According to NBC Out, nearly 240 anti-LGBTQ bills were proposed by state legislatures from January through mid March of 2022, compared to only 41 such bills in all of 2018. Gains in personal freedom and rights of personal expression challenge the cisgender, white, patriarchal hegemony. Socially, we are in a cycle of regression. While this has always been the case, the current moment is particularly fraught for LGBTQ youth. Bodies, hormones, and awakening personal and gender identity, as well as sexuality, are all important to the YA reader - even more so if they are struggling with any of those, or are part of otherwise marginalized populations themselves. Young adult readers are hungrier for stories of “others” or outsiders than even adult readers. Adolescence is a time of change and curiosity. In the minds of those who advocate censorship, the YA space is a battleground.
While librarians generally land on the side of free speech and diverse stories, the increasing attempts to take over library boards and fire librarians for that very stance is a tad unnerving. While I hate to assume a victory for bigotry, the increasing attempts at library censorship tell me that there are those who would prefer that be the only place a young adult (YA) reader might be able to find it in the future.
As the Crow Flies began online, where it can still be found. But Melanie Gillman is an artist that gravitates toward subject matter that is timely and yet bound to be perennial.įrom As the Crow Flies.
Features Two By Melanie Gillman: As the Crow Flies and Stage Dreams
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