Posted on 01/04/2004 4:29:51 AM PST by Huber
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Martha Freeman got the bad news at lunch from her publisher and literary agent.
Although "The Trouble With Babies" had received good reviews, the sales of her children's book about a young San Francisco girl were poor compared with the first title in her series, and the paperback rights would not be sold.
But more stunning was the reason: A brief passage buried in the book about two gay fathers and their adopted son apparently had discouraged many librarians from buying the title.
Although they had enthusiastically purchased Freeman's previous book, "The Trouble With Cats," the mere mention of the gay couple in her newest work raised the possibility of a public backlash.
In one case, a Pittsburgh-area mother demanded that the book be removed, writing to an elementary school librarian that the author obviously had a "homosexual agenda" inappropriate for young readers. Soon, the title was taken off the library shelves.
"You could have knocked me over with a feather," Freeman said recently at her home near Penn State University. "The story I wrote had nothing to do with gay issues, and the reference to those fathers was strictly in the background, to show you the kind of people who live on a city block."
Now, Freeman faces a dilemma: Her publisher, Holiday House, has asked her to produce a third installment, and she has not decided whether to retain the gay fathers, as an act of independence, or eliminate them in an effort to sell more books.
"Part of me is tempted to put in even more gay characters, because these are my stories and I really don't like being censored," she said. "But I write books at home to earn money and send my three kids to school. My future earnings could be hurt if I keep these two gay characters in the plot. So what should I do?"
At a time when gay culture is gaining wider acceptance in American society -- as reflected in television shows, movies, magazines, fashion trends and recent court decisions -- Freeman's experience is a reminder that sensitivities still run high on the issue, especially when it comes to marketing new books for younger children.
While there has been an explosion in the number of books with gay and lesbian themes written for teens, sales of similar titles for younger children in school and public libraries remain "very dicey and very different," said Roger Sutton, publisher of the Horn Book Magazine, a monthly that covers children's literature.
If a library refuses to acquire a gay-themed book for teens, he said, they can find it elsewhere because they have disposable income. But most younger children are dependent on adults for books to read.
This puts immense power in the hands of librarians, because books such as Freeman's are most commonly sold to libraries.
If the titles aren't sold in sufficiently large numbers, there is little chance they will be reprinted in less expensive paperback editions. If that happens, the books quickly might go out of print.
Publishers typically market books such as "The Trouble With Babies" by sending out a limited number of review copies, and presenting them at book fairs and trade conventions.
Most librarians, however, learn about new titles from reviews in professional journals -- and this might have created problems for Freeman's book.
A majority of reviews mentioned the presence of the two gay fathers, thus tagging the book as one with "alternative lifestyle issues," Sutton said.
Never mind that Freeman's title is mainly about Holly, a 9-year-old who meets new friends and has zany backyard adventures when she moves to a neighborhood.
"For some readers, the mere use of the word `gay' is inappropriate, and they can't separate the word from the idea of sex," said Mary Cash, Holiday House's executive editor. "It's a problem we've seen over and over with books for children, especially when it comes to getting them on the shelves of public and school libraries."
Indeed, several gay-themed books for younger readers have remained atop the list of the United States' most-banned library books in recent years, according to the American Library Association, which tracks the issue.
Titles such as "Heather Has Two Mommies" and "Daddy's New Roommate" have sparked legal battles across the nation, causing many books to be removed or segregated in special collections.
Yet many experts believe a more subtle and prevalent kind of censorship happens when school or public librarians simply decline to buy a book like Freeman's, fearing it might cause a political furor.
These decisions are made in private, but they are no less crucial to the availability of certain children's books.
"There are well-organized community groups, not to mention parents, who simply don't want these kind of books available to kids," said Penny Kastanis, executive director of the California School Library Association. "You have parents who will say, `Never mind what our kids are seeing on television at night or at the movies.' They're going to make sure their children never read a book at school that they don't like."
Connie Cauvel, the Pittsburgh-area librarian who took Freeman's book off the shelf, said she believed "The Trouble With Babies" was well-written.
But after 38 years of battles with parents and other critics over library books, she added: "You get to the point where you can't win every confrontation. The reality is, the parents who objected to this book would have taken this to our school board, and I would have been overridden. I only have so much energy for these fights."
ROFLPIMP!!!
I wonder if she mentioned the evil couple (man and wife) who live on her block, drive a Chevy Suburban and voted for George W. Bush.
Don't they eat gerbils? Isn't that problem?
I suspect you mean "alerted" :)
...asked her to produce a third installment, and she has not decided whether to retain the gay fathers, as an act of independence, or eliminate them in an effort to sell more books.
Too late Martha baby, you made your decision when you decided to shoot off your mouth. It doesn't much matter if your need to mention gays is a pathology or unconsciousness, or simply mindless PC, your arrogance is showing. An act of independence now would be good. And the want ad section of your local newspaper too. By the way, are any (or all) of your children accidentally gay?
... My future earnings could be hurt if I keep these two gay characters in the plot. So what should I do?"
This loser's need to be arrogant is making her sound really screwed up. Whatever happened to the "gays were not part of the story they were just tossed in matter of factly to show who lived on the block?" Suddenly the gay characters are part of the plot? Yeah, Makes sense, I don't want this pervert propagandist teaching my kids anything directly or by subterfuge.
At a time when gay culture is gaining wider acceptance in American society -- as reflected in television shows, movies, magazines, fashion trends and recent court decisions --
Ha ha ha *chuckle*. No gay agenda? Good grief! Here we have the classic technique of all propaganda, state your desired result over and over as a reported "fact" and promote a feeling of powerlessness and "inevitabily" in the opposition. I increasingly hear the phrase "back in the closet" over the last several years, and this poor victim has no clue...
"...television shows, movies, magazines, fashion trends..."???? This is proof of increasing acceptance? or increasing activism? Pervert shows continue to be spectacularly ignored and cancelled, yet the author continues her pretext of "objectivity". What's wrong with this picture?
Huh? I thought librarians were trying to push this garbage.
Why do you keep wasting your time? As soon as I realized that some people are apparently incabable of grasping such simple concepts as "censorship" I simply tell them that there is no point in further discussion. Let them fade back into the closet in their delusion.
So, if it's such a commonplace thing, why even mention it?
"For some readers, the mere use of the word `gay' is inappropriate, and they can't separate the word from the idea of sex," said Mary Cash, Holiday House's executive editor.
Sorry Mary, words mean things. The word 'gay' as used in today's context literally shouts (deviant) SEX. Are we to assume a different physical relationship for homosexual 'married' couples as against traditional married folks?
Well put. You have summarized my own experience perfectly.
It's the market speaking. There's no censorship in play at all. The author is still at liberty to write such rubbish...and her publisher is still at liberty to decide for themselves whether or not they want to print it.
If the publisher decides it's not profitable to print the rubbish due to public outcry, then those are the breaks. I've had some writings rejected for publication, but that doesn't mean I'm a "victim of censorship." It means the publisher didn't they my stuff would sell. Same story with this author if she keeps up this pro-gay agenda geared toward children.
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