World’s most hated book is pulled from a major Australian city’s library shelves for the first time – and critics want it banned everywhere
EXCLUSIVE
A controversial book that has drawn worldwide criticism for exposing children to “gay porn” has been stolen from the shelves of a library in an Australian city for the first time.
Bundaberg Regional Council on Queensland’s coast this week removed Maia Kobabe’s controversial coming out memoir, ‘Gender Queer’, following public outcry.
On Thursday, Christian lobbyist Lyle Shelton praised the council for being “courageous” enough to take action on the concerns of outraged lobby groups.
He said the graphic novel, which features illustrations of masturbation, sex toys and oral sex, had been sitting in children’s book sections of libraries across the country for far too long.
“Well done to the council for removing it,” the ADH TV presenter told Daily Mail Australia.
‘This book is totally inappropriate for a public library and its children’s section.
‘Just because it falls under the political rainbow flag doesn’t mean it’s good for children.’
Gender Queer, by Maia Kobabe, is the most banned book in America, with critics claiming its explicit descriptions of teenage sex (censored here by Daily Mail Australia) are aimed at children
Maia Kobabe (pictured), a nonbinary author from California who uses the pronouns e/em/eir, has received multiple awards for her controversial memoir since its first publication in 2019
He added: ‘Because LGBTQIA+ activists cry “intolerant” whenever their agenda is ever questioned, politicians and officials are too afraid to properly scrutinise the material they seek to indoctrinate our children with.
“In the case of Gender Queer, they allowed illegal material into the children’s section of public libraries.”
The decision will undoubtedly outrage LGBTQIA+ advocates, who believe the award-winning book has become an indispensable resource for many teens.
But Gender Queer was named the most divisive book in America this year by the American Library Association, after receiving more complaints than any other title.
Critics have spoken out about a selection of explicit images in the book that chart Kobabe’s development understanding gender and sexuality as a teenager and young adult.
The cartoons show Kobabe and his girlfriend experiment with a strap-on sex toy, and another photo shows Kobabe fantasizing about two men having sex.
The content has led to the book being banned in dozens of school districts across the US and removed from libraries in states including Alaska, Iowa, Texas and Pennsylvania.
Some schools even withdrew the book preemptively, before a formal complaint was filed.
Conservative activist Bernard Gaynor (pictured) hopes the book ban in Bundaberg will inspire other towns to follow suit and remove the controversial memoir from their libraries.
Kobabe, a nonbinary author from California, emphasizes that the novel can help confused “older teens” identify by providing a language for the trans and nonbinary community and unpacking the feelings young people may be experiencing.
Conservative critics, however, call the explicit, gender-diverse depictions of teen sex harmful and “pornographic.”
Bundaberg Regional Council declined to comment on the alleged ban, saying only that “the book is not currently on library shelves”.
An investigation of the catalogue on the municipal library’s website revealed that it had also been removed from the online booking system.
Although the book has since disappeared from the Queensland city’s libraries, the 239-page graphic memoir still sits on the shelves of other libraries across Australia.
Brisbane City Council has 17 copies of the novel available for loan in its library collection, with three copies in Ashgrove Library and two copies in Carindale, Indooroopilly and Stone Corner libraries.
In Sydney, readers can find the book in Green Square, Glebe and Newtown libraries, while borrowers in the capital of Victoria can borrow a copy from the Kathleen Syme Carlton Library, the East Melbourne Library and the Library at the Dock.
The ban in Bundaberg comes a year after the 239-page graphic memoir sparked a public outcry in Logan City council libraries in south-east Queensland.
The award-winning book was eventually pulled from shelves after conservative Catholic activist Bernard Gaynor formally complained.
However, the book is still publicly available to anyone who has requested it. A search of the library’s website shows that it can still be reserved online.
Mr Gaynor, who calls the graphic novel “pornographic”, last year demanded that the Australian Classification Board ban the book entirely in Australia.
The ACB council instead gave the 2019 novel an ‘unrestricted’ classification, with the consumer advice ‘M (mature) – Not recommended for readers under 15 years of age’.
Bundaberg Regional Council has withdrawn the graphic novel from its libraries this week
He said he hoped Bundaberg’s decision would inspire other cities to follow suit.
“This is the first council in Australia to take this book seriously and take it off the shelves,” he said on Shelton’s online news program ADH TV on Thursday.
“It’s just great news because there’s more to come. This book has to go. It’s actually illegal under Australian law.
‘The Australian Classification Board and the Classification Review Board were unwilling to address the reality that an LGBTQI book depicted a scene with an image of a child.
“They said the picture was actually of an adult. It’s ridiculous. Anyone who looks at that picture knows immediately that they’re looking at a child. You don’t have to be an expert to say that.”