Picture books propaganda (Part 2)
Challenging gender identity picture books in NZ libraries.
In our recent substack, Picture books propaganda (Part 1), we reported on the plethora of gender identity picture books held in our public and school libraries:
At least 150 individual titles that promote to young children the idea that sex is on a spectrum, it can be changed at will, and that being the other sex (or no sex) makes a child special, glittery, and sparkly.
Most of these books are displayed in the picture book bins, providing easy access to any browsing child. The covers are often very appealing to children, with rainbows, hearts, and stars featuring prominently.
In the books, drag performances are normalised and participation in Pride activities is portrayed as healthy family fun. Compliance with pronoun compulsion is presented as the right and kind thing to do and even double mastectomies are glamourised - for 2 to 8 year olds!
So, what can we do about it?
Public libraries are funded by local government and library managers are responsible for writing and applying collection policies, in compliance with the guidelines of their local council and LIANZA (the Library and Information Association). Because public and school library collections are managed differently, complaints to each need to be handled differently.
First, let’s look at some do’s and don’ts for public libraries:
Don’t try to challenge all the books at once!
Don’t ask for books to be banned.
Do ask for books to be classified or displayed more appropriately.
Do familiarise yourself with the title you want to complain about: Name, author, how it is classified, where it is displayed in the library and exactly why you are challenging its place in the library.
Do suggest some other books that the library could purchase as well or instead of the one you are challenging.
Address your concerns to the library manager, the library-liaison councillor, or the mayor.
Do not ask for books to be banned
Librarians are strong advocates of free access to information and will not ban a book unless it has been restricted by the Classifications Office, or does not fit their collections policy. (This last applies well to school libraries.)
In its Freedom to Read Toolkit, LIANZA is clear on that position: “Individuals should be trusted to make their own decisions about what to read.”
It advises librarians when challenged to “Explain that carers play a major role in guiding their children's reading and library use. Each family has the right to decide which library materials are acceptable for their children and must accept that other parents have the same right.”
But, LIANZA also says libraries should, “Acquire, preserve, and make available the widest variety of materials, reflecting the plurality and diversity of their communities.”
Highlighting the failure of public libraries to reflect the diversity of opinion about gender identity has more chance of being successful than seeking outright censorship.
Do ask for books to be classified or displayed more appropriately.
A well as the picture book bins that provide easy access to young children, libraries also have special “Sophisticated Picture Books” racks. These higher racks contain books about illness, divorce, death, and other topics that are sensitive and give parents the ability to select appropriate books and read them alongside their child. RGE recommends that books about gender identity be shelved in this way to give parents more control over the beliefs that their children are exposed to.
Another option is to shelve gender identity books under the Dewey number 306 - Culture, Diversity, Gender, Families - or under 209, for religious beliefs.
The advantage of have the gender identity picture books on the shelves instead of in bins is that parents then need to deliberately seek them out, rather than having their young children being lured by the appealing covers of inappropriate books.
Do familiarise yourself with the title you want to complain about
You need to be able to justify your request for the library to move the book to the “sophisticated” rack or the Dewey shelf. This will be easier to do with books that are overtly indoctrinating children by telling them they can change sex (When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff ), or that sex is not a reproductive category (What Makes A Baby? by Corey Silverberg), or ones that glamourise harmful practices (Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder).
Try to have these sorts of books moved before you tackle the ones with subliminal or subtle messaging like I am NOT a Prince by Rachael Davis or My Shadow is Pink by Scott Stuart.
Find out how the library displays books on other beliefs - religions, creationism, astrology, reincarnation etc and ask for equal treatment for the books about gender beliefs.
Ask why the library’s collection is so one-sided on gender identity beliefs, in contravention of their “wide range of opinions” policies.
Do suggest some other books that the library could purchase as well
Although we have found sex realist books for pre-schoolers are few and far between, if libraries are serious about “mak[ing] available the widest variety of materials”, then these six titles should be in every collection:
My Body is Me by Rachel Rooney
Love your Body by Jessica Sanders
Be Exactly Who You Are! by Laura Gehl
Mabel by Rowboat Wilkins
Keith Among the Pigeons by Katie Brosnan
Don’t fall for the Trick by Jennifer Bain
Again, go online to familiarise yourself with the content of the books, so that you can advocate for them confidently.
What about school libraries?
In contrast to public libraries, school libraries are under the management of an elected Board of Trustees so parents are able to have more influence over the books that are purchased. School library collections are intended to support the curriculum and reflect the community values, which means it is easier to challenge any books that undermine the school’s key messages. Address your concerns to the school librarian, the principal, or the Board of Trustees.
When the new RSE curriculum comes into force, it will not make sense for schools to be teaching that sex is immutable and binary (fingers scrossed) and at the same time having books in the library that say the opposite.
School libraries have a limted budget and limited space and need to regularly weed out books that don’t support the school’s learning goals or are not accurate and up to date, as per this poster from the LIANZA website.
The new RSE curriculum ought to prompt a spontaneous culling of a large number of gender identity books from school libraries but parents may need to give it a helping hand by using the “do” suggestions for public libraries above, except…
In school libraries, you should ask for gender identity books to be banned or severely restricted.
Complaining to the Classifications Office
Although anyone can submit an item to the Classification Office and request a classification or restriction which, if granted, must be adhered to across the country, there is not a very high chance of success this way.
In 2023 multiple people complained to the Office about the sexually explicit nature of the book intended for young teens, Welcome to Sex by Dr Melissa Yang and Yumi Styles. (See our July 2023 newsletter for a review.)
LIANZA made a counter-submission in favour of no restrictions and the Classifications Office declined to restrict the book on the grounds that it provided more accurate information about sex for teens than if they resorted to online sources.
However, the Office did provide some guidance to libraries which you could ask to be applied to other concerning titles:
“The Office will, however, be advising libraries and booksellers to consider how they display the book, as it is a publication that is more suitable for teenagers or for parents as an educational tool.
The labelling regime for books is different from films and does not provide us with the option to label unrestricted content. If it did, we would have labelled this 'M' like we can do with films and streaming content. This flags to parents that they might like to review the content first to decide whether or not it is suitable for their younger teenagers.”
The double standard
In the aforementioned Freedom to Read Toolkit, LIANZA gives tips to librarians on how to hide a book they don’t like. This is in the context of books that express controversial views about Māori or Te Tiriti of Waitangi, but it illustrates the double standard our libraries operate under. While saying they support freedom of information, librarians employ tactics to suppress the views they dislike:
“Libraries may exclude controversial books about Māori from the promoted Māori content and place them in general collections or stack collections*. Re-assigning an item to a stack collection reduces the opportunity for a patron to encounter that book by accident, while still keeping it available on the catalogue. Staff may also choose to limit or actively reduce the number of copies they hold of a controversial work.
Libraries with collections that float between libraries may exclude Māori collections from floating so that there is always content available at each branch. Alternatively, a controversial item may be restricted for use in the library-only rather than lending.”
*Stack collections are held in a back room of the public library and, although the books appear in the catalogue, they are only available upon request.
Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
Gender identity picture books should be relegated to the stack room too.
I like to put them up on the adult romance shelves or in the politics section with the spine to the wall. Maybe they’ll stop buying the books that go missing all the time. I feel a visit to my local library coming on lol.
Great resources. Thanks RGE