By Ivie Szalai
I wish for just a few minutes that readers would take the time to read some of the passages of the most egregious books submitted for review to the Beaufort County School District. Among the most aberrant books are Lucky by Alice Sebold; Push, a novel by Sapphire; Sold by Patricia McCormick; and Tricks by Ellen Hopkins.
I would include some of the excerpts but I can almost guarantee that they would not be published because they are pornographic. For those that say books are not pornographic, Merriam-Webster defines pornography as the depiction of erotic behavior (as in pictures or writing) intended to cause sexual excitement; material (such as books or a photograph) that depicts erotic behavior and is intended to cause sexual excitement.
I often see, “You must not read books.” Actually, I am an avid reader and enjoy several of the authors that were submitted. I am an adult and I can process adult content unlike the undeveloped mind of a teenager.
Are all of the books in question as bad? No. But at the very least, parents deserve to know what their children can be exposed to. Books of today are not the books of yesterday that were under siege. There is a vast difference in the content. Even Pat Conroy’s most sexually explicit scenes don’t hold a candle to what is in some of these books.
Somewhere it became acceptable for young adult literature to contain extremely adult content. None of us is saying grab your matches, let’s burn them all. They are still available in the public library or for purchase. And I would venture to say that plenty of books cover the topics that might be necessary to help a minor in certain situations that do not have sexually explicit content. Our school librarians should be putting their efforts towards finding age-appropriate material that covers the hard topics without overt sexuality.
I am not a prude, but as a society, we are seeing sexuality become more prevalent earlier and earlier. Take for instance the recent Balenciaga debacle. What kind of person is OK seeing a child posed with a teddy bear dressed in bondage? Would any fashion powerhouse have attempted to publish something like that 10 years ago? Just because it’s not a picture or video does not mean that it is any less damaging. For those that it might help, how many might it cause trauma to or set them up to become a victim?
Schools have always had criteria in place for what is appropriate and what is not. School devices have filters on them so the very same things that are found in obscene books are not allowed to be accessed on those devices. I haven’t seen anyone petitioning for those filters to be removed. So why is it so far-fetched that books should be held to the same standard?
Somehow, those of us concerned are being labeled as racist and phobic when in fact the percentage of minority authors is only 22% with only 11% being black. And the percentage of authors who identify as LGBTQ+ is even smaller at less than 20%.
How did it become a political battleground? For me, this was not politically or religiously motivated. It was morally motivated. I have continually been linked to Moms for Liberty, but ironically, I have only been to three meetings. And as to the website www.booklooks.org that I used for guidance, I did not know it was linked to Moms for Liberty. I simply agreed with the ratings of the website.
I am not working with Moms for Liberty on this effort nor are they behind it. In fact, it was one friend who asked me to search for some books mentioned in a blog post from Palmetto State Watch. I had searched for books that I would see mentioned here or there previously, but not finding them, gave me a sense of relief. Once I started researching the ones in the post and found them, that is what propelled me to look deeper.
So now that I have dispelled all the rumors that everyone has been saying, I challenge you to do some research on your own. Don’t just blindly believe what others are saying about us. That we are trying to stifle access to intellectual freedom. See for yourself the material that is available to minors and then ask if you would feel comfortable with a 14 year old or younger reading it. Because some of these titles are available in K-8 schools.
Call me old-fashioned if you will, but our children are our future. If we don’t protect their innocence today, we shall live in a world of deviants tomorrow.
Ivie Szalai lives in Beaufort with her husband and two sons. She has been active in Beaufort County schools for 15 years serving as a PTO President and a member of SIC. She was the founding Board Chair for Bridges Preparatory School. Having a heart for education, she consistently advocates for the students, staff, and teachers.
