http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1233520The American Library Association put out a press release this month that read: "ALA adds GLBT youth literature award to prestigious Youth Media Award announcements."
The award is called the Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award, and joins other ALA awards for youth literature including the Coretta Scott King Book Award, John Newbery Meda,l and the Randolph Caldecott Medal.
In fact, the award is not actually new. What's new is that it will be included in the official awards announcements made by the ALA. But hey, what's wrong with a little confusing PR?
That aside, here's the ALA's stated rationale for giving out such an award, according to ALA President Roberta Stevens: "Children's books regarding the GLBT experience are critical tools in teaching tolerance, acceptance, and the importance of diversity. Our nation is one of diverse cultures and lifestyles and it is important for parents, educators, and librarians to have access to quality children's books that represent a spectrum of cultures."
It was last year that the ALA handed out its first Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award – and the winner was a book called The Vast Fields of Ordinary, by Nick Burd. Not surprisingly, both of the large public libraries near me (in these vast fields of East Coast liberalism) had the book. In both cases it was in the section for teens.
Also not surprisingly, the main character, Dade, is gay. The story takes place when Dade is 18 years old, during the summer after his senior year of high school.
library books bigHaving read the book, my question is: Why would anyone want their child reading this book? And why would any organization give it an award?
Putting aside his messed-up parents (aren't they all?), almost all of Dade's interactions with his peers involve drugs and alcohol. Oh, and then there's the sex. It's not graphic (we can be thankful for small favors) but it runs through the entire book. "I kept my face buried in Pablo's pillow the entire time," may not be explicit, but it makes the point. Naturally there's offensive language, like a few expressions of "Oh my [expletive] God!" Maybe very offensive would better describe it.
His first sexual encounter, we learn, happened when he was 16, with a friend while they were stoned. He downloads gay porn. He and a lesbian friend visit a gay bar with fake IDs. He has sex with two partners in the book, one of whom tells him about a man he used to "date." Dade's friend was 18, and the man -- who he met courtesy of the Internet -- was in his thirties. He was "fatherly." Oh, and this sexual partner of Dade's is a drug dealer by trade. But it's no big deal.
How exactly does all this "teach tolerance, acceptance, and the importance of diversity"? What culture precisely are we learning about?
Let's look at the book another way. Let's say Dade is straight. He and his friends smoke pot and drink all the time. He's into pornography. One day when Dade's 16, he and a girl get stoned, and he discovers his heterosexuality. This girl doesn't give much emotional support, and Dade finds himself attracted to another girl. They have sex in a car and in a cemetery. Sometimes she has to leave abruptly because she's got to take care of another drug deal. Her sexual history includes dating a "fatherly" man in his thirties.
So what exactly does this story have to recommend itself -- whether it involves gay teens or straight teens? Are there life lessons I'm missing here?
The more plausible explanation for the ALA giving this book an award -- or for the ALA giving awards to gay-themed kids' books at all -- is that the ALA has an agenda.
Carolyn Plocher, writing for Newsbusters (part of the Media Research Center) earlier this year, had this to say about the ALA: "The ALA does not exist simply to provide good, wholesome literature to children. It's quite the opposite, in fact. The ALA is a liberal organization that relentlessly pursues a homosexual agenda, and it relies heavily on 'authentic literature' to drive that agenda....The ALA, for whatever reason, has taken up the cause of normalizing homosexuality and advancing the gay agenda."
logo American Library Assn.In fact, the ALA has a long and questionable history, not just about homosexuality and kids, but about sexualizing kids in general. In 2002, the ALA filed suit opposing the Children's Internet Protection Act requiring libraries that receive federal discounts for Internet access to install technology to stop kids from accessing "visual depictions that are obscene, child porn, or harmful to minors." The law was struck down as unconstitutional, but overturned on appeal in 2003. The ALA website offers links from its homepage that eventually lead to a website called GoAskAlice! Marked by the ALA with a blue pencil indicates that the ALA considers it appropriate for middle school-aged youth. The day I clicked through to the GoAskAlice! website, there were sections labeled "foot fetish" and "bestiality." Under the latter were statistics and research credited by Alfred Kinsey. I guess GoAskAlice! hasn't heard that he's long since been discredited. The point is that the ALA thinks it's okay for 12-year-olds to be reading that website, and conveniently provides a link.
Last week Amazon came under fire when it offered a book for sale called The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure (the Kindle edition) by Phillip R. Greaves. There were outraged calls for a boycott. At first, Amazon stuck to its guns, issuing this written statement: "Amazon believes it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable. Amazon does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts, however, we do support the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions." Amazon subsequently changed its position and withdrew the book.
I wonder if someday the American Library Association will give that book an award.
Topic: Award for gay kids' books (Read 1225 times)