Katie's comments (member since Apr 25, 2008)

Katie's comments from the Banned Books group.

Kat- I agree completely.

My guess on why Sleeping Beauty is banned: homosexual content and/or magic

In a recent class my professor made a far-out but interesting argument that sleeping beauty warns girls away from lesbian activities. A girl her age should not be alone with any non-family member so being alone with the old women spinning in the tower was seen as a sexual transgression with another woman. Also she gets "pricked" by the woman. Not to mention that the woman is of a different class than sleeping beauty. My professor went into far more detail but that's the gist of it. Honestly I think you really have to be reaching to read it this way but that seems to be the story on how a lot of books get banned.
My other guess is the fact that there is magic within the fairy tale. That seems to very often get books banned.

One of the reasons I enjoy reading banned books so much is because so often the fact that they are banned shocks me. I read Of Mice and Men for the first time a few months ago (I have no idea how I didn't have to read it in high school) and thought it was one of the best books I have ever read. As the sister of a mentally handicapped man I have no problem with Steinbeck's portrayal of Lenny, in fact I found it touching. I think going nuts over it is being overly sensitive and perhaps a priority check should occur. I fully plan on teaching this book to my students and expect any conversations about the suitability of the portrayal of the mentally handicapped to be very interesting...

Catcher in the Rye has been banned multiple times for various reasons, one of which being the sexuality within, also the language. In fact, the ALA website has it listed as number 13 on the list of books most frequently challenged. This is an interesting book to read, especially since I've found many of my favorite books among the top numbers.