11.16.22 – Fox News
“Michigan Parent Reads Graphic Passages in Revolt Against Porno Books in School Libraries”
Dearborn Public Schools continue to receive criticism for sexually explicit materials found in libraries
By Taylor Penley
Excerpts from this article:
Parents in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn extended their complaints about sexually explicit content in the district's school libraries at a Monday board meeting where a local mother read concerning passages about masturbation from a coming-of-age, semi-autobiographical Mike Curato graphic novel called "Flamer."
…The passage mentioned the protagonist Elias in a room with male friends who are masturbating.
"We're each busting a load in this bottle. If you don't cum, you have to drink it," she read aloud.
"I learned about masturbation two years ago, kind of by accident. No one ever told me what it was," the book continued, diving into a segment in which the protagonist remembers the time he discovered a pornographic film his father had hidden in the house.
The book also makes explicit references to genitals and contains imaged of naked teenage boys.
Board members cut the mother's reading short to call up the next speaker, but audience members applauded her for taking a stand against the material.
"Flamer" has created a stir in other communities across the U.S., including in Oklahoma, where State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister called for the book to be banned from all public schools.
…Parental rights advocates have put Dearborn in the spotlight in recent weeks with allegations that other sexually explicit materials were found in area schools.
The district enacted a book policy in October allowing parents to opt their children out of certain books, but parents argued that finding which books are inappropriate should not be their responsibility.
"My biggest concern is why is the burden on the parent to find these books? What happens when the parents who don't read or speak English, why is it on them to opt-out, they don’t know what is going on?" one speaker Jeff Saleff said at a recent board meeting.
…According to the press release, although "Flamer" was not a part of the list of challenged books, it will remain in libraries at the high school level.
…"We are pleased with the results of the book challenge as we want to ensure that our libraries have content that is appropriate for our students and that they do not provide material with gratuitous or unnecessarily graphic content," Adam Martin, Dearborn Public Schools executive director of student achievement for the Fordson feeder track said in the release.
Two books removed from all district libraries were "Push" by Sapphire and "Red, White and Royal Blue" by Casey McQuiston.
"Eleanor and Park" by Rainbow Rowell and Curato's "Flamer" were restricted to high school libraries.
"The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold, another book in question, was deemed appropriate for high school audiences and will remain on shelves…