Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth (illus.)
This episode we learn about sex and how people get so weird about their bits and bobs and why that matters.
Banned
Number 6 on the Top Ten Challenged and Banned for 2017.
2018 - Alabama - The Athens-Limestone Public Library included the book on a display in a social media post. Outrage led to the book being taken from the display and relocated to the juvenile nonfiction section.
Missouri - Claudette Riley, a journalist in Springfield, Missouri, discovered that the book was challenged for sex education, among 36 censorship incidents in the state since 2014 for various reasons.
Challenged, banned, and relocated for LGBTQIA+ content, for discussing gender identity and sex education, and for concerns that the title and illustrations were “inappropriate.”
Sources
American Library Association Office of Intellectual Freedom. "Top 10 for 2017." ALA. 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2021 from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10#2017
Gomez, Betsy. "Banned Spotlight: Sex is a Funny Word." Bannedbooksweek.org. 2018. Retrieved February 12, 2021 from https://bannedbooksweek.org/banned-spotlight-sex-is-a-funny-word/
Gomez, Betsy. "Journalist Uncovers Censorship Attempts in Missouri Schools and Libraries." Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. 2018. Retrieved February 12, 2021 from http://cbldf.org/2018/02/journalist-uncovers-censorship-attempts-in-missouri-schools-and-libraries/
Lambiek. "Fiona Smyth." Lambiek.net. 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2021 from https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/smyth-fiona.htm
Marshall Libraries. "Banned Books 2020 - Sex is a Funny Word." Marshall University. 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2021 from https://www.marshall.edu/library/bannedbooks/sex-is-a-funny-word/#:~:text=Challenged%2C%20banned%2C%20and%20relocated%20for,and%20illustrations%20were%20%E2%80%9Cinappropriate.%E2%80%9D
Penguin Random House. "There's a Book for That: Banned Books Week." Penguin Random House. 2018. Retrieved February 12, 2021 from https://global.penguinrandomhouse.com/announcements/theres-a-book-for-that-banned-books-week-2/
Silverberg, Cory. "About Cory." corysilverberg.com. Retrieved February 12, 2021 from https://www.corysilverberg.com/about
Silverberg, Cory and Fiona Smyth (illus.). "Sex is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and YOU." Triangle Square. New York, 2015.
Silverberg, Cory. "Why White Parents Need To Talk To Their Kids About Racism." CBC, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2021 from https://www.cbc.ca/parents/learning/view/why-white-parents-need-to-talk-to-their-kids-about-racism
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"Dances and Dames." Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
