It's Perfectly Normal

Printed on: Thu, Sep 20, 2007

Let's turn the page on the book police

By Kelvin Wade

A woman from Lewiston, Maine, has seized two copies of a children's sex education book from her local library and refuses to return them, deeming the book "pornographic."

She sent the libraries checks to pay for the books but will not return them lest a child see them. The book in question, Robie Harris' "It's Perfectly Normal," was written in 1994, updated in 2004 and is a frank explanation of sexuality for kids aged ten and up.

Fairfield isn't exempt from this type of controversy. In 2000, a concerned mother objected to books like Isabel Allende's "House of the Spirits" and Mark Mathabane's "Kaffir Boy" being taught at Armijo. And five years ago, articles on teen homosexuality in the Fairfield High newspaper caused outraged parents to form a group to fight the "gay agenda." So I know that even mentioning this may cause a tsunami of outrage from those looking to be offended.

Copies of Robie Harris' book are available throughout the SNAP library system. I had to read the book to see for myself what the fuss was about. After all, this book had the distinction of being the American Library Association's most challenged book in 2005.

My first thought upon seeing the book was how salacious can a book be if it has a blurb from Ann Landers on the cover? "At last . . . a book for young people about sex and reproduction in language they can understand, plus pictures they will enjoy."

To be honest, at first I was taken aback by its explicitness. But I quickly warmed to the book's intelligence. It's our own baggage that makes words like penis and vagina somehow naughty when they're just words that describe body parts like elbow and nose.

The book is illustrated with a lot of nude bodies. Very little is left to the imagination and that is the point of the book. It seeks to give kids the facts.

The amount of information the book conveys is staggering. From puberty to masturbation to sexual intercourse and pregnancy, it covers it all. The book discusses birth control, abstinence, abortion, sexual abuse, sexually transmitted diseases and yes, homosexuality.

The book employs a bird and a bee that have a humorous running dialogue throughout the book, with the bee expressing his discomfort with the topic. Those characters mirror the feelings of preteens and teens who may read this book.

There are parents out there who would love to use this book to discuss matters of sexuality with their children. But I know there are some parents who would be horrified by the openness of the book. That's OK. It's up to parents to instruct their children in the manner they see fit.

That's fine as long as nobody tries to ban the book.

It's a touchy subject. My parents never had "the talk" with me. Unfortunately, Hugh Hefner and Larry Flynt did. I wish I had Robie Harris' book instead of their magazines. (I wouldn't have wished it at the time, but in retrospect . . .)

How about this: I won't make you read it. But don't stop me from reading it. Peace.

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NOTES: This is a topic near and dear to me. I can't stand the thought of the book police. I don't know why some people feel they have the right to decide what people should or shouldn't read. This type of censorship never works. The only time it's acceptable if its a parent limiting what their child reads or sees. What makes people think they have the right to limit what other kids have access to?

This has been a problem in Fairfield, as it is in just about every community. There will always be those who are outraged and offended about something and seek to have it banished. I can understand their offense. Some things are offensive. When I read the book, "American Psycho" I thought it was the most revolting book I've ever read. It is graphically and intensely violent to the Nth degree. It literally had me feeling nauseous while reading it. I wouldn't recommend those with a weak constitution reading it and I certainly wouldn't recommend children reading it. But I'm not going to pull it off the shelves.

The book, "It's Perfectly Normal" is graphic. There are many illustrations but the pictures are done in a cartoon style. Still, they depict boys and girls masturbating, a male putting on a condom and it shows men and women in the act of sex. How else do you describe these things without depicting them? It's not done in a lewd or lascivious manner.

Concerned Women for America is a group that has sought to banish the book. I've read that some think it's pornographic. Some say it's kiddie porn and would appeal to perverts. It's ridiculous. What these people who oppose this book have in mind, all too often, is a religious point of view that homosexuality is wrong and masturbation is wrong. They believe sex outside of marriage is wrong. It's okay to hold those beliefs. This is America. The book even makes the point that some people have those attitudes. But all this book does is present information. Religious parents can instruct their children how they see fit. But the biology of sex and sexuality is the same for fundamentalist Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and Athiests.

This book helps parents by making it easy to talk to kids about sex. It really does a great job, especially with the characters of the bird and the bee. Those characters help make talking aobut this fun and acceptable because they share the child's anxiety. It's very well done. And the information is extensive.

Sure, I was taken aback by the explicitness at first. You don't normally see this. But it's a good resource for parents who want to use it and no one should be able to take that away.