Hillsborough vote bans 'This Book is Gay' om unty middle schools | WUSF Public Media

Contents:

• ‘THIS BOOK IS GAY’ IS BANNED AT HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY MIDDLE SCHOOLS
• HILLSBOROUGH SCHOOL BOARD VOT TO BAN 'THIS BOOK IS GAY' OM ALL UNTY MIDDLE SCHOOLS
• HILLSBOROUGH SCHOOL BOARD VOT 4-3 TO REMOVE 'THIS BOOK IS GAY' OM MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARI
• FLORIDA SCHOOL BOARD VOT TO REMOVE ‘THIS BOOK IS GAY’ FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARI
• DO A TAMPA SCHOOL LIBRARY BOOK TEACH ABOUT GAY INTERURSE?
• 'THIS BOOK IS GAY' REMOVED FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL BY SCHOOL BOARD
• MASSACHETTS SCHOOL DISTRICT PROMOT BOOK TELLG STUNTS HOW TO E GAY SEX APPS
• AFTER 2 FAILED CHALLENG, HILLSBOROUGH SCHOOL BOARD TO LE ON ‘THIS BOOK IS GAY’

‘THIS BOOK IS GAY’ IS BANNED AT HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY MIDDLE SCHOOLS

TAMPA — “This Book Is Gay, ” a nonfictn book that offers guidance to LGBTQ+ youth, will no longer be available at any Hillsborough County middle a 4-3 vote Tuday, the school board cid to ban the tle as appropriate for children as young as 11. Audience members listen as the Hillsborough County School Board hears arguments Tuday for and agast makg the book "This Book is Gay" available at district middle schools. Speakg to the board, she strsed that she was not attemptg to mount a polil battle, but rather to get the book out of the hands of middle school and district mte found that materials like “This Book Is Gay” don’t troduce stunts to the ncept, but serve as a nonfictn alternative to classmat and the ter that n clarify sometim dangero nearly filled the boardroom to discs the book and whether to take away om schools.

This book is a way for gay kids to see that.

“If ‘This Book Is Gay’ vlat (state law), so do the Bible, ” Perez said, urgg the board to ensure that tn of children be enuraged the board to uphold the district review and evaluatn procs that has been place for years and adher to state law, and to keep md the needs of all children.

HILLSBOROUGH SCHOOL BOARD VOT TO BAN 'THIS BOOK IS GAY' OM ALL UNTY MIDDLE SCHOOLS

The mother alleg that the book “This Book Is Gay, ” by Juno Dawson is available to seventh-gra stunts at a middle school Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools.

Before readg the graphic novel, the mother sisted children leave the room before she read a chapter tled “The Ins and Outs of Gay Sex. ” “I’m gog to read om chapter ne, ‘The Ins and Outs of Gay Sex, ’ startg at page 201, part 1, ‘Boy-on-Boy Sex, ’” the mother said.

HILLSBOROUGH SCHOOL BOARD VOT 4-3 TO REMOVE 'THIS BOOK IS GAY' OM MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARI

“‘Perhaps the most important skill you will master as a gay or bi man is a timels class: the hand job.

GRAPHIC: A mom reads om the book ‘This Book Is Gay’ which was on the remend readg list for middle schoolers at @CharMeckSchools.

The book teach kids about gay sex and enurag the e of sex apps. A special school board meetg was lled Tuday Hillsborough County to discs “This Book Is Gay” by Juno Dawson. Only one high school the unty has the book earlier mte cid "This Book Is Gay" uld stay on the shelv at Pierce after reviewg plats brought by two parents, neher of whom have children attendg Tuday, over 50 people, cludg elementary and high school stunts, spoke durg an pecially ntent public ment ssn.

FLORIDA SCHOOL BOARD VOT TO REMOVE ‘THIS BOOK IS GAY’ FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARI

“This is not polil, homophobic or book banng. " Dpe some nfn among board members whether they were votg to remove "This Book is Gay" om all Hillsborough County middle schools or jt Pierce, the board ultimately voted 4-3 to take out of all middle schools.

