Conservative group Family Voice Australia are calling on the Albanese government to sack the entire team at the Australian Classification Board.
The call comes in the wake of a disastrous campaign spearheaded by Conservative commentator Bernard Gaynor and anti-transgender organisation Binary Australia who unsuccessfully pushed for author Maia Kobabe’s memoir Gender Queer to be banned in Australia.
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Author Maia Kobabe’s 2019 graphic memoir recounts their journey from adolescence to adulthood, and the author’s exploration of gender identity and sexuality, ultimately identifying as being outside the gender binary.
The book is aimed at young adult and tackles topics including gender euphoria and dysphoria, and asexuality. In 2020 it was the recipient of an Alex Award from the American Library Association which sparked a wave of interest in the book which saw it being added to many library shelves.
The book has become a target for conservative activists who argue that the work is pornographic due to a select number of images in the book. Kobabe has urged those who have concerns about the book to read it in its entirety rather than getting upset over a small number of images.
While Gaynor reported the book to Queensland police and stage protests outside his local library, the Classification Council reviewed the book and said it only required a guidance note saying it was suitable for readers of 15 years of age and older.
In an email to subscribers Family Voice Australia says the entire board need to be replaced immediately.
“It should protect children from exposure to harmful material, but is failing miserably in its duty and should be sacked.” said National Director Peter Downie. “The board should consist of ordinary Australians who are prepared to protect children and teenagers from confusing, explicit and harmful material.”
In the email Downie declares the book is “widely banned in the United States of America.”, but while the book has been widely debated by conservative politicians in the USA claims of widespread bans are a big stretch.
In June 2022 Virginian politicians Tim Anderson and Tommy Altman filed a lawsuit against the publisher of book and author Maia Kobabe citing an obscure state obscenity law. The case was dismissed with the judge declaring the law quoted was unconstitutional.
An independent School Board in Texas, that covers just under 7,000 students, introduced a ban on a wide range of books that mention sexuality and gender. Among the 850 books listed for banning was Gender Queer.
The ban is the subject of an investigation by the US Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights, who are concerned that the School Board has violated US federal laws. The list of books banned by the district included many works by queer authors and also Black writers. Works that cover reproductive health, abortion, sexuality, intersex conditions and racism make up the majority of the list.
Garrard Conley’s memoir Boy Erased which documents his experiences of religious based conversion therapy is among the banned works, as well as a biography about politician Harvey Milk, John Green’s Will Grayson, Will Grayson and Geoffrey Eugenides Pulitzer Prize winning 2002 novel Middlesex.
The Australian Classification Board is made up of a Director, Deputy Director and three other board members. There are also several temporary board members who assist in the board’s decision-making process. Members are appointed by the government for three-to-four-year terms.
OIP Staff
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