The controversial graphic memoir “Gender Queer” will remain on the shelf at the Barrington High School library, the Barrington Community Unit School District 220 school board has decided.
The board’s vote late Tuesday came after school- and district-level reviews of author Maia Kobabe’s account of exploring gender identity and sexuality. The district-level committee recommended keeping the book in the library, Superintendent Robert Hunt said
The Barrington district is at least the third suburban school system board to keep “Gender Queer” available in high school libraries despite strong opposition from some parents. Antioch Community High School District 117 officials opted to retain the book in April, and the Downers Grove High School District 99 board did the same in June.
District 220 board member Erin Chan Ding, who voted to keep the book, said the district must serve each one of its more than 8,000 students.
“And that includes making sure that our students can access stories that could reflect their experience, their friends’ experiences, and could help them build empathy in ways that are appropriate,” she said.
Joining her in voting to retain the book were board President Sandra Bradford, Vice President Leah Collister-Lazzari and Secretary Barry Altshuler. Board members Katie Karam and Steve Wang cast no votes (Thus continuing the 220 Board partisan voting track history since the 2021 election).
Read more here.
Since this book is some sort of cathartic autobiographical account containing graphic incestual and homosexual illustrations, how does the D220 Board now actually define pornography? Historically, there surely have been D220 censored titles containing graphic heterosexual content. Where is the line now drawn? Kneeling to the DEI gods, is homoerotic porn now considered a learning tool?
“There is a reason why this book is on the BHS library shelf, the author is talking about ‘Er’ struggle, the author uses ‘Er/Em’ pronouns,” said BOE member Erin Chan Din, when discussing ‘Gender Queer.”
Just Prior to the Tuesday night BOE meeting, D220 DEI Director Nate Rouse tweeted out pictures of cupcakes w/rainbow flags and a raised fist with the word PRIDE under it.
I went to high school in the 2000s there was a painting with a bare breast and one of the special Education kids relived himself in the middle of the hallway.. it was art not pornography and it got censored, there was a episode about it on MTV. These books are much more explicit. The Illinois educational system is trash.