Mediaboss Marketing

Censorship in the United States is nothing new, though its targets have shifted over time. The earliest book bans in the United States were started by religious leaders. In 1650, a Massachusetts Bay colonist named William Pynchon published his pamphlet The Meritorious Price of Our Redemption in which he argued that people who followed Christian teachings would go to heaven. Puritan leaders did not favor the pamphlet and proceeded to denounce him as a heretic, burned his pamphlet and banned it.

This continued throughout history; during slavery and the Civil War, many states outlawed literature that expressed anti-slavery sentiments, one very famous novel being Uncle Toms Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Similar bans continued throughout history, with the Comstock Act of 1873 deeming it illegal to send obscene, lewd or lascivious, immoral or indecent publications through the mail, while also targeting those who possessed some form of literature or art deemed obscene. It aimed to prohibit discussing birth control and sexuality. Some books were banned and subsequently burned, including Walt Whitmans Leaves of Grass and James Joyces Ulysses.

Books continue to be banned and challenged, with the most recent occurrences happening in states aiming to eliminate literature surrounding queer studies, people of color and ultimately young people. Some states include Indiana, Florida, Texas and Tennessee, among others.

As such, in honor of the marginalized groups represented in the books that are facing challenges, here is a list of books from Floridas most recent book ban that you need to read.

1. The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood:

This novel argues that legally controlling womens reproductive freedom is morally and politically wrong. This is depicted through the suffering of Offred and the other Handmaids. Handmaids are servants whose only purpose is to have children. From the dystopian perspective they lose all value once they no longer are able to carry children. It is banned in many states due to its profanity, sexual tones and being anti-Christian, among other reasons. The story is a powerful yet disturbing dystopian satirical piece of literature that shows a future U.S. a where women have been stripped of all their civil rights. Not ironically, this comes less than a year from when Roe v. Wade was overturned, an event which signifies a complete disregard for womens health and rights by the Supreme Court.

2. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas:

An award-winning bestselling young adult novel, The Hate U Give is about the shooting of a young unarmed Black man by a white police officer. The Hate U Give, despite being important to the African American plight, was banned. When looking at Gov. Ron DeSantiss efforts to eliminate African American studies in the Advanced Placement curriculum, it is unsurprising that a book that gives a vivid image of what its like to be a Black man in the U.S. would be banned.

3. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Snchez:

This chilling New York Times bestseller follows a young woman named Julia, who navigates her grief following an accident that involved her sister and details the trauma she faces when her mother compares her two daughters.

It was important for me, for young people of color, to feel seen by the book, said author Erika Snchez in an interview with NBC News.

The book, due to its strong language and negative portrayal of religious faith, was unpopular among parents. The book is banned for its strong language and negative portrayal of religious faith. Unfortunately, while it is a rather grim topic, the stigma of depression wreaks havoc in many communities. By writing about suicidal ideation, Snchez raises awareness in young Latine individuals. The fact remains that Hispanic teens, especially females, have higher rates of suicide compared to white or black teens, according to the CDC.

4. Dreaming in Cubanby Cristina Garca:

This novel, which was originally banned in 2020, outlines the heroines journey of Celia del Pino and her family, who is forced to cope with their ever-changing Cuba in light of the Cuban Revolution and the emotional trauma that ensued. There is a tremendous overemphasized theme of family relationships and the divisiveness of politics. It sheds a unique light on Cuban history and culture by including critical historical events and elements of Santera, a popular religion in Cuba. Dreaming in Cuban was condemned for containing obscene and pornographic material and is no longer circulated.

5. The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis:

This is a genuinely heartbreaking novel that takes readers on a harrowing but compelling journey regarding our societys rape culture and violence against women. It focuses on Alex Craft, who had an older sister that was raped, killed and mutilated. The book ultimately is a feminist book that highlights the struggle of consistently trying to be the best while talking about the genuine and scary reality of what it is like to be a woman in the U.S.

6. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult:

Picoults novel features two timelines: flashbacks and the present moment. It follows Peter Houghtons life, with flashbacks showing the years of brutal bullying he endured to the present moment: when he decides to commit a mass shooting at his high school. This novel is controversial for its violence, sexual references and profanity. Something interesting to note is that 20 of Picoults titles were banned in Florida.

Jodi Picoult, in an interview with The Hill, warned, Weve seen, historically, what the next chapter looks like when we dont speak out against book challenges and that story does not end well.

