Banning queer books, in the Middle Ages and today

+ economic growth is slowing – in a good way US Edition - Today's top story: 'Don't Say Gay' rules and book bans might have felt familiar in medieval Europe − but queer themes in literature survived nonetheless [View in browser]( US Edition | 16 May 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Plant-based meat and the culture wars]( - [Austin, Texas, bans windowless college bedrooms]( - [Deep history can inform a sustainable future]( Lead story Growing up, I don’t remember often seeing libraries in the news. They seemed like the kind of public resource everyone could agree on, and librarians were considered just about as far from rabble-rousing as you could get. So much for that. Today, Americans are pushing back against books at an unprecedented rate, especially books with LGBTQ+ characters or themes, which some people consider too inappropriate to sit on school or public library shelves. New or proposed laws in several states have intensified the controversy. Jessica Hines, a scholar of medieval literature and culture, argues that [today’s movement has some similarities to censorship in the Middle Ages](. “Both have been shaped by a sort of ‘Don’t Say Gay’ mindset,” she writes, “an assumption that even seeing or talking about LGBTQ+ themes poses a threat to children and society, regardless of how it’s done.” Hines explains some of the ways medieval writers tried to skirt controversy, such as modifying Greek and Roman tales with gender-bending themes. But she also points out that “records of queer people and their lives from the Middle Ages are more plentiful than many people realize.” Molly Jackson Religion and Ethics Editor Today's newsletter supported by [readers like you.]( Books whose ideas ran afoul of official church doctrine were sometimes cast into the flames – and literature with queer themes was no stranger to scrutiny. Pedro Berruguete/Museo del Prado/Wikimedia Commons [‘Don’t Say Gay’ rules and book bans might have felt familiar in medieval Europe − but queer themes in literature survived nonetheless]( Jessica Hines, Whitman College Medieval writers and clerics condemned queer romance and gender-bending stories − but were often wary of even mentioning the topics. Economy + Business - [Latest inflation figures are good news – even if they give a lot of people heartburn]( Christopher Decker, University of Nebraska Omaha Investors, homebuyers and central bankers all have reason to be irritated by the latest data, and inflation isn’t licked just yet. But the numbers also show reason for optimism. - [Biden’s labor report card: Historian gives ‘Union Joe’ a higher grade than any president since FDR]( Erik Loomis, University of Rhode Island Biden is arguably the most pro-union occupant of the White House since the New Deal. International - [Who is Robert Fico? 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