Banned Book: GENDER QUEER

Gender Queer is a graphic memoir written and illustrated by Maia Kobabe. It recounts the author's journey from childhood related to gender identity.

After coming out as nonbinary in 2016, Kobabe, a graduate of the California College of the Arts with an MFA in Comics, began drawing black and white illustrations about gender identity and published them on Instagram. These cartoons became the basis for this book, Gender Queer. Kobabe, who prefers the Spivak pronouns: e/em/eir, stated e was motivated to create something to explain gender to eir parents after coming out.

The book, published in 2019, was met with critical acclaim. 

• In the February 2019 issue of Publisher's Weekly the reviewer said, "this heartfelt graphic memoir relates, with sometimes painful honesty, the experience of growing up non-gender-conforming. [...] This entertaining memoir-as-guide holds crossover appeal for mature teens (with a note there's some sexually explicit content) and is sure to spark valuable discussions at home and in classrooms" (PW). 
• And the reviewer for School Library Journal that same year called it a, "great resource for those who identify as nonbinary or asexual as well as for those who know someone who identifies that way and wish to better understand"(SLJ). 
• In 2022, Sophie Brown commented that  "Gender Queer isn't an especially easy book to read but it is a powerful one. [It] will be a comforting voice from someone who has walked the same paths"(GeekMom).

In 2020 it was awarded an Alex Award, an award given out to adult books with cross-over appeal for teens. It also won the Stonewall Award, for books with a LGBTQIA theme for teens or children. These awards led to the book becoming widely available in high school libraries. 

Gender Queer was the focus of many book challenges and book bans in 2021 and has remained on that list ever since. According to the American Library Association it was the most challenged book of 2021, 2022, and 2023 and the second most challenged book in 2024. Admittedly the book has some sexually explicit drawings and descriptions. A few even made me squirm. But what I appreciated so much about the book was the candidness and the author's honesty about eir own confusions surrounding gender identity. This was clearly not a person who woke up one day and decided to try on being gay or trans or bi or as asexual. This is a person who has struggled a lifetime to accept and embrace eir self. 

Kobabe published an opinion piece in the Washington Post which was partially reprinted on the ALA blog:

“Queer youth are often forced to look outside their own homes, and outside the education system, to find information on who they are. Removing or restricting queer books in libraries and schools is like cutting a lifeline for queer youth, who might not yet even know what terms to ask Google to find out more about their own identities, bodies and health” (Kobabe).

I am so glad I read this book for Banned Books Week 2025, which is happening right now. It opened my eyes and gave me additional empathy about individuals' gender identity issues. It helped cement my feelings that we all need to find ourselves in books, no matter our race, creed, gender, or religion.

My rating: 5 stars.

-Anne