Sunday, September 19, 2010

Speak.

Please read Laurie Halse Anderson's blog post concerning her book, Speak, and how an influential person in Missouri is calling the book soft pornography, filthy, and immoral, because of how it depicts rape.


I don't believe in banning books. Not for a curse word. Not for a sex scene. Not for portraying truth.


As you may have figured out by now, I normally leave politics, sex and religion out of my blog. Unless you are a personal friend of mine, you don't know those things about me.


But like Myra McEntire , like Tina Lynn , like Frankie Diane (who's hosting a Speak Giveaway) and so many others, I can't stay quiet.



I haven't read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson , but I can't condone banning a book. Especially when its banning is being called for because of a rape scene.

What this pro-banning person (who I won't name in my blog because I don't want his voice to have more power), what he seems to want, is to keep rape from being described-- to keep it hidden-- and that sends the wrong message to both the survivor and the rapist. Survivors have a right to speak, and everyone, even teens, should have access to those voices.


I am going to the bookstore tomorrow and buying Speak. It's hard for me to read books that deal with issues like rape. I have a survivor family member. I choose to read for escapism and maybe I'll never have the courage to read Speak. But that's the point. It's my choice. And I choose to buy this book.


Others have discussed this so much more thoroughly. I encourage you to not only blog and tweet about Speak, but TALK about it! Let people know, outside of your internet circle, that a rape victim's story should never be silenced. Speak!

4 comments:

  1. It's sick. It truly is. And hearing a man call rape soft porn like it's something to be ashamed of, infuriates me. This sort of view is what keeps girls and boys quiet. Thanks for posting! Love you :)

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  2. Thanks Natalie... I didn't really know what to say, but I felt I had to say something :)

    I agree, Tina, it's sick. I only hope enough people DO something to make sure libraries and schools LISTEN.

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  3. I read on someone else's blog how the book was banned but never was given the reason why. I guess at a public school I can tolerate the community banning as long as it is available at the public library level. (because of limited space and funding schools have) BUT I do feel if people think you can shelter teens from "sex" they are deluding themselves. I never had sex as a teen because of a book, movie or friend glorified it in any way. I had sex as a teen because my body spoke to me in way I'd never experienced and no adult warned me of the downfalls of that experience. Maybe that is inappropriate for me to admit now as an adult but I think hiding behind a false identity of pretending I was innocent is a disservice to the teens today. Now knowing the book is about rape, I have a personal interest to see if the validity of this crime in SPEAK feels accurate or not. I WILL NOT let some small town shut down something that might speak to a young girl on a level her close minded parents might not can handle.

    Thanks for posting this Di.

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