What is Book Banning?
and why it’s important to know
Since the 2024 US election, there has been a flurry of conversations involving books. This is sort of a part two to my most recent post where I briefly mentioned the banning of books. Again, this is mostly about BookTok and how the conversation surrounding book banning has inspired this post.
Most of my mutuals have touched on this topic well, explaining book banning; what it is, who it affects, etc. Many people have also brought up Project 2025 and whether that involves book banning as well. It does, however, states have already been banning books. It’s not new, yet I feel like the fear surrounding this notion of book banning is that people have the wrong idea of what exactly book banning is.
According to Britannica, book banning is the practice of “prohibiting or restricting the reading of certain books by the general public or by members of a local community or religious group. Books can be banned by means of their removal from publicly accessed locations (e.g, libraries) […]” (2024). This can also involve restriction of these books in school curriculums. A lot of people take the word “ban” and think that these books will never be accessible in a certain state or the country as a whole.
Maybe you have seen those trends of people buying popular banned books such as The Handmaid’s Tale or 1984 and so on with the caption looking something like, “Got to buy these before they’re banned!”. While I think it is important to read these books anyway, this is probably where the bulk of the misinformation lies.
Banned books are still available for purchase, whether in bookstores or otherwise. So, unless Trump decides to completely ban these nationally and make it so they are not available at all, then obviously, that is a different and pressing issue. However, I think it is still a glaring problem right now.
What annoys me with this current discourse is the lackadaisical attitude people take when they realize that books are “only” being banned in schools and libraries. This is very problematic for different reasons which I will go into. But first, I want to return to the issue of Project 2025.
I do not mean to pass it off as no big deal, that because book bans are already happening it won’t get worse under Project 25. It will. Project 25 deems any type of LGBTQ+ content as “pornography”, which is the basis for a lot of these book bans. So any mention of LGBTQ+ content in a book will warrant its ban, regardless of actual pornographic content. This is also an argument a lot of conservatives make when people protest book bans, saying that most of the books being banned are inappropriate for children, which is just not true.
Back to the reasons why banning books from libraries and schools is a problem. The number one issue with this is accessibility. Children deserve to have access to these books, and they are essential for learning as well. Having these books in school curriculums allows children and high schoolers to see from other perspectives other than the predominantly white, straight male perspective. People can learn a lot from fiction, not just nonfiction.
Secondly, while giving children access to books is important, it also creates a barrier for people who cannot afford to buy books on the regular, especially with the prices they are now. While banned books are still available for purchase, a lot of people still cannot buy them to read them. This is why libraries are crucial for society as a whole, and there is a reason why they are becoming more and more underfunded. Librarians are coming more under threat as well, facing potential jail time for allowing “inappropriate” books to be in the hands of children. Again, this ties back into why reading is political; I mean, just look at some of the reasons why these books are being banned. A lot of the reasons are “anti-government sentiments”, “depictions of an oppressive government”, and “political rebellion”.
Thirdly, book banning should never happen. It should not be a thing, whether it is in schools, libraries, or bookstores. The government should not be censoring information in any way, including in books. So it is honestly concerning to see people saying, “Oh, it’s just banned in schools and libraries, no worries for me!” People rely on their public libraries for books. It is a privilege to be able to buy them. Even though I live in Canada, I still strongly advocate for this issue.
While books are not being banned here at the moment, there have been increasing signs of possible book banning happening across different provinces. Some already have been taken off library shelves, not many, but just one is more than enough. And with Trump as president, this subject will only grow more popular because the US strongly influences a lot of Canadian social, economic, and political policies.
Book banning is important to know about, even if you think it will not affect you. It possibly could. I am not sure what Trump has in mind for the future of America — well, I’m sure I have a good idea of what he plans to do — but it is a possibility that he will encourage more book bans across the country.
Cover photo from this website.
Just posted a comment on ‘books are political’ and now here I am reading this post about book banning. I’m currently living in the UK, and there’re lots of authors are living in the US. So not only does it restrict us readers from consuming those books, it also stops authors from creating new stories.