Challenging and banning books has a tremendously negative impact on a society, often leading to a spread of xenophobia and overall ignorance. Young people should have access to unsensitized versions of history and books that expose them to new cultures and experiences because it allows them to think critically about the world.

Follow this link:
Read banned books, defy literary censorship - Daily Trojan Online

Image by Freddy Kearney via Unsplash.

From William Shakespeare to Margaret Atwood, censoring literature has a long history. Books, publications, and media are censored for a variety of reasons, including profanity, sexual content, and, most commonly, for opposing dominant ideological beliefs.

Many works we now regard as classics were at one time challenged, banned, or burned. King Lear was banned during the reign of King George III, who experienced periods of madness. In 1931, the Chinese province of Hunan banned Alice in Wonderland because animals should not use human language and [because] it was disastrous to put animals and humans on the same level. In 2019, Americans demanded that Atwoods The Handmaids Tale which has its own long history of controversy and censorship be removed from public libraries due to profane language and sexual overtones.

A more visceral form of censorship is found in book burnings. In 1932, James Joyce told an American publisher that some very kind person bought and subsequently burned a first edition of Dubliners. The following year, one of the most infamous book burnings in history occurred in Nazi Germany. A variety of un-German books from Germans such as communist founder Karl Marx and social critic Thomas Mann, along with undesirable foreign influences, including Ernest Hemingway and Helen Keller, were burned to bring German arts and culture in line with Nazi goals.

Dr. Pearce Carefoot contends that the first serious efforts at censoring printed materials in Canada happened during World War I. The War Measures Act (1914) enabled the government to censor, control, and suppress certain publications, writings, maps, plans, photographs, communications, and means of communication. It was likely an attempt to limit pro-German propaganda.

Despite societal advancements in human rights and liberties, over 100 years later we are still faced with attempted censorship. Banning and censoring literature, publications, and media fosters ignorance and hostility in society and creates a skewed education for new generations by restricting certain ideas, identities, and beliefs.

In summer 2022, heated debates arose regarding the banning of books from the Chilliwack School District. Several board of education trustees advocated for the removal of books with inappropriate content. One of the books in question was All Boys Arent Blue by George M. Johnson, an award-winning Black non-binary author, writer, and activist. The book is a series of personal essays detailing their experiences growing up as a Black queer youth in America, discussing a wide range of topics including gender identity, consent, and toxic masculinity.

In an interview with the Gay and Lesbian Association Against Defamation, Johnson explained that they knew the book could be controversial. I told my team very early on that I knew that this book at some point would get banned simply because I knew that the content that was in the book was something that we hadnt seen much of [which is] what the Black queer experience looked like.

As public debate continued, Trustee Darrell Furgason sent a letter to the Chilliwack Progress in response to the controversy. He stated that no trustee, teacher, administrator or librarian should have the freedom to place books in our district school libraries that contain depictions of sex acts. He then continued to argue that fellow-Trustee Willow Reichelt has no right to promote any sexual practices whatsoever in the school district, even if they are practised by the LGBTQ community.

A similar attempt at censorship occurred this January when protestors gathered outside the Coquitlam Public Library during Conni Smudges Drag Queen Story Time. Smudge has been holding these events at libraries in British Columbia for over a decade. While one protestor in a Global News video yelled that the story time was child abuse, hundreds of people came to support Smudge and the story time. For Smudge, these events are intended to help children embrace themselves and each other. I think this lights up the world to let everybody know they can be exactly who they wanna be, Smudge said. Similar events across North America have also been met with heavy protest.

Whether it is removing books from libraries or canceling Drag Queen Story Times, censoring certain perspectives, identities, and beliefs creates an ignorant and uneducated society that negatively affects ourselves and future generations. These acts of censorship are attempts to shelter people, often children and youth, from certain ideas and ways of life, which often comes at the expense of the LGBTQ+ community. It is as if critics believe that banning certain books will somehow eliminate them from society. As George M. Johnson said, There is a great fear of what happens if this new generation actually operates with the truth.

See original here:
It's time to stop fostering ignorance and silencing voices - The Martlet

Amid the fierce debate surrounding what should and should not be taught in classrooms, some far-right-leaning lawmakers have introduced legislation and taken significant steps to limit educators ability to discuss race, gender, and sexuality in the classroom.

