LGBTQ+ Books Dominate America’s Most Challenged Books List

The American Library Association (ALA) has revealed that seven out of the top ten most challenged books in US libraries in 2023 tackled LGBTQ+ themes. 

The association recently unveiled its annual list spotlighting books targeted with censorship attempts, with hundreds of demands for their removal from library shelves.

The ALA also disclosed that the number of unique titles earmarked for censorship skyrocketed by 65 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching the highest levels ever documented by the association.

“Looking at the titles of the most challenged books from last year, it’s evident that pressure groups are focusing on books about LGBTQIA+ people and people of colour,” said ALA President Emily Drabinski.

“At ALA, we are advocating for the freedom to choose what you want to read. Shedding light on the detrimental actions of these pressure groups is one of the steps we must take to safeguard our right to read,” she explained.

Below are the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2023:

1.Gender Queer, by Maia Kobabe. 106 challenges. Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

2. All Boys Aren’t Blue, by George M. Johnson. 82 challenges. Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

3. This Book is Gay, by Juno Dawson. 71 challenges Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, sex education, claimed to be sexually explicit

4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky. 68 challenges. Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, LGBTQIA+ content, rape, drugs, profanity

5. Flamer, by Mike Curato. 67 challenges. Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

6. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison. 62 challenges. Reasons: Rape, incest, claimed to be sexually explicit, EDI (Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion) content

7/8 (tie).  Tricks, by Ellen Hopkins. 56 challenges. Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, drugs, rape, LGBTQIA+ content

7/8 (tie).  Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, by Jesse Andrews. 56 challenges. Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, profanity

9 . Let’s Talk About It, by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan. 55 challenges. Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, sex education, LGBTQIA+ content

10. Sold, by Patricia McCormick. 53 challenges. Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, rape

“These are books that contain the ideas, the opinions, and the voices that censors want to silence – stories by and about LGBTQ+ persons and people of colour,” asserted Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.

“Each challenge, each demand to censor these books is an attack on our freedom to read, our right to live the life we choose, and an attack on libraries as community institutions that reflect the rich diversity of our nation. When we tolerate censorship, we risk losing all of this,” said Caldwell-Stone.