The following op-ed is written by Drew Boehmker, public relations/social chair at the NKY Pride Center
Last Tuesday, I found myself at a familiar place: the Kenton County Public Library. Yet on this particular day it felt anything but familiar, as I was in a room of local churchgoers quoting scripture and telling me I deserve “a large millstone hung around [my] neck.”
SEE PREVIOUSLY: Kenton Library’s display of LGBTQ books attracts lawmaker, candidate to board meeting
The occasion was the Kenton County Public Library’s monthly board meeting, and the topic at hand was the library’s decision to shelve and promote LGBTQIA+ books, especially in the children’s department.
For 90 minutes I respectfully listened as attendees, including State Rep. Savannah Maddox (R-Dry Ridge), expressed opinions ranging from LGBTQIA+ books being an inappropriate use of taxpayer funds to comparisons that having these books on the shelves is equivalent to shelving books promoting Nazi and KKK ideologies.
At the core of these opinions was the sentiment that children aren’t equipped to understand what they are reading, and exposing them to such ideas at a young age is a form of indoctrination.
As someone who grew up Catholic and attended eight years of CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) religious education and Sunday school, I can confidently say that if children are able to comprehend stories such as Cain killing Abel or Joseph getting sold into slavery by his brothers, they can handle ‘controversial’ books like Call Me Max, a picture book telling the story of a transgender boy’s first day of school.
Those opposed to the inclusion of these books also argued that it is inappropriate for the library to impose ideas of sexuality on children, but as state representative candidate Chris Brown eloquently pointed out in the meeting, LGBTQIA+ books are not about sexuality — they’re about identity.
As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I cannot overestimate how valuable books like these — many of which I checked out from the Kenton County Public Library — helped me to better understand my own identity during my formative years.
Whether it was checking out my first (and still favorite) book with queer representation, Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, in middle school, or fantasizing about an LGBTQIA+-affirming high school like the one in David Levithan’s Boy Meets Boy while I attended one that was anything but, these books offered me an escape, and a greater
understanding of myself, when I needed it most.
Maybe the library’s collection does pay special attention to this population, but that’s because this audience — LGBTQIA+ youth in particular — warrants it. GLSEN’s 2019 National School Climate Survey found that the vast majority of LGBTQIA+ students in Kentucky (73%) experience anti- LGBTQIA+ discrimination at school, and most do not have access to resources such as student clubs and an inclusive curriculum.
The Kenton County Public Library has done a tremendous job of bridging this gap by offering a wide array of inclusive programming (including the recently launched LGBTQIA+ Youth Book Club at the Northern Kentucky Pride Center) and diverse books that make me take pride in my local library.
I just hope one day the same folks raising hell can take their noses out of “the Good Book” — because they just may discover there are a lot of other great, and more inclusive, books out there.