some of these books, purely out of my admiration and respect for the authors and the important work they're doing.

Brent Hartinger, The Geography Club

Alex Sanchez, Rainbow Boys

Ellen Wittlinger, Parrotfish (about a transgendered teen)

Perry Moore, Hero (about a gay superhero)

Nancy Garden, Annie on My Mind

Maureen Johnson, The Bermudez Triangle

Lu Vickers, Breathing Underwater

Sara Ryan, Empress of the World

Francesca Lia Block, Baby Be-Bop

David Levithan, Boy Meets Boy

Peter Cameron, Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You

Chris Crutcher, Athletic Shorts

Many of these books have been frequently challenged, and several of these authors have had many of their works repeatedly challenged.

They're all my new heroes!

Gay Teen Lit

In general, it seems like YA literature receives the majority of library material challenges, but those books dealing with gay themes in any way are lightning rods for that catch-all phrase "unsuitable for age group." As in the case of the University Place school district in Tacoma banning Brent Hartinger's book The Geography Club, the fact that the book contains gay themes or characters is rarely the acknowledged reason for a ban. In an interview on children's and YA author Cynthia Leitich Smith's blog Cynsations, Hartinger had this to say: "According to Marge Ceccarelli, president of the Curtis PTA, the parents who complained were initially upset with the book because it would 'turn straight kids into homosexuals.' Those parents compiled a long list of objections, only one of which the superintendent agreed with. But surely it was the book's gay theme that led to this intense level of scrutiny."

And that seems to be the real, underlying fear behind the desire to ban gay teen lit: that reading about gay characters will "turn straight kids gay," usually disguised behind the claim that the material is inappropriate for its intended audience.

Hartinger says, "I wish everyone who thinks my books are not 'appropriate' for teenagers could read my mail for one single week – the avalanche of touching e-mails I receive from lonely or harassed gay and lesbian teens and their friends, so grateful to see gay characters portrayed accurately and with dignity, not merely stereotypes or the punch line of jokes."

I wish the author of this article about the hypocrisy of libraries and Banned Books week (from the ultra-conservative news source World Net Daily) could read those emails. Though I'm not sure it would do much good... elsewhere on WND there's an article that warns that eating soy will turn your kids gay.