'Explicit' Sex Claims ‘Exaggerated,’ Black and LGBTQ+ Characters Overwhelmingly Targeted, New Book Ban Analysis Finds

Mar. 15, 2025

A stack of books in a Frankfurt, Germany, bookstore.Photo:Frank Rumpenhorst/picture alliance via Getty

Frank Rumpenhorst/picture alliance via Getty

Anew PEN America analysisof books banned during the 2023-2024 school year shows which stories were disproportionately removed from shelves.On Feb. 27, the nonprofit organization, which raises awareness about book censorship in the United States, analyzed the 4,218 unique titles banned in the country’s public schools during the 2023-2024 school year. PEN America documented 10,046 instances of book bans in total,marking a 200% increasefrom the previous school year.Per the analysis, 1,534 (36%) of banned unique titles featured real people or fictional characters of color. Of the nonfiction books banned, including historical titles and biographies, 44% featured people of color, with 26% of these titles specifically centering Black people.

Stock image of a pile of books.Getty

Getty

PEN America also found that 29% of total banned titles during the school year featured LGBTQ+ people, characters or themes. And 28% of banned titles about the LGBTQ+ community specifically featured transgender and/or genderqueer characters, with more than half of banned LGBTQ+ books featuring communities of color.The analysis also examined books featuring sexual experiences, noting that book ban proponents often label stories with consensual sexual experiences as “explicit.” The organization found that out of the 4,218 unique titles banned, 31% referenced sexual experiences, but with minimal detail. Additionally, only 13% of all titles described sexual experiences “on the page,” with PEN America calling proponents’ rhetoric “exaggerated.”

“This targeted censorship amounts to a harmful assault on historically marginalized and underrepresented populations — a dangerous effort to erase their stories, achievements and history from schools,” said Sabrina Baêta, senior manager of PEN America’s Freedom to Read program.

Per the analysis, 20% of all banned titles were centered on race and racism, while 15% were about social movements and activism, 13% about policing and incarceration and 7% about immigrant and refugee stories. Books featuring topics like death, grief, abuse, violence and mental health issues were also reported to be banned at a higher level.

source: people.com