A book intended to teach children about gender, sexuality and healthy relationships will stay on Summit County Library shelves despite a formal complaint from a parent who claimed the text was too inappropriate for the juvenile section.
“Sex is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings and You” by Cory Silverberg is a comic book and sexual education resource for children ages 8 to 10. The book’s marketing materials tout it as the “first sex education book for this age group that is inclusive of the lesbian, gay and bisexual experience, as well as gender creative and gender-nonconforming children.”
Youth Services Librarian Kirsten Nilsson said the book is located in the library’s children’s area in a section dedicated to personal health and safety. She said the children’s section is designed to accommodate readers up to 14.
The complaint, submitted by a parent who is a library patron, said the parent found “Sex is a Funny Word” as they were searching the stacks for a book for their 3-year-old child.
“Why the hell is it talking about boys and girls can be different genders?” the complainant asked. “Put the damn kids in therapy! Don’t give them a freaking book! There (are) only two genders!”
The Summit County Library Board, made up of nine volunteers and Summit County Councilor Megan McKenna, evaluates and determines how to respond to complaints. Multiple community members attended last week’s board meeting to oppose a possible removal of the book from the library system.
“I’m here to defend everyone’s freedom to access ideas and information in the public space that is a library,” said Lesley Christoph, a 39-year resident of Summit County. “It’s not about whether I, or anyone else, likes or dislikes a specific title. It’s about the right of people in our communities to read books that represent a diversity of viewpoints, even if I or you or anyone else disagrees with them.”
Christoph said removing the book would be an “active form of censorship” and conflict with American ideals surrounding free speech.
“It’s also about parental rights, and the rights of parents to exercise their parental authority and decide what books are OK or not OK for their children,” she added. “Removing a book from a public library is making that decision for all families and is interfering with parental rights as to how best to educate and inform their children.”
The Park City chapter of Let Utah Read, a coalition “dedicated to preserving Americans’ freedom to read,” also opposed removing the book in a statement provided to the Library Board before the meeting.
“Keep in mind that the issue at hand is bigger than one book. In fact, the issue is bigger than whether we personally agree with the book’s ideas,” the statement said. “Whether we are aligned with the ideas of a particular book should have no bearing … when free speech is at stake.”
Let Utah Read echoed Christoph’s sentiments regarding parental authority, adding that removing the book from the library “prevents every other parent from making a different decision for their own family.” The organization also pointed out that “Sex is a Funny Word” is intended to be read with a parent, not alone.
“We have read the book in its entirety, and the text is identified by the publisher and the author as intended to be read by parents and children in tandem to encourage dialog and discussion,” the statement said. “Parents should remain free to teach their children their own values. … A public library does not exist to establish which side of the disputed social, religious, scientific or political question is the officially acceptable viewpoint.”
The Summit County Library Board reviewed multiple local policies and ethical guidelines from national library associations to determine whether the book should be removed. Multiple board members mentioned the Summit County Library’s latest strategic plan, which specifically encourages the library system to offer resources and materials for underserved populations and minority groups.
One board member who is also a pediatrician said she read the book in its entirety and thought it was age appropriate. Summit County Councilor Megan McKenna, who is a nonvoting member of the Library Board, additionally expressed her support for keeping the book on library shelves.
“Parent rights are key here because our library serves all parents, all guardians, all caregivers in this community,” said Emily Stolen, who represents Park City on the Library Board. “We could have everything available to people, but it ultimately lands on the parents to choose, so I am in support of keeping this book in the library and letting parents make a decision for their own families.”
The Library Board unanimously voted to keep the book in the library system.