They say you should never judge a book by its cover, and in the case of one title, this couldn’t be a truer statement.
The cover of Maia Kobabe’s, Gender Queer: A Memoir, looks innocent enough—a young man peering at a reflection of himself.
While the book looks like it’s about LGBT issues, it actually contains much more.
There are references to a female child fantasising about having a penis, sisters discussing graphic sexual acts, a fantasy about a man and boy engaged in sexual activity in ancient Greece, and even promotion of a hardcore bondage pornography website.
The website, if visited, shows real images of women bound and gagged and the words, “Love hurts,” and captions glamourising women being “tormented.”
In one cartoon cell, there is a reference to masturbating while driving a car, as well as the line: “I promise I’m a really safe driver.”
Former ADF Member Campaigns Against the Book
When former Australian Defence Force member, now-conservative blogger Bernard Gaynor, heard the book was in council libraries across the state—including 17 copies in Brisbane alone—he began a campaign to alert authorities.He was motivated to act when he saw part of the book referencing Greek sexual encounters. In turn, Gaynor said he was impressed with Bundaberg Regional Council—in south east Queensland—for removing the book following his complaints.
“I’m very, very grateful [to Bundaberg council],” he told The Epoch Times, adding that councils often had no idea what books were being brought into libraries.
“My concerns about this book would be exactly the same if it was a heterosexual book.”
Gaynor said there was a grey area about the intended readership for the book, noting it was most often promoted to young adults, which he said in librarian terms meant ages 12-18.
“Studies also show that exposure to pornographic material and sexual imagery can have particularly harmful impacts on children,” Gaynor said, which was a recognised problem by both federal and state governments.
Meanwhile, Family First National Director Lyle Shelton praised the council’s decision to remove the book
“Kudos to the council for removing it,” Shelton said in a statement. “This book is utterly inappropriate for a public library, particularly in the children’s section.
“Just because it flies under the rainbow political flag does not mean it is suitable for children.”
Expert Analyses Image
University of South Australia senior researcher in psychology Lesley-Anne Ey said that while she supported the LGBT community, she did not support the content of Gender Queer.In a document provided to Bundaberg Council and filed with Gaynor’s complaint, Ey discussed the ancient Greek image.
“The male child depicted in this picture is clearly half the size of the male adult in physical structure,” she wrote, guessing the boy shown would be about 12.
“My concern about this image is that it depicts sexual activity between a child and an adult which is classified child sexual abuse.
“Images depicting sexual abuse of a child is illegal, immoral, and offensive to a reasonable adult.”
Gaynor Says Other Explicit Books Still Available
Gaynor said Gender Queer was just one several overtly sexual books targeting children and young people in across local libraries.Authors including Japanese manga artist Ken Akamatsu, known for featuring minors in compromising situations, are also held in collections.
“Australian libraries have made Ken Akamatsu a very rich man,” Gaynor said.
Akamatsu entered politics in his native Japan in a push to relax censorship laws around what could legally be featured in publications.
Gaynor also pointed to authors such as Garth Ennis who penned the The Boys—now a television show—and Preachers books which he says feature elements of beastiality.
And while Gaynor has been successful in Bundaberg, he says Rockhampton has so far not responded.
The book currently remains in libraries in Rockhampton, Ipswich, Brisbane, Logan and Noosa.
The Epoch Times contacted Rockhampton Regional Council for comment.
