New book bans have arrived in Wilson County, Tennessee, after changes earlier this year to the state’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022, according to WKRN, a television station local to Nashville. Over 400 titles, including the Dr. Seuss title Wacky Wednesday, were impacted by the Republican-backed act this year. When the act was introduced to the state’s legislature, it contained requirements for school and classroom libraries to follow, including posting and maintaining a list of materials in the school’s library on the school’s website. It also requires “each local board of education and public charter school governing body to adopt a policy to establish procedures for the development and review of school library collections,” according to the Tennessee General Assembly.
However, this year, changes were made to the act that define materials that contain nudity, descriptions of sexual excitement and sexual conduct as inappropriate for the age or maturity level of a student in any of the grades from kindergarten through 12th grade, therefore mandating their removal from school libraries, according to H.B. 843. PEN America, a nonprofit organization focused on preserving free expression, released a report in April this year detailing many of the trends found with book bans across the country. Among these trends is the evidence that book bans frequently targeted LGBTQ+ media, with 8% or more of all books banned between 2021 and 2023 containing transgender characters or transgender narratives. Other themes in media targeted by censorship include books that feature themes of sexual violence and books that detail race or racism.
The ban on Dr Seuss’s Wacky Wednesday comes from an illustration of the book’s school-age protagonist naked in the shower. This particular removal is tinged with irony as many in the GOP accused the left for “canceling” Dr. Seuss over the use of racial and anti-Semitic stereotypes in his books, according to LGBTQ Nation. In 2021, Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced that they would no longer print six of the author’s books, and cease sales of the titles, due to the appearance of racial stereotypes in the books, according to CNN. “Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ catalog represents and supports all communities and families,” Dr. Seuss Enterprises said in a statement.
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