Despite a public apology from the local police chief, the middle school teacher in Great Barrington, Mass. who had her classroom searched last month by a police officer looking for a copy of the award-winning young-adult, trans/nonbinary memoir “Gender Queer,” is calling for an independent investigation into the matter.
Reports Boston.com:
Through her attorney, the teacher sent a letter to town and school officials on Friday requesting an independent investigation into the Dec. 8 incident, “including, without limitation, determining how and by whom a criminal complaint was initiated.”
According to the Great Barrington Police Department, someone visited the local police station on Dec. 8 to express concerns about a copy of “Gender Queer” being made available in a classroom at W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School. They pointed specifically to illustrations depicting two characters engaging in oral sex, according to police.
Officials have not publicly named the complainant, who requested anonymity “for fear of retaliation,” according to a Great Barrington police report. “They are known and identified by us,” Police Chief Paul Storti confirmed in an email to Boston.com.
Author Maia Kobabe’s 2019 illustrated memoir explores an adolescent journey of gender and sexual identity. Amid nationwide book banning efforts that frequently target works by or about LGBTQ+ people, Kobabe’s work has emerged as a flashpoint and was even the most frequently challenged book in the country two years running, according to the American Library Association.
The copy of “Gender Queer” in question was part of the eighth-grade teacher’s classroom collection and wasn’t included in the curriculum, Boston.com reported last month.
Read the complete Boston.com story here.
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