Genre Queer by Maia Kobabe is threatened with censorship in Australia

Originally published in 2019, Gender queerDrawn Autobiography tells the personal story of non-binary Maya Kobe as it explores her journey to discover and understand her gender identity.

The album covers themes such as Strange experienceNon-binary and asexual, while sharing Copebe’s personal struggles, triumphs and reflections.

declared as ” attack »

In March 2023, an email was sent to the bookstoreAustralian Classification Board, an Australian government body specifying appropriate audience categories for films, video games and other works. Recalls copies of the message Gender queer, for the purpose of studying its classification. Indeed, the header was flagged as dangerous.

The recall forces the store to withdraw the works from sale pending examination by the Council for Classification. From there, three solutions are available to the seller. He may, in the first instance, approach the publisher or local distributor of the title. However, in the case Gender queerNo local supplier: Kinokuniya, by importing the same, becomes a “publisher”.

In the second case, he may honor the complainant’s request, or withdraw it Gender queer Selling and writing shares.

But the bookstore prefers a third option, which is to pay an application fee of $560 (approximately €340) to have the title examined by the Australian Classification Council.

The establishment thus decides to pay for the determination Status of work. A few weeks later, on April 4, Kinogunia received good news: the booksellers explained that the title could be sold without restriction. A publication.

Back to the beginning

There is only one complainant Appeal the decision The Council is the same person who initiated the withdrawal.

The bookstore appeals to its users and others on the following terms: If you think it’s important for people to reach out Gender queerYou can submit your own proposal to the Australian Classification Board without restriction.»

It is one of the most contested and banned books in the United States today, and the conservative challenge to it in Australia should ring alarm bells and make us more vigilant. 

— Kinogunia

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The Classification Review Board will meet on May 29, 2023 To review the application. As a reminder, Gender queer Classifiedunhindered On April 3, 2023 the same classification may be sold to all customers by the Board. However, the company added a statement to consumers saying “M – Not recommended for readers under 15“.

Photo credit: Danny Xu (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)