In September, Stacy Langton of Fairfax County, Va., complained about books she said contained pornography in her son’s high school library. Now, she has been banned from the school.
Langton told the Washington Examiner that Fairfax High School acting Principal Maureen Keck told her over the phone that she was not allowed to enter the library. Keck claimed that it was a school policy and was indiscriminate and applied to all parents, said Langton.
“So, I asked her to send me the specific policy so I could see it for myself,” Langton added.
According to The Washington Examiner, the policy does not mention restricting visitor access to parts of campus anywhere, provided all visitors sign in at the front entrance and obtain a visitor pass. When Langton recently visited the library, the machine that prints passes was out of order, said the outlet.
During a presentation Sept. 23 at the Fairfax County Public Schools board meeting, Langton said she was inspired to speak out by another mother who complained about books at a school board meeting in Texas. She singled out two books: the young adult novel “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison and the graphic novel “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe.
“I decided to check the titles at my child’s school, Fairfax High School,” said Langton. “The books were available and we checked them out.
Both of these books include pedophilia – sex between men and boys.”
She said that “Lawn Boy” included descriptions of a “a fourth-grade boy performing sex on an adult male,” and “Gender Queer” contained “detailed illustrations of a man having sex with a boy.”
While Langton claims the works contain pedophilia, both Evison and Kobabe deny it.
According to The Washington Post, Evison clarified that “Lawn Boy” has a passage in with “an adult man recalling a sexual encounter he had with another fourth-grader when he was in fourth grade.”
He said that he wished people would read the book before complaining about it and. Evison also said he has received death threats about the book since people began bring it up at school board meetings.
Parents have singled out two images in “Gender Queer” as pedophilia, said The Washington Post.
“One of the images shows the adult author engaging in fellatio with a romantic partner who is also an adult, while the author wears a dildo. The other image shows a sexual fantasy of the author’s — in which an apparently teenage youth is about to engage in fellatio with an older, bearded man,” said the outlet.
Kobabe wrote in a statement that the image is based on an ancient Greek pottery cup that shows “a courting scene” and is on display at a museum in Oxford, England.
Oni Press publisher James Lucas Jones said in a statement that the book is an important resource for students who identify as genderqueer or nonbinary, as well as others hoping to understand what those terms mean.
Both books were pulled from library shelves in the district shortly after the meeting and are pending review. The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to district officials to oppose removal of the books.
“Books for teens often grapple with mature ideas in nuanced ways,” said a statement from the organization. “Far too often, books are banned for particular scenes or passages taken out of the context of the full work.”
“This is not an oversight at Fairfax High School,” said Langton of the books at the September meeting. In a meeting video, it appears that Langton was muted at times during her presentation.
“There are children in the audience here,” said a school board member.
“Do not interrupt my time,” Langton snapped back. She said the books were also available at other local high schools. “Pornography is offensive to all people, it is offensive to common decency,” she said later.
As Langton continued to talk, board members appeared to cut her microphone and call the next speaker. Members of the audience were also heard cheering, though it is unclear who for.
Langton told Fox News that since speaking out publicly -- she was featured in ads for Glenn Youngkin, said The Washington Examiner -- she and her family have received threats. Langton plans to attend the next school board meeting Thursday.
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