Australian Censor Refuses To Ban America’s Most-Banned Queer Book
Image: Author Maia Kobabe's (left) and far-right campaigner Bernard Gaynor. Images: Instagram/Facebook
The Australian Classification Board has refused calls by a Queensland-based far-right campaigner Bernard Gaynor to ban non-binary cartoonist Maia Kobabe’s award-winning memoir Gender Queer.
Gender Queer, is one of the most banned books in the United States, with over 49 school districts taking the book off its shelves.
Last month, the Classification Board “called in” the book after Gaynor, a former Australian Defence Force (ADF) reservist who was sacked for his anti-gay social media comments, lodged a complaint against the book with the Logan City Council and the police.
Gaynor had claimed that the book with “graphic sex scenes” was available to teens in local libraries.
‘The Treatment Of Sex And Nudity Not High In Impact’
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The Classification Board, however, did not agree with Gaynor’s review of the book and classified Gender Queer A Memoir, as ‘Unrestricted’, with an ‘M’ rating – ‘Mature and not recommended for readers under 15 years’.
“In the Board’s view, this publication can be accommodated in the Unrestricted classification as, within the context of the publication, the treatment of themes is not high in impact or offensive, and the treatment of sex and nudity is also not high in impact and is not exploitative, offensive, gratuitous or very detailed,” Fiona Jolly, the Director of the Classification Board, said in a statement.
“Given the context of the publication’s narrative and its literary, artistic and educational merits, the Board does not consider that the publication contains material that offends a reasonable adult to the extent that it should be restricted”.
Gaynor Slams Government
The Board clarified that the M rating did not mean there was any restriction placed on the availability of the book.
“While considering that the publication should not be restricted, the Board noted that some content within this autobiographical text may offend some sections of the adult community and may not be suitable for younger readers,” added Jolly.
After the Board’s refusal to censor the book, Gaynor railed against the “loonies running this joint”.
“The government won’t take these books off library shelves,” he posted on social media.
“Gender Queer will be taken from the shelves, one way or the other. We will win this fight,” Gaynor insisted in a statement posted to his website. He there was “absolutely nothing authorities can do to stop mums and dads and grandparents all over this nation from stuffing Gender Queer into the sanitary waste bins inside the non-gender specific toilets in every school and public library in Australia.”
