Utah’s new book banning law mandates the censorship of books when at least three of the state’s 41 school boards designates the books as pornographic or indecent. At least three other states – Tennessee, Idaho and South Carolina – are headed in the direction of establishing the state as chief censor rather than leaving decisions to local districts. (Free Speech Center, August 12, 2024, by Amy Beth Hanson and Jesse Bedayn of The Associated Press)
Syracuse English professor Katherine Kidd thinks the book banning is part of the suppression of information and repression of marginalized groups in Project 2025 and the Christian nationalist movement. The 13 books banned in Utah were all by women. Kidd says though, “A silver lining is that for some authors and books, a banning or contestation can amplify the message. A book can become a best-seller and a cultural touchstone that people talk about for a long time because of a banning. I think Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe is such a book. Without the backlash about one particular scene/set of panels, the book would be just one of many queer coming-of-age stories that came out that year. Now it’s everywhere, and loads of people have heard of it and read it.” (Syracuse University News, August 21, 2024, by Christopher Munoz)