Intellectual Freedom and the Young Child

Abstract

Intellectual Freedom and the Young Child Amy McClure Would you let your nine-year-old child read a book that included incidents of adultery, prostitution, racial prejudice, alcoholism and devil worshipping? Most of us would recoil in horror, believing -that nine-year-olds certainly need to be protected from exposure to such sordid subjects. While most agree that older students need exposure to many experiences, perspectives, and opinions, in order to develop maturity and an attitude of critical inquiry, attributes seen as necessary for citizens in a democratic society, the problem is more complex in relation to younger children. Do we, as adults have the right and the responsibility to protect children from what we believe is harmful to them? Or do children of all ages have the right to read anything they need in order to attain intellectual maturity? And where do we draw the line? Are such topics permissible in a classic (such as The Bible, which includes all the topics mentioned above)? Or is a good classic a story which does not encompass "questionable" subjects? Censorship of books read by young children is not new. Motives for such action range from concern for moral and emotional development to religious sentiment and political principles (see previous articles in this series.) Recent attempts seem to focus on "protecting" children from sexual, obscene, racist, and sexist content, and on a book's perceived support for values considered "anti-Christian" and "anti-family." The most common protests are based on objections to sexual content and nudity. Judy Blume's books are a case in point, with Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret a favorite target. Many parents object to children reading about subjects like menstruation and a young girl's developing sexual awareness, both of which this book discusses. Other topics, such as masturbation, voyeurism and premarital sex, discussed by Blume in Deenie, And Then Again, Maybe I Won't, and Forever, are also often considered inappropriate for children and young adolescents. Some object even to implied sexual content. For example, Jean George's Julie of the Wolves was removed from several Ohio school libraries because of a "rape" scene (Julie's "fiancé" chases and catches her, then drags her to the ground: end of chapter). Non-fictional sex education books are also often censored. Show Me! a particularly graphic photographic essay, has been a prime target, but even sex among animals is deemed offensive. Books like My Puppy Is Born, which includes photographs of the actual birth, and Panda, which mentions the "mating" of two animals, have been pulled off library shelves. The censors of sexual content believe that children must be protected from knowledge of these subjects, suggesting that early exposure will inevitably lead to experimentation and immoral attitudes about sex. Their opponents assert that such protection may deny children the very information they need. These issues are of significance and natural interest to pre-adolescents, who will certainly get sex education. The question is, from whom: from peers, from the media or from a book in conjunction with parental discussion? Some adults believe that healthy attitudes can be better formulated over a book than in the back seat of a car. Further, many contend that children will not pick up a book with content beyond their interest or stage of development, simply because it will be boring to them. Objections on the basis of obscenity form another large category. For example, an outcry developed over The Upstairs Room, a novel dealing with the hardships engendered by Hitler's extermination of the Jews, because it contained fourteen swear words. Paterson's funny, irreverent main character in The Great Gilly Hopkins swears profusely, so the novel is kept away from children. A request to remove From the Cherry Tree was initiated because the book contains a character named "S.O.B." Even books which mention bathroom habits are considered obscene. My Special Best Words shows a child sitting on the toilet, and Some Swell Pup pictures a dog urinating. Both are frequently censored. Other books attacked for reasons of obscenity include The Seventeen Gerbils of Class 4A, A Day No Pigs Would Die (which refers to a boy...