GLBTRT Newsletter
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GLBTRT Newsletter A publication of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered Round Table of the American Library Association http://www.ala.org/glbtrt Reviews (Pages 5 -17): Films Vol. 23, No. 1 ◊ Spring 2011 Bullied David’s Birthday Eyes Wide Open GLBTRT Updates Name—Changes Four Faced Liar ―Transgendered‖ to ―Transgender‖ Gay Revolt at Denver City Council And Then Came Lola You may have noticed a new logo on the transgender community and better reflect Newsletter! The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and the GLBT community. Children’s Transgendered Round Table (GLBTRT) is now the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender ―The Round Table decided to make this The Family Book Round Table, to reflect the preferred change so there would be consistency Sometimes the Spoon terminology of the transgender community. between the name of the round table and commonly used language,‖ said ALA Co- Runs Away with The name change was approved during the Chairs Anne Moore and Dale McNeill in a another Spoon American Library Association’s Midwinter statement explaining the change. ―From Non-Fiction Meeting in San Diego. By changing the outside the community, this change may previously-used ―transgendered‖ to seem like a minor detail, but GLBT Bulldaggers ―transgender‖ in its title, GLBTRT’s membership communities have long been attuned to the seeks to bring the round table’s name in line power and implications of labeling.‖ Gay Bar with the language preference of the Say, Straight and the Reason Why Great Answers to Hard The Williams Institute Releases Research Questions about Sex on GLBT Population Life, Leather and the Pursuit of Happiness A leading think tank dedicated to the field of sexual orientation and gender Obama and the Gays identity-related law and public policy, released new research that estimates Polaroids the size of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in The Principal’s the United States. Challenge Drawing on information from four recent national and two state-level popu- Queer (In)Justice lation-based surveys, the analyses suggest that there are more than eight Queer TV million adults in the US who are lesbian, gay, or bisexual, comprising 3.5% of the adult popula- tion. There are also nearly 700,000 transgender individuals in the US. In total, the study suggests Tomorrow May Be Too that approximately nine million Americans - roughly the population of New Jersey - identify as Late LGBT. The study is available at http://www2.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/pdf/How-many-people- Fiction are-LGBT-Final.pdf Bob the Book By Nightfall Disturbed by her Song Foxe Tail Deadlines for the newsletter for the next year will be: Missed Her Missouri Summer 2011 June 8, 2011 Fall 2011 August 31, 2011 Operation Winter 2011 November 31, 2011 Spring 2012 March 20, 2012 Thunderspell Shirtlifter Please try to get your reports, articles, book reviews, etc. in by these dates or let us know if there will be a short delay so room The Wolf at The Door can be saved for them in the newsletter. Page 2 Volume 23 Number 1 Kid Stuff About young readers for people who care Last year, Kentucky high school freshman Although she has a girlfriend, she Cheryl Rainfield’s Scars (Westside Books): Brent hit national news when he wrote questions what a relationship with a male a girl who cuts because of childhood about not finding gay books in the school would be like and decides to explore the sexual abuse finds support from another or public library. Eventually he did locate possibility. Honest and witty, Pink doesn’t lesbian and their art teacher. them at the bookstores. It’s time for dodge from the problems of searching for librarians to catch up in diversifying an identity. Julie Anne Peters’ Far from Xanadu (Little, materials with LGBTQ books. Fortunately, Brown): a small-town butch lesbian woos GLBTRT now provides two services This year’s Stonewall the new—and straight—girl in town. support these librarians: the ALA Rainbow winner, Brian Katcher’s Project (http:// Almost Perfect Rigoberto González’s The Mariposa Club rainbowlist.wordpress.com/) and the (Delacorte), delves into (Alyson): Four racially diverse gay friends Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult another YA problem— form a Gay/Straight Alliance in a small- Award (http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/ that of transgender, this town high school. rts/glbtrt/stonewall/honored/index.cfm). time through the boy The 2011 Rainbow LGBTQ bibliography for who falls for beautiful Bill Konigsberg Out of the Pocket (Dutton): young readers, released in January 2011, Sage and breaks down a gay football player is outed in the school was its fourth; the 2011 Stonewall award the wall between them newspaper. was its second. before he discovers that she was born biologically male. From a James Howes’ Totally Joe (Ginee Seo Librarians familiar with the titles cited by straight