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GENDER IDENTITY MEMOIR REMOVED FROM QUEENSLAND LIBRARY SHELF, REFERRED TO
CLASSIFICATION BOARD

By Mark Saunokonoko • Senior Journalist
10:07am Mar 16, 2023
Gender Queer: A Memoir by author Maia Kobabe, the most banned book in the US,
has been flagged for review in Australia.
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Exclusive: A gender identity memoir aimed at teenage readers has been referred
to the Australian Classification Board (ACB) after a complaint made by a
conservative activist saw the book removed from the shelves of a Queensland
library.
Following a four-day investigation, Queensland Police confirmed to 9news.com.au
that on March 9 they flagged Gender Queer: A Memoir to the federal government's
Department of Communications and Arts, which runs the ACB.
Gender Queer, which includes illustrations of masturbation, sex toys and oral
sex, is written by Maia Kobabe, a nonbinary author from California. The 2019
graphic novel is centred on coming out to friends and family.
Gender Queer: A Memoir documents author Maia Kobabe's coming out to friends and
family. (AP / Rick Bowmer)

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The 239-page memoir is the most commonly banned book in the United States,
according to the American Library Association.
Kobabe and supporters of the novel insist it can help confused teens identify,
by providing a language for the trans and nonbinary community, and unpacking the
feelings young people may be experiencing.
The graphic novel is available to loan at a number of libraries across the
country, including Logan Central Library.
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9news.com.au understands that after conservative activist Bernard Gaynor, 43,
made a complaint to Logan City Council, the book was removed from shelves but
remained available to borrow for anyone who requested it.
Gaynor's complaint is that he believes the book, which has won multiple literary
awards, is pornographic.
He said one scene which shows a sexual fantasy involving a man and boy, inspired
by Plato's The Symposium, is evidence the book contains child abuse material.
Gaynor contacted police on Saturday, March 4, lodging official complaints about
Gender Queer and four other titles at the library, which he claimed breached
the criminal code in relation to child exploitation material and exposing
children to sexually explicit material.
Logan council said it did not wish to make any comment on the book, or the
complaint from Gaynor, other than it is "reviewing the matter".
Do you know more? Email msaunokonoko@nine.com.au
A page from the graphic novel. Author Maia Kobabe now uses the pronouns
e/em/eir. (Gender Queer: A Memoir)
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Until the book was referred by police, the Classification Board confirmed to
9news.com.au it had not classified Gender Queer, nor had it received any
requests to review it.
The agency has the power to censor, restrict and ban films, literature and other
content.
"Generally publications do not need to be classified before being made available
in libraries," a spokesperson said.
"The only publications that are required to be submitted to the Classification
Board to be classified are those that would contain content that may be
restricted to adults or refused classification."
Iraq war veteran Gaynor was sacked as an Australian Defence Force reservist in
2013 for making anti-gay comments on social media, later winning an appeal
against the decision, only for the court to then overturn that ruling.
Gaynor said his police complaint has nothing to do with the gender identity
debate.
"The book is highly pornographic," he said. "And that alone is enough to have it
removed from the library, regardless of what people might think about the book's
content."
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Gender Queer is a personal story that focuses on gender identity, and the
confusion some young people face. (Gender Queer: A Memoir)
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Speaking on a podcast with US organisation GLAAD last year, Kobabe said the
memoir was about figuring out who you are.
"I started questioning these topics when I was like 12, 13 years old, and then
didn't come out as nonbinary until I was 25," Kobabe said.
"Having a book like this, or any book that explored nonbinary identity, would
have probably taken 10 years of confusion and uncertainty out of my life."
Kobabe said sweeping bans of the book in the US felt like a "generalised attack
on queer and trans narratives" that the memoir was caught up in.
"My book is uniquely vulnerable because it is a comic, and because people can
very quickly flip open to one or two images that they don't agree with or make
them uncomfortable, and share those out of context on social media."
9news.com.au has seen correspondence from Logan council stating the council was
not breaking any laws by stocking Gender Queer, because there had been no ruling
or review from ACB dictating otherwise.
There are five copies of Gender Queer held in various libraries across Logan.
Logan Central Library was the only library to stock the book in its Young Adult
Fiction section, according to the library website.
The four other libraries have the book in the Biography section.
As well as Gender Queer, Gaynor said he also flagged to police concerns over
other titles in the library, including Japanese-style manga graphic novels.
He has started a petition to remove Kobabe's book, which currently has over 1000
signatures.
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9news.com.au has contacted literary agent Wernick & Pratt, who represents
Kobabe, for comment.
On its website, Simon & Schuster, the book's distributor, said Kobabe's memoir
describes "what it means to be nonbinary and asexual" and "a useful and touching
guide on gender identity ... for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere".
Update: An earlier version of this story has been edited to more accurately
state that Queensland Police Service flagged the book to the Department of
Communications and Art, and not directly to the Australian Classification Board.
If you need help contact Lifeline – 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue - 1800 51 23 48 or
Kids Helpline (1800 55 18 00) which operates 24/7 for children and young people
ages five to 25.
Sign up here to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent
straight to your inbox.
Continue reading
 * Transgender
 * LGBT
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 * literature
 * national
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