Book bans are a way to censor information that doesn’t fit into a certain narrative or rhetoric. According to National Geographic, the earliest book bans in the United States took place in 1650, when the Massachusetts Bay colonist William Pynchon published a religious pamphlet that differed from the religious norms at the time. Other colonists denounced his writing as heresy and burned them. Later on in the US there were bans on literature that was anti-slavery or anything that was deemed “immoral.”

Today, we see the controversy surrounding reading material in schools and public libraries. The American Library Association noted the top three reasons for book censorship is due to literature containing “sexually explicit” content, “offensive language,” and/or the content is “unsuited for any age group.” Although a CBS poll shows that most Americans reject book bans, PEN America says that most bans are done through smaller organized political groups such as Moms for Liberty.

Most books that are being targeted are written or about minority experiences. According to PEN America’s Index of School Book Ban List, 41% address LGBTQIA+ themes, 40% contain POC protagonists or prominent secondary characters, 22% contain sexual content (ranging from puberty to sexual abuse), and 9% are nonfictional books (biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs)

There is no standard for what is deemed inappropriate for readers, and the rhetoric used to push bans causes hysteria within a community. For instance, in Marion County, Mississippi, the graphic novel series Heartstopper by Alice Oseman was being challenged. The books contain a wholesome romance story between two teenage boys, yet they’re being described as “pornography” and that homosexuality is a sin according to the Bible. This rhetoric not only villainizes literature, but also the authors and characters of these books.

The issue of book banning is still an ongoing problem, and with the pressure of the upcoming election and the threat of Project 2025, this issue is nowhere near being settled. Unfortunately, there will always be people who are trying to censor certain demographics and narratives. However, many libraries and bookstores celebrate Banned Book Week (September 22-28, 2024) in order to raise awareness and encourage reads to read titles they may have otherwise not considered.