More than 60 people spoke Tuday morng durg the public ments portn of a Hillsborough County School Board special hearg regardg the removal of the book "This Book Is Gay. "This Book is Gay" is the first text to go before the Hillsborough County School Board for approval. Only a handful have so far been support of “This Book is Gay” durg the public ment perd.

'This Book is Gay' has bee a ntroversial tle at Pierce Middle Tampa.

DO A TAMPA SCHOOL LIBRARY BOOK TEACH ABOUT GAY INTERURSE?

The school board of Hillsborough County, Florida, voted Tuday to remove pi of “This Book Is Gay” om middle school librari. Parents plaed at a meetg Tuday about the prence middle school librari of “This Book Is Gay” by Juno Dawson, a sexually-explic nonfictn book that discs different sexuali, stereotyp and sexual activi, acrdg to a transcript of the Hillsborough County Board Meetg.

The Florida Standard reported that Pierce Middle School offered "a book promotg gay sex – cludg stctns on how to e 'hookup apps. "This Book Is Gay, " a book wh sectns that teach and advise kids about anal sex, oral sex, and hookup apps, is available to be checked out by stunts at Pierce Middle School Tampa, Florida. 1, 2022, rears asked whether a book teachg about gay sex was available on the shelv of a public middle school library Tampa, Florida.

'THIS BOOK IS GAY' REMOVED FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL BY SCHOOL BOARD

As of the wrg of this story, we n report was te that thor Juno Dawson's book, "This Book Is Gay, " was available on the shelv of the Pierce Middle School library Tampa. One of the chapters that appeared to receive the most attentn the reportg om The Florida Standard and om social media ers was tled, "Chapter 9: The Ins and Outs of Gay Sex. The fact that they didn't also teach you what same-sex upl do is nothg ls than stutnalized homophobia.

Is there somethg icky about gay sex? 'The Ins and Outs of Gay Sex'.

We verified that all of the pag did e om Dawson's book, "This Book Is Gay.

MASSACHETTS SCHOOL DISTRICT PROMOT BOOK TELLG STUNTS HOW TO E GAY SEX APPS

Acrdg to onle library data for the Florida school district, we were able to nfirm that two pi of "This Book Is Gay" were ed part of Pierce Middle School's library selectn. "This Book Is Gay" showed up three lol schools, cludg Pierce Middle. " PkNews | Latt Lbian, Gay, Bi and Trans News | LGBTQ+ News, 30 Apr.

This Book Is Gay.

AFTER 2 FAILED CHALLENG, HILLSBOROUGH SCHOOL BOARD TO LE ON ‘THIS BOOK IS GAY’

"Book on Hookup Apps, Gay Sex Available Tampa Middle School Library. Pete, FLSafety Harbor, FLLutz, FLClearwater, FLFloridaTop Natnal NewsSee All CommuniTAMPA, FL — Overlg the cisn of two review mte, the Hillsborough County School Board voted to remove the book, "This Book is Gay, " om the middle school media centers, after parents filed a challenge to the book beg available at the Pierce Middle School library. "School board member Jsi Vghn agreed, notg the book even addrs abstence and warns rears agast certa behavrs such as lookg for partners on the gay datg app, Grdr.

" She said the book, "This Book is Gay, " is too sexually explic and wouldn't be allowed the classroom, therefore, shouldn't be allowed the school library.

" Two stunts om Leto High School speakg at Tuday's meetg noted, however, that no one is beg forced to read "This Book is Gay. Central Bucks School District librarians have been orred to immediately remove two LGTBQ+ themed books, the first books banned unr the district’s ntroversial library materials policy which rtricts “appropriate” sexual ntent and district’s Library Media Specialist Melissa Burger sent an email to middle and high school librarians Thursday announcg that the books “Genr Queer” and “This Book is Gay” were to be removed and sent to her “wh the next 24 hours.