The Obscenity of Banning Books

In my high-school freshman English class, I had some of my first serious discussions on difficult but important topics. I recall, for instance, learning about suicide and racism while diving into Romeo and Juliet and To Kill a Mockingbird, respectively. Thoughtfully reading and discussing good books helps students understand important principles for living a good life and managing challenges, preparing them to encounter sensitive topics as adults. Through books, students can learn to empathize with people in situations they’ve never been in and discover heroes they might emulate. For students to develop into independent thinkers and rational adults, they need to learn how to think critically. Among other things, they need to explore the world through art, to understand and analyze new perspectives and ideas, and to expand their worldview accordingly. But students may now miss out on many such opportunities.

In July 2024, Utah, Tennessee, and South Carolina implemented laws banning books that portray or discuss sex.¹ Many use broad language; Utah’s ban includes “material that constitutes pornographic or indecent material.”² Of course, what one considers “indecent” will vary from person to person, but Utah’s initial list includes Judy Blume’s Forever, which is about a teen girl losing her virginity and her first serious relationship.³ South Carolina and Tennessee haven’t yet released lists of what will fall victim to the new laws, but the wording could apply to such classics as 1984—which is already banned in school districts in Pennsylvania and Texas under similar policies.⁴ These laws apply not only to elementary schools but to all government-run schools in these states. A few laws include further restrictions; Tennessee’s, for example, also bans books with “excessive violence.” Another, passed in Idaho, requires that books containing nudity or descriptions of sex be held in separate, adult-only areas in all public libraries, thereby reaching beyond the school system.⁵

These laws are part of a broader trend.⁶ . . .

About Angelica Walker-Werth

Angelica is a fellow at Objective Standard Institute and an assistant editor and writer for The Objective Standard. Her roles at OSI include managing the internship and scholarship programs, course administration and development, and editing On Solid Ground. She writes nonfiction articles and speaks about Objectivism and fiction; you can see her work at walker-werth.com. She is also a voracious reader of fiction in her spare time, and writes about the ideas in fictional works at fictionosophy.substack.com.

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