A Massachusetts police officer was called to a middle school after receiving an anonymous complaint that a controversial book was being read to 8th graders.
Teachers were reading the book, “Gender Queer,” to a classroom of young children that was filled with sexually graphic illustrations, including sex between two males with a sex toy, oral sex, masturbation, and other sexually explicit content.
A plain-clothed officer with a body camera reported to W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School in Great Barrington. Police then notified the Berkshire Attorney General’s office. However, the case was soon dropped.
The superintendent claimed the book was not a class text but a supplemental book students could request to sign out.
In response, Democrat Gov. Maura Healey (D-Mass.) declared that not a single book should be off-limits to children despite containing sexually explicit material not suitable for minors.
“Book banning has no place in Massachusetts,” Healey said.
During an interview with the Washington Post, the author, Maia Kobabe, said the book’s content is inappropriate for children.
“It keeps being called a children’s book … but I think that’s coming from a misreading of the comic-book form. ‘Gender Queer’ is a comic and in full color, but that doesn’t mean it’s for children. I originally wrote it for my parents and then for older teens who were already asking these questions about themselves. I don’t recommend this book for kids!” Kobabe said, who uses the pronouns “e, em, and eir.”
The “Gender Queer” book contains graphic chapters that include characters talking about “strap-on harnesses” and having “your c*** in my mouth.”
Sen. Kennedy reads passages from pornographic books Genderqueer and All Boys are Blue.
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 12, 2023
The Illinois Sec. of State Alexi Giannoulias responds by saying "those words are disturbing coming from your mouth."
His state's new law stops parents from being able to remove it from… pic.twitter.com/eDehdhctQL