I’ve had librarians say to me, “People in my...

:Reblogged from doctorabbywatson :: Created by cake-light:

I’ve had librarians say to me, “People in my school don’t agree with homosexuality, so it’s difficult to have your book on the shelves.” Here’s the thing: Being gay is not an issue, it is an identity. It is not something that you can agree or disagree with. It is a fact, and must be defended and represented as a fact.

To use another part of my identity as an example: if someone said to me, “I’m sorry, but we can’t carry that book because it’s so Jewish and some people in my school don’t agree with Jewish culture,” I would protest until I reached my last gasp. Prohibiting gay books is just as abhorrent…

Discrimination is not a legitimate point of view. Silencing books silences the readers who need them most. And silencing these readers can have dire, tragic consequences. Never forget who these readers are. They are just as curious and anxious about life as any other teenager.

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David Levithan - Supporting Gay Teen Literature (via cake-light)

SERIOUSLY! I’m sick of LGBTQ culture being treated as just some political issue. Queer people aren’t just a handful of people who want to get married, okay? We’re real, and we’re fucking important, and we need to be represented accurately and positively in the media and on the book shelf, especially in schools, where kids are still discovering who they are and maybe they feel really alone and they need a book they can relate to …

(via riotisnotquiet)

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE TALK ABOUT IN CHILDREN’S LITERACY.

Okay, when I was a little girl, I was a tomboy. I was loud. I was passionate. And when I discovered Jo March, EVERYTHING changed. She gave me so much power because hey, there’s a character exactly like me.

THIS IS WHY WE NEED DIVERSE LITERATURE. Relating to a literary character gives a reader power AND gives that reader more reason to keep reading. Try and disagree with me on this. You won’t win.

(via twenty4mixtapes)

You know I actually can’t think of a canonically queer literary hero or heroine to look up to, male or female. There are a few more in tv now but even then there is nothing like the bredth and scale…

The closest I ever got was Nymphadora Tonks in Harry Potter but even then a lot of it was assigned from my own head. Its so scary feeling alienated and alone even in something that otherwise provides solace and a place to belong, and one of the most frustrating things is not being able to show someone a character and go “this is me. They understands, I AM NOT A FREAK.”

(via doctorabbywatson)