In her latest book
(“Why Fascists fear Teachers”), Randi Weingarten mentions a book that some
people have had banned. It is titled “It’s Perfectly Normal”, and it discussed
the physical and emotional changes that teens and adolescents go through as
they are growing up.
I recently
borrowed the book from the library, and found it both educational and
entertaining.
The book contains
numerous drawings of male and female genitalia, and also discusses some
controversial topics, such as abortion, birth control, STD, and sexual abuse.
In at least one case, it helped prevent further sexual abuse of a girl whose
father was sexually abusing her.
Before I go any
further, I need to give you a little background:
I grew up during
the 1950’s - a time when “Ozzie and Harriet” was on prime-time television, and
it remained there from 1952 until 1966, The couple also had a radio program
from 1944 until 1954. In all, the television series lasted 14 years, and can
still be viewed on YouTube
The 1950’s were a
conservative era, and public discussion about sex, if it occurred at all, was
pretty rare. Married couples on TV were not seen in bed together, and
discussions about sex, even in family units was also sparse.
Starting in 2021, there have been thousands of books
banned or challenged in parts of the United States. Most of
the targeted books have to do with race, gender,
and sexuality.
Unlike most book challenges in the past, whereby action began locally with
parents or other stakeholders in the community engaging teachers and school
administrators in a debate over a title, local parent groups have received
support from conservative advocacy
organizations working to nationalize the efforts focused on certain subjects.
They have also been more likely to involve legal and legislative measures
rather than just conversations in local communities. Journalists, academics,
librarians, and others commonly link the coordinated, often well-funded book
challenges to other efforts to restrict
what students should learn about systemic
bias and the history of the United States.
Hundreds of books have been challenged, including high-profile examples
like Maus by Art
Spiegelman, New Kid by Jerry
Craft, and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret
Atwood.
The American Library Association documented
1,269 demands of book censorship in 2022. It was the highest the organization had ever recorded
since it began collecting censorship data more than 20 years prior. A
2023 analysis by The Washington Post found that a majority of
book challenges in over 100 school districts from the 2021–2022 school year
were filed by just 11 people
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_banning_in_the_United_States_(2021%E2%80%93present)
One of the books
that had been banned is “It’s perfectly Normal”.
The exact number of
times “It's Perfectly Normal”has been banned is not available,
but it has been removed from libraries and schools multiple times, making it
one of the most frequently challenged books in recent years. It was removed from libraries
in Florida's Walton County School District and has been pulled from school
shelves at least seven times in one recent school year alone, according
to CBS
News.
- It's Perfectly Normal is a children's book about
puberty and sex education by Robie Harris.
- The book has been challenged and removed from school libraries and
classrooms due to its
frank discussions about sexuality.
- It appears on lists of frequently challenged books, such as those
compiled by the American Library Association.
- The reasons cited for banning often include its content being
considered "unsuited to age group" or due to its religious
viewpoint.
Not surprisingly, Florida is the state that has had the
most books ban. As of 2022, the state had the most book bans in place, and
Texas was in second place, with 625 book bans. Florida’s dubious record is due
to the fact that the ultra-conservate group, Moms for Liberty, is based there.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/banned-books-by-state
Moms for Liberty is an American political organization that advocates against school curricula that mention LGBTQ rights, race and ethnicity, critical race theory, and discrimination. Multiple
chapters have also campaigned to ban books that address
gender and sexuality from school libraries. Founded in January 2021, the
group began by campaigning against COVID-19 responses in schools such as mask and vaccine mandates. Moms for Liberty is influential within the Republican Party.
Moms for Liberty
has been variously described as populist, reactionary, extremist, and far-right group. The group has been criticized for harassment, for
deepening divisions among parents, for making students' education more
difficult, and for having close ties to the Republican Party rather than being
a genuine grassroots effort
Moms for Liberty
was co-founded in Florida on January 1, 2021, by former school board members Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice, and by then-current school board member Bridget Ziegler, the wife of Florida Republican Party Chairman Christian Ziegler. In spring
2021, Christian Ziegler was removed from his position in the party because of a
sexual assault history. Republican activist and
campaign consultant Marie Rogerson is the third-leading member of Moms for
Liberty. Descovich receives a stipend as Moms for Liberty's executive director.
Like fascists everywhere, Governor DeSantis does not like
an educated public, and his treatment of New College of Florida provides a good
summary of his approach.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/11/19/new-college-florida-desantis-makeover-cost/
Nearly
three years ago, as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis championed his culture-war
policies during the run-up to a bid for the White House, he vowed to overhaul a
small, quirky liberal arts college in Sarasota that was part of the state
education system.
New
College of Florida was “more into DEI, CRT, the gender ideology,” the
Republican governor said, using abbreviations for diversity, equity and
inclusion and for critical race theory. He added: “We’re going to be able to
offer some reforms.”
DeSantis has largely succeeded in
transforming what was
one of the most liberal institutions in the state into a school that is now
hailed by conservatives across the country. He handpicked a new president and
appointed a board of trustees who fired and denied tenure to veteran
professors. The school closed its gender studies center.
It added sports teams and turned classrooms in a historic campus building into
donor-friendly spaces with cigar smoking allowed on the balcony overlooking
Sarasota Bay.
Now
the bill for that effort has arrived, and it shows a remarkably high price.
According to a report released this month by the
Florida Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the
cost to produce a degree at New College is $494,715 — the highest among public
colleges in Florida and more than three times the $150,729 cost at the state’s
flagship school, the University of Florida.
Operating
expenses at New College are $83,207 per student, compared with $45,765 at UF.
New College also has the largest number of administrators per student, or 33.3
per 100, compared with 26.9 at UF, a school with nearly 62,000 students.
Enrollment
has increased since the overhaul, but with 732 current students,
New College is still short of the school’s stated goal of 1,200. More
than a third of the new students are athletes recruited to fill recently
created collegiate sports teams, including baseball, basketball and softball.
One
of the new trustees DeSantis appointed was Christopher Rufo, the conservative activist who
has led campaigns against critical race theory and gender identity in schools
and has advised DeSantis on education policy.
The
DeSantis administration pledged to model New College after Hillsdale
College, a private Christian school in Michigan. New College
adopted what it calls a “classical” curriculum centered on the Western canon.
Freshmen are required to take a class on Homer’s “Odyssey.”
(Hillsdale
College is a member of the advisory
board of Project
2025, a collection of conservative and right-wing policy
proposals from The Heritage Foundation to
reshape the United States federal government and
consolidate executive power, since
Trump won the 2024 presidential election.)
Attorney
Alan Dershowitz, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, spoke at New
College’s commencement in May. Corcoran announced in September that the school
is commissioning a statue of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk
for the campus, to be funded by public donation
But, let’s get
back to the book>
For parents who
are not comfortable discussing sex with their children, and for kids who simply
do not know what questions to ask, this book can be a valuable resource.
.
