The Greenville County public library board recently voted to banish all books with transgender themes from the YA section to the adult section, citing unfounded concerns over their appropriateness. PEN America, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to "raise awareness for the protection of free expression in the United States and worldwide through the advancement of literature and human rights" today condemned this vote, which they called a "blatant act of viewpoint discrimination, which not only harms young LGBTQ+ readers but also threatens free expression for all."
In response, PEN America has issued the following statement:
This week, the board of the Greenville County public library voted to move all books with transgender themes and characters in the YA section to the adult section. The chair of the board referred to the books as 'not safe' for teenagers to read, and another board member said that the decision was “'keeping in set' with HB 4624, a law prohibiting gender affirming care for minors but which does not include provisions related to books or libraries. A third board member also suggested the new policy may be justified by a new state budget proviso that restricts funds from libraries unless they remove books that "appeal to the prurient interest" of minors from children’s and teen’s sections. The executive director rejected this claim.
“Board members are grasping at straws trying to find a statutory excuse for this policy, but it doesn’t exist,” said Kasey Meehan, Freedom to Read program director at PEN America. “Categorically deciding that all trans-related literature is overtly sexual is deeply damaging to young LGBTQ+ readers and conjures a long history of bigotry that has no place in a public library. The library is for everyone. We encourage the board to reconsider this decision.”
The decision follows a similar vote in February to move all books with transgender themes and characters out of the children’s section, which PEN America called “viewpoint discrimination.” Greenville County public schools also decided this month to “pause” book fairs in the school system, citing a new regulation that prohibits materials in schools that are not “age and developmentally appropriate.”
“We are alarmed by what’s going on in South Carolina more broadly,” Meehan continued. “This censorship campaign against content in public schools and public libraries is sweeping up rafts of literature. And while it disproportionately impacts LGBTQ+ books, authors, and readers, the movement to restrict the freedom to read erodes freedom of expression for everyone.”