Florida is spearheading culture wars in the classroom with discussions surrounding so-called CRT and anti-woke legislation such as the recent decision by the College Board to exclude important topics from the Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies curriculum. Floridas Dont Say Gay laws restrict classroom instruction and discussion on sexual orientation, gender identity and transgender issues. Despite an imbalance in media coverage, higher education is also affected. The Stop Woke Act was designed to limit how Florida professors could teach race and sex threatening tens of millions of dollars in funding restrictions to colleges and universities that dared to teach things like the effects of colonialism, Reconstruction, and social movements like Black Lives Matter.

Thanks to the hard work of civic groups, advocacy organizations and freedom fighters, a federal appeals court has halted enforcement of Stop Woke in Florida universities. Anti-equity bills and legislation, like what is emerging in Florida, deny students the opportunity to learn about our complex history in the context of current events.

I recently had a conversation with Florida state senator Shevrin D. Jones about the so-called critical race theory debate. In this discussion, Its About Power, Not People, we unpacked the impact of the increased censorship of Black history and LGBTQ+ topics in schools and what advocates can do to stop the aggressive legislation that we are seeing come forth. Watch the full conversation below.

At Ed Trust, we are focused on taking a stand against the threats waged on schools and educators with our campaign, Cant Be Erased (#CantBeErased). Without an accurate understanding of the past, it is difficult to recognize and address the root causes of systemic issues such as racism, inequality, and injustice that continue to affect this country today.

Read more from the original source:
Censorship is About Power, Not People - The Education Trust

Wanda Nara is no stranger to sharing racy and revealing posts to her social media accounts.

In a recent wardrobe malfunction, the entrepreneur, influencer and presenter let a breast slip while interacting with her followers on a live stream.

On this occasion, though, Nara, in yet another sensual upload, drew on an unorthodox tool to prevent the same incident from occurring, and that was an emoji of a cookie.

Many celebrities have been known to employ ingenious methods of bypassing nudity regulations on social media sites.

Instagram, for instance, cannot censor an image that does not feature an element of nudity, such as nipples.

Nara is the owner of an underwear brand that she promotes via her social media accounts.

She is often seen flaunting her clothing line online, much of which seems to be almost entirely transparent.

In this particular post, the 36-year-old sported a newly released item of hers that is, you guessed it, essentially see-through.

While social media sites continue impose the same set of nudity regulations, celebrities and influencers alike will continue to look for creative ways to push the boundaries.

Read the rest here:
Wanda Nara employs impromptu nudity censorship method in light of wardrobe malfunction - Marca English

The U.S. Secretary of Education has joined a Democrat chorus characterizing the removal of pornographic materials from libraries and schools as book banning and censorship.

Miguel Cardonas comments came after emails revealed he conspired with a liberal school board group to have the Department of Justice label parents as domestic terrorists.

As U.S. secretary of education, as well as a father and lifelong educator, heres what I know to be true: Parents dont want politicians dictating what their children can learn, think and believe. Thats not how public education is supposed to work in a free country, Cardona wrote in an op-ed in the Tampa Bay Times on Thursday.

Ironically, some of the very politicians who claim to promote freedom are banning books and censoring what students can learn, Cardona said.

The opinion piece was a not-so-veiled shot at Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has led the fight against inappropriate materials in public schools.

In Florida, pornographic and inappropriate materials that have been snuck into our classrooms and libraries to sexualize our students violate our state education standards, the governor said in a statement on Wednesday,which included a video presentation.

When DeSantis discussed the content of the books, several news stations cut their live feed of the event to comply with U.S. laws that prevent the transmission of pornographic materials, despite the fact the liberal media argue the books are appropriate for schools.

While Cardona claims to promote freedom, critics argue Democrats are really waging a war against parents. Indeed, President Joe Biden seemed to tell a group of teachers nearly a year ago that children are actually theirs.

Theyre all our children. Theyre not somebody elses children. Theyre like yours when theyre in the classroom, Biden told the teachers.

His comments echoed those of the former Democratic governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, who said in 2021, I dont think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.

In a now infamous memo, Bidens attorney general, Merrick Garland, after prodding from the National School Boards Association, compared parents who complain to school boards to domestic terrorists.

It later turned out the slur was solicited from the school board association by Cardona himself, according to emails revealed by Fox News.

This is about intimidation. This is about chilling free speech, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan claimed of Cardona and Garland.

Jordan is leading a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee investigating how Cardona and others have tried to weaponize the government against citizens, including parents.

Original post:
Bidens education secretary charges censorship after conspiring ... - The Lion