A Public Library in Halifax has made homophobic statements upon the backlash from the LGBTQ2S+ community in Halifax. The book “Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing our Daughters” displays transphobic thoughts with outdated and inaccurate medical data on transgenders.It also claims that trans identities are a choice and carries hate speech.The library has further upon stated that it is a democratic of citizens to access any book but fails to address the psychologically damaging views that can impact the youth reading it.Rainbow Faith and Freedom concurs with the Halifax Pride in ending transphic assertion.
Amongst the many joining the Halifax Pride, Caramel Farahbakhsh in the article states “I do not want to tell the person who wrote this book that they cannot publish. But I do want to have a community-centered space, taking a stance to protect marginalized voices and say that they’re not going to carry it.” Considering it is a public library and government owned it needs to value the thoughts of the community and create more inclusivity for LGBTQ2S+ community. It is important to carefully consider which books should be kept because while silence on this matter is deemed “freedom for people to write what they want” it empowers a dangerous message and emboldens people with transphobic thoughts to continue suppressing those in marginalized communities.
Psychologically speaking, this book highlights transgendered health issues as mental and behavioural disorders, an incredibly traumatic history of the LGBTQ2S+ community. This is a safety issue for tran and non gender conforming youth as it highlights discrimination at a grassroot level between social services and the medical system. Farahbakhsh states in the article “Something that is incredibly sad for me is that I know a lot of our youth really love the library. It is the space that folks can access for free, there are comfy chairs where you feel like you can be yourself.”Many of such books found in public libraries are not just discouraging for the LGBTQ2S+ youth but any person visiting can be influenced by the weakly researched scripts and embibe inaccurate information.
Evaluation, policy change and reviews need to be made by the Halifax Library, honoring and listening to the pulse of LGBTQ voices. Furthermore a nationwide review of collections in any public libraries should be made annually to make sure to provide inclusivity to all.
Citation:
Hakim, Aya-al. “LGBTQ2 Group Calls Book Transphobic,Boycotts Halifax Public Library for Not Removing It.” Globalnews.ca,2, July,2021, globalnews.ca/news/7905129/halifax-public-library-transphobic-book