The Bonny Eagle school board has delayed its meeting to decide on whether to remove a controversial book on gender identity to allow board members the opportunity to read the book.
The book “Gender Queer: A Memoir” is available at the Bonny Eagle High School library, although it is not included as course material in any of the school’s classes, the Portland Press Herald reported.
Some parents who oppose the book believe that it shows pornographic images and should not be available to children, while those who support the book’s presence in the school library say that it supports students who may not have other access to LGBTQ resources, according to the Portland newspaper.
“Gender Queer,” a memoir written by Maia Kobabe that has become a controversial election-year topic, was removed from the Dirigo High School library in August after a vote by the RSU 56 school board.
However, School Administrative District 6 declined to remove the book from Buxton school libraries in early September after parents called for the book’s censure.
“Gender Queer” will be revisited by the Bonny Eagle school board in two weeks, during which board members will be provided copies of the book to read, according to the Press Herald.
SAD 6 voted to keep “It’s Perfectly Normal,” a book about sex education and puberty that includes LGBTQ perspectives, at a Sept. 6 board meeting.
