Why We Should Be Banned Book Banned

Banned Books

The book “1984” Novel by George Orwell was the most ‘banned book’ in 2020 for its pro-communist and sexually explicit content, but what is a banned book? Well ‘banning a book’ is a huge form of censorship. A book that’s banned has been removed from either library’s or curriculum at the request from administration or the school board. Libraries and classrooms have become the targets of coordinated political campaigns frequently led or funded by right wing activists. Why should anyone have the right to simply ban or restrict access to books or pieces of media? What happened to free speech awarded to us by the first amendment?

Why do we Ban books?

Without a doubt schools being able to ban books is wrong, but why do they do it? Reasons

A speaker claimed, “ This particular book … with pretty pictures, telling the story of a romance between a prince and a knight. They slay a dragon together, and when they tie the knot the whole community and parents celebrate” claiming this is “graphic content” (O'Loughlin, 22). She claimed that reading Prince & Knight was so disturbing that her “daughter’s innocence was violated”. A children’s book about a couple falling for each other is not ‘graphic content’, as most childrens books would not exist or be as popular as they are.

The book ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ has thematic characters and scenes portrayed the issue of racism in the United States during the 1930’s. To my surprise, classic readings like this are now banned from many high schools, losing the power that the story and its meanings spark. (Gherman, 2023). Banning instructional materials on race, sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation is restricting our children from developing their own ways of knowing, being, and seeing the world. Instead of limiting exposure to these books we should be embracing them. In the current censorship movement, one list of 850 books called to question where ‘97 of the first 100 books’ were written by ethnic minorities, women, or LGBTQ+

A poll revealed that seventy-five percent of Americans oppose banning books. Americans are especially concerned about the banning of classic novels and children's books. More than ninety percent oppose these bans. (Church and State, 2022). According to the American Library Association, nationwide there have been 681 instances of individual books having been banned, affecting 1,651 different book titles between January first and August thirty-first (Church and State, 2022). Many banned books help a lot of people realize that they aren’t alone in their feelings. They might be able to help you find your sense of belonging. Reading these books can help so many people, yet they’re being banned left and right, just due to political beliefs, race, ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Instead of pushing these away, we should be accepting their social lives, their complex identities, their language, their beliefs, and guide them, not limit them (Hansen,