author comes a direct book about Books): a 13-year-old boy comes out in these two groups already understand the the pain and growth resulting from his alphabiography assignment—the story importance of presenting LGBTQ people in developing greater understanding. of his life from A to Z. a realistic and prominent manner, whether in fiction or nonfiction. But every So many books—so little space! Following LGBTQ kids know they belong when they year new librarians and are other books that should be in all read about selecting a college and thriving paraprofessionals—sometimes clerks—are libraries for young people: in this community. Although somewhat responsible for book selection. Knowledge dated (2008), John Baez’s The Gay and about the resources cited above must be James St. James’ Freak Show (Dutton): Lesbian Guide to College Life (Princeton communicated to these and other an over-the-top drag queen faces brutal Review) seems to be the newest one on librarians if they are to make the LGBTQ homophobia at a very wealthy the market and provides lots of world visible. conservative school. information on financing, the right school, being out or not, dealing with The continual threat of school bullying Mayra Lazara Dole, Down to the Bone GLBTQphobia, etc. was highlighted in a recent White House (HarperTeen): in a hilarious debut novel, conference by President Barack Obama a 16-year-old Latina, Kicked out of school Dan Savage’s project ‖It Gets Better,‖ and his wife, Michelle. Nine out of ten and home for being a lesbian, faces her videos from successful LGBTQ people, is LGBTQ students have experienced prejudices about her culture. designed to keep young people alive. From harassment at school, and they are Dutton comes a book expanding on this bullied two to three times as much as Dale Peck’s Sprout, or My Salad Days, website, a collection of essays and new straight—or straight-appearing—teens. As When I Was Green in Judgment material from celebrities, everyday people, people dealing with young people struggle (Bloomsbury): a green-haired boy in and teens, showing LGBTQ youth the to find answers for this plague, they can conservative Kansas preps for the state happiness, potential, and positivity their help by providing LGBTQ experiences to essay contest and falls in love with the lives will reach if they get through their all young readers with books. intriguing new boy at school. teen years. Savage is scheduled to be the ALA Annual Conference Opening General In Lili Wiklkinson’s Pink (HarperTeen), my Mark Hardy’s Nothing Pink (Front Street): Session speaker on Friday, June 24 at favorite LGBTQ book thus far this year, 16 the gay son of a Pentacostal preacher 4:00 pm. -year-old Ava is probably the first fights his torments and impulses until he bisexual protagonist in YA fiction. meets a more accepting church friend. We mourn the passing of Perry Moore on February 17, 2011, at the age of 39. Author of Lambda GLBTRT Newsletter (ISSN 1533-7219) is an official publication of the Gay, Les- Award winning Hero bian, Bisexual, Transgendered Round Table of the American Library Association. It (Hyperion), he showed appears quarterly in March, June, September, and January. great promise with this debut novel about a American Library Association teenage gay superhero: 50 E. Huron St., we will miss reading Chicago, IL 60611 future books from him. Letters to the editor, correspondence to the above address care of: Sarah E. Wright —Nel Ward ([email protected]) GLBTRT Newsletter Editor [email protected] Volume 23, Number 1 Page 3 Neutrality = Silence An aspect of librarianship that is with- targeted for elimination, which were world and in the United States, historical, out fail emphasized in library school is mainly ethnic minorities; these same political, and cultural figures important to neutrality. Librarians are taught to col- records later served to convict several in our community, influential cultural and lect material that reflects all aspects of power of crimes against humanity and political movements, and a wide range of an issue in order to be impartial. Fur- war crimes. other topics. Every month I put together a thermore, librarians are also taught to display that highlights certain subtopics in not take sides on a political issue in One does not need to look outside of the our collection in order to bring visibility to order to not alienate individuals in their United States to see evidence of people various groups that are especially misun- patron base. However, by their very trying to eliminate the visibility of a derstood or underrepresented within our nature, libraries are inherently political. group. For example, using razor blades, community and in society at large. These This is especially true when the library a John Perkyns defaced a total of 607 include displays on intersexuality, transgen- collection deals with marginalized books he perceived to be LGBT-related at derism, asexuality, queer people of color, groups, groups that mainstream society the San Francisco Public Library.