By the comments on this story, the idea that a library would stock ex-gay books seems laughable.
But don't be so quick to laugh the notion off. PFOX and Regina Griggs is exploiting an angle that could give the lgbt community and libraries a multitude of problems:
PFOX executive director Regina Griggs said: "Apparently, the West Bend Community Memorial Library is not interested in diversity.
"We urge Michael Tyree, the library's director, to be inclusive of the ex-gay community and accept our donation of ex-gay books. According to its own policy, the library has a 'professional responsibility to be inclusive, not exclusive, in developing collections'."
Yet again, Regina Griggs and PFOX tries to cast itself as the innocent victim of intolerance. The lgbt community must be very clear and very focused on just why those claims are bogus
The situation in Wisconsin did not begin with PFOX demanding that libraries carry ex-gay books. It began with them teaming with parents to make libraries eliminate lgbt-oriented books or move them to the adult section.
So this situation is about neither diversity or "tolerance." It's about a bunch of liars trying to undermine the well-being of our lgbt children.
It's about dehumanizing lgbts and reducing our lives to a sex choice or a bad behavior when our lives are neither of these things.
And as a post I wrote yesterday said, it's about trying to manipulate the system to pass along junk science as truth.
Truth should never be sacrificed for the sake of diversity.
Now I don't know any ex-gays personally but I have a question: why is it that the ones I do see are either connected with some religious right group or have some bogus ministry?
Why is it if these folks want to be left alone are they making a point to give the lgbt community so much hell?
I don't believe in the credibility of the ex-gay movement, period. And I have a feeling that if you pull back the curtain, you will see some religious right "grant money" exchanging hands.
So to make a long story short, I don't believe that public libraries should EVER stock ex-gay books, not even for the sake of diversity.
If this is successful, then might I suggest some racist literature about the natural inferiority of African-Americans.
Or how about the Protocol of the Elders of Zion (i.e. the phony document which claimed that there is a Jewish conspiracy to take over the world).
After all, if you opened up library stocks to one group of liars for the sake of "diversity," then why not others?
Related articles:
PFOX - a conduit of lies and bad studies
As I understand it, the contents of a library is determined by that libraries... board of directors? Librarians? At any rate, there is no national list of books they have to include or exclude. It is a position of responsibility I have not appreciated before.
ReplyDeleteMany books that were once deemed to be cutting edge, are now outdated or proven false. Should they be excluded? There are books that have inspired revolution and change. Should they be excluded? Isn't that censorship?
For three years, the top challenged book (request for banning) has been "And Tango Makes Three," the children's book of the two male Central Park Zoo penguins who hatched an egg and reared a chick together. Dangerous material indeed.
I'm not arguing with you, just asking. Clearly, a library can not hold all the books ever written, so, who decides?
It's not about censorship, but about appropriateness. Now about those books you mentioned, I'm not aware of which you mean but I do know that a lot of ex-gay books and books put out by the religious right include data by discredited researcher Paul Camreon as truth.
ReplyDeleteShould that be included in a library?
Or how about a book on eugenics? I think that sometimes we are so afraid of looking like "censors" that we sacrifice truth. If a book includes an idea that is harmful or has data that has been PROVEN to be inaccurate, i really don't think that the book has a place in the public library.
I agree that it would be inappropriate to collect books in a public library that are clearly erroneous without giving proper notice to your patrons. As a gay male librarian, I feel very uncomfortable with excluding any type of material from a public library. How can we possibly defend having The Turner Diary or Mein Kampf if we exclude clearly unscientific "ex-gay" books?
ReplyDeleteThe answer to this dilemma is the way in which these materials are cataloged. Librarians can exercise their objective discretion in cataloging ex-gay books into the religion section -- where they belong.
That would be a good idea.
ReplyDeleteThe libraries are chock full of books with a "heterosexual slant". And if people are truly "ex-gay" then they are straight. They aren't a minority nor are they victims. PFOX and the like need to stop pretending they are.
ReplyDeleteThe fake balancing trick is one of the favourites of the Right, if we have a climate scientist talking about global warming then we should have a climate change skeptic saying it’s a con, if we have a biologist talking about evolution we should also have a creationist who thinks the world is 6000 years old etc, etc, etc. These groups all use bad science to deliberately mislead people for their own ends and in the case of ex-gays to try and foster oppression based on lies. That can’t come under the aegis of tolerance.
ReplyDelete(Sorry it took so long to reply.)
ReplyDeleteBut is not excluding a book deemed inappropriate the same as censorship? And it we banned books on eugenics, would we forget that it has been practiced in almost every country? Would we forget that the generally recognized authority on the subject was American? Would that be a good idea?
And if we exclude books with data that has been proven to be false, well, that's going to remove an awful lot of works by early scientists, isn't it?
I think I agree with David that how books are cataloged is of major importance. Perhaps we could put Paul Cameron under Humor?
Last time I checked,this is still a free country. If a library wants to carry ex-gay books, they vary well can. What place do you have to decide what books do and don't belong in libraries? If you don't like a certain kind of book, no one says you have to read it.
ReplyDeleteSorry but I still stand by my opinion. We are talking about nothing but propaganda - dangerous propaganda and it has no place in a library.
ReplyDelete