The Christian Civil Liberties Union in Wisconsin is suing for the right to publicly burn the book Baby Be-Bop by Francesca Lia Block, a novel beloved by alienated teens queer and straight alike for its daring portrayal of a young man’s coming out, including his experiences being beaten and harassed for his sexuality. The Christians also want damages for having had to (gasp!) see the book on a library display. Seemingly a little unclear on the concept, the group asserts that the novel itself “constitutes a hate crime.” Perhaps next they will complain that instructional videos used in driver’s ed constitute traffic violations, or that the host of To Catch a Predator is a pederast.
Out magazine’s blog puts it best: “A group of grown-ups want to rally around a burning trash can, remove an elected public official from office, and pocket $30,000 public dollars a piece because they were ‘exposed’ to a decade-old story the American Library Association called ‘[A] gift to young people who have known since they could remember that they too wanted—and deserved—love’ as if it were asbestos.”
Christian Group Sues for Right to Burn Gay Teen Novel [Guardian]
Francesca Lia Block Under Fire [Out]
Hadara Graubart was formerly a writer and editor for Tablet Magazine.