US: Delaware school suspends all summer reading after lesbian-themed book causes controversy
A high school in Delaware has eliminated all summer reading for incoming freshmen because one of the books on the reading list featured a lesbian main character.
The Cape Henlopen school board voted to remove “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” by emily m. danforth (danforth does not capitalise her name) from the summer reading list earlier this summer after parents complained about the book’s content.
The coming-of-age novel is the story of a young girl realising she is a lesbian.
Board president Andy Lewis told WBOC 16 the book was removed because there was no process to evaluate it following complaints.
The board cited profanity as the reason for banning the book. Other books on the list, however, also used curse words.
This lead the board to suspend the whole list this week instead of allowing “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” to return to the list.
Vice president of the board Roni Posner was the only person out of seven board members to vote to keep the book on the list.
Posner told WBOC 16 before the vote to abolish the list: “I think it’s a very important book. It’s beautifully written and it tells a wonderful story to which students can relate.
“As I understand it, the main reason that’s been put forth is the language. I’ve reviewed the other books on the list and they all have ‘the language’ in it.
“If we’re going to take this book off the list then we should abolish the entire list, in my opinion.”
The oldest queer bookshop in the US announced it closure in April, citing loss of sales.
In late July, the store announced it would re-open under new ownership.
