Thomas Newkirk is the author of The Democratic Roots of Literacy. He is a member and past chairman of the Oyster River Cooperative School District. The opinions expressed in this column are his own. ”
The “Preventing Obscenity in Schools” bill (HB 1419) proposed by House Republicans has a lot to say about women’s breasts. The bill lists “displays of female breasts that are not completely opaquely covered below the top of the nipples” among a number of sexual materials that could be considered “obscene.” There is. Therefore, it seems that the upper part of the breast cannot be obscene, it is the nipple that crosses the line, and the lower part of the breast is also considered obscene.
There’s also the thorny question of what “fully opaque” means and whether swimsuits that don’t completely hide those pesky nipples qualify. The bill makes an exception for depictions of a mother breastfeeding her baby, even if the nipple is visible. But without toddlers, we’re left with potentially obscene nudity.
Is this how we spend our parliamentary time?
Given the challenges facing the nation, there are major challenges. There are disparities in support for school districts that are unfair and currently determined to be unconstitutional. There is a severe teacher shortage, and districts with low salaries often cannot hire certified teachers in fields such as physics. Too many administrators are leaving their jobs because of onerous bills like HB 1419, and some searches may have no candidates.
However, this bill has more serious and dangerous consequences than nipple exposure.
If past history is any predictor, then challenges to a book should not focus on the book’s overall effect, but instead focus on highlighting specific passages or events that are found objectionable. It will be. The complaint is likely similar to School Board President Edelblut’s recent and unprecedented involvement in Dover. So he objected to the publication of two books: “Gender Queer” (which was not available in the school library) and “Boy Toy”. which).
In the correspondence, it is fairly clear that Director Edelblut had not read the book and relied on selective quotes from online groups that monitor sexual or violent content. It’s not even clear if he read the full comments of these online sources.
If he had looked more closely at these websites, he might have seen “genderqueer” being praised in Common Sense Media. Maia models perseverance. “His family and friends are “loving, supportive, and empathetic models.”
We expect complaints under this law to be similar. And given past history, they will likely focus on books about ethnic and gender identities that are outside the so-called norm. Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a fascinating, well-written memoir and the most challenging work of the past decade. It’s not obscene at all.
The bill would allow complainants to appeal to the State Board of Education if they are not satisfied with a local decision, even if the decision followed established policy (as set by most school districts). It is being A complaint can proceed even after it has been reviewed and denied by the local school district. From my reading of the law, this appeals process is also clearly one-sided, eliminating the involvement of parents who may object to book removals or restrictions at the school district level.
What happened to local control?
We give considerable power to local superintendents and boards. Superintendents can suspend students, hire and fire teachers, and award multimillion-dollar contracts without consulting the State Board of Education. You can do this as long as you follow the policies and laws. Why would a lawsuit involving a controversial book be so different? Why would the state board of education be a better judge of community standards than local officials who are members of the community? Or?
These attempts to pull books out of schools are similarly flawed. Misunderstand adolescent readers and imagine that they are fragile and in need of protection. These censors claim to be concerned about the mental health of these readers and claim that exposure to books like “genderqueer” will have a negative impact on them.
In fact, the opposite is true. Suffering in adulthood usually comes from feeling isolated and believing that no one is going through what you are going through. You are alone on an island of sadness and strangeness. Books, especially those that are often censored, reflect the realities of violence, abuse, rejection, and isolation that some readers are familiar with. But as N.D. Stevenson says in the preface to Gender Queer, “It is life-giving to be present in the world knowing that you are not alone and that you can actually have a future as yourself.” It will save you.”