Banning Books In Schools

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Book banning is when a government or authority limits access to a book. This occurs mainly in schools and public libraries. Supporters of book banning claim that it can benefit librarians and parents by making them confident about a student’s book choices if there are only books that meet social standards. On the other hand, people who refuse to ban books in schools and libraries claim that book banning is a violation of the First Amendment, which grants people free speech. The books that are frequently getting banned are: “According to the ALA's list of the ten most challenged books of 2021, half had themes dealing with LGBTQ+ issues and three-quarters were deemed sexually explicit”(Gale). Many books are getting banned nowadays; however, there are some cases where a book's literary merit, which refers to books that are considered valuable and meaningful, is not considered when banning or challenging books. One case where literary merit wasn’t considered is Anne Frank’s The Diary of a …show more content…
According to Gilboard, “While books have stood in the crossfire of political battles throughout history, today’s most banned books address issues related to race, gender identity, and sexuality — major flashpoints in the ongoing American culture war”(Gilbard). Some people think that the book contains information about race, gender identity, and sexuality that is inappropriate for students and against social standards. As a result, the books that contain those topics are frequently challenged and banned. Therefore, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl is challenged because it contains scenes regarding gender identity and sexuality, such as describing the vagina and Anne's erotic feelings toward girls. However, although the dairy contains some sexually explicit description, it should not be banned because of the literary merit it