In 2016, Kobabe began coming out to friends and family as nonbinary and using the gender neutral pronouns e, eir and em. The book explores the author’s discomfort with traditional gender roles and features depictions of masturbation, period blood and confusing sexual experiences.Īnd it arrived in the middle of a politically and emotionally charged debate about gender identity and transgender rights, as Republican elected officials in Texas, Florida and elsewhere have put forward legislation that would criminalize providing medically accepted treatment to transgender children, or ban discussions of gender identity and sexuality in some elementary school grades.īeing caught in the middle of a nationwide controversy has been unnerving for Kobabe, who has expressed concern about the effect the bans might have on young people who are questioning their identity. It’s a graphic memoir that deals with puberty and sexual identity, and includes a few drawings of nude characters and sexual scenarios - images that critics of the book were able to share on social media to stoke a backlash. Several factors made “Gender Queer” a target. In many cases, the titles that have been pulled aren’t mandatory reading but are simply available on library shelves. The American Library Association counted challenges against 1,597 individual books last year, the highest number since the group began tracking book bans 20 years ago.
