Let’s Chat: Are we OK with censorship?

By Linda Tooth on June 25, 2025.

Are you concerned with the recent news regarding the possible censorship of books available to young people within school libraries in Alberta? According to the Oxford Language Dictionary, censorship is defined as “the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable or a threat to security.”

Censorship of books is not something new. History tells us that censorship began in China around 210 B.C. when Chinese emperor Shih burned all but one copy of every book in his kingdom.

As we move through history, books such as the Bible, the History of the World, Shakespeare’s King Lear, Origin of Species, Huckleberry Finn, the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the Tale of Peter Rabbit, the Diary of Anne Frank, Alice in Wonderland, Mickey Mouse comics in East Berlin, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, the Handmaids Tale and Harry Potter’s series of books were all banned at some point in various locations around the world. As I read through the list of suppressed and burned books on the website Freedom to Read, the biggest issue I see is fear. Fear of the unknown.

There are four books mentioned by the UCP government that have the potential to lead this province into censorship and banning of materials within school libraries. Those books are Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, Blankets by Craig Thompson and Flamer by Mike Curato.

All of these books represent stories of those in the LGBTQIA2S+ population. We know those in the LGBTQIA2S+ communities have been in the news a lot lately with the UCP’s attempt to control how transgender individuals can access the treatments they need to live the lives they want. I have to wonder if this is the government’s attempt to deny their stories being told.

Kobabe’s graphic novel Gender Queer is the winner of the 2020 Alex Award from the American Library Association as a novel that appeals to young adults.

According to The Associated Press “conservative organizations” have said parents should be able to choose what books are available for their children, and Florida and Texas (both conservative states) have banned this book. Bechdel’s Fun Home memoir was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award and the Book Sense Book of the Year Award. It has also been banned by the conservative state of Missouri.

As I am unfamiliar with these novels, I ordered them, and so far have received the first two mentioned above. I will read these graphic novels and report back next week on my feelings about them.

But I would like to draw you back to the definition of censorship. Are these novels politically unacceptable in this conservative province?

Have a Meowtastic Day and keep reading!

Linda Tooth is a part-time communications instructor at Medicine Hat College

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