American Library Association pushes 'intersectionality,' LGBTQ books targeting children at annual conference
One session was titled 'Beyond the Middle School Rainbow: Intersectionality in LGBTQIA+ Middle Grade Books'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The American Library Association (ALA) promoted various LGBTQ stories and authors specifically targeted toward children and young adults at their annual conference this week.
ALA is a 50,000 member nonprofit dedicated to the promotion of "library service and librarianship," according to its website. The ALA’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition was held in Chicago from June 22 to June 27.
One session, titled "Beyond the Middle School Rainbow: Intersectionality in LGBTQIA+ Middle Grade Books," featured queer and trans writers Claribel A. Ortega, Mark Oshiro, Robin Gow and Mariama J. Lockington. The panel primarily discussed reaching out to a young audience in the midst of several book challenges and "bans" targeting their stories.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}While remarking on book bans, the writers insisted that kids, unlike adults, have been vastly supportive of their efforts.
Various conservative states have promoted restrictions on explicit books being available to elementary and middle school students. (Duval County Public Schools)
"The kids get it, and that’s who I write for," Ortega said. "And adults are just going to have to deal with it."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lockington also remarked, "I kind of feel like I’m doing something right if I’m pissing people off with my stories in some way. I also really try to focus on the fact that the feedback I’m getting from young people is always the opposite of what gatekeepers and adults are saying about what young people can handle or what they have going on their lives. We do a real disservice when we underestimate and overlook what young people are holding today."
Transgender woman and writer Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu was also featured as a key speaker during the conference where the author described the concept of māhū, a Hawaiian term referencing a "traditional third-gender person who occupies the space between kane (male) and wahine (female)."
"Back home you can be one, or the other, or both," Wong-Kalu said. "Western minds struggle with the understanding that there’s something beyond the physicality."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rich Kuntz, also known as Gidget, reads to children during Drag Queen Story Hour on March 21, 2019. ((Sarah Espedido/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images))
According to its description, Wong-Kalu’s picture book "Kapaemahu" is about four māhū "extraordinary individuals of dual male and female spirit" and is based on an Indigenous legend. While the age range is listed as 4-8 years old, Wong-Kalu claimed that it was "for all ages."
"This book is for all ages and, in fact, I used it in my prison class," Wong-Kalu said. "They enjoyed the book because it gives a doorway, it creates access, to yet one more story of our people. Our stories have been suppressed, hidden, and denigrated for so long."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ahead of the conference, the ALA put out a press release on June 20 promoting it's updated guide "LGBTQIA+ Books for Children and Teens," which is intended for "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, asexual, and intersex readers and their allies."
The book touts authors explaining "not only why they write for children, but what they feel librarians and teachers should understand when working with queer children and their classmates," as well as spotlighting "picture books for young children that depict kids, parents, and families with a variety of gender and sexual dynamics."
The American Library Association's annual conference featured several panels on diversity. (Provo City Library)
The ALA conference featured several diversity panels and sessions, such as "Reflecting the Diversity of Your Community in Your Collection," "Tradition or Discrimination: Is Your Beloved Team Mascot Cultural Appropriation?" and "Equity and Diversity in the Metaverse: Building a sustainable metaverse for libraries."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Book bans were another frequent topic with sessions like "Changing the Narrative: ALA Policy Corps Takes on Book Banners" and "Fight Book Bans: Frame the Debate, Fill the Seats, and Create Connections;" the latter specifically discussed how to battle Moms for Liberty.
Critical race theory activist Ibram X. Kendi spoke at the conference's "Rally for the Right to Read: Uniting for Libraries & Intellectual Freedom" Thursday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to an ALA publication's write-up of the event, Kendi compared today's "book bans" to the Alabama Slave Code of 1883 that prohibited teaching slaves to read.
The article said, "Jim Crow-era segregationists separated out Black people and Black stories, banning anti-racist books from their libraries and schools. Kendi emphasized that the ideological descendants of enslavers and segregationists are today still legislating for ignorance, via book bans."
ALA did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Seattle protester holds a sign as actor-writer Kirk Cameron speaks at the public library. (Brave Books/Kirk Cameron)
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Recent footage from an ALA Zoom presentation in early June came under fire after it appeared to show a spokesperson for the association offering ways to push back against the upcoming national "See You at the Library" event led by actor and writer Kirk Cameron.
"Libraries are for receipt of information. That means that the First Amendment does not require the library to even offer meeting room spaces. So in regard to the Kirk Cameron thing, you are not obligated to offer public meeting room spaces or invite the public in to use the library," the spokesperson said in a video publicly available on YouTube.