Over the last couple of weeks, we have highlighted a number of books being offered by bookmobiles in Iowa City and Ames. We had a reader ask if this is only happening in larger cities.
With bookmobiles, yes, because bookmobiles do not seem to exist in smaller towns. However, small-town libraries are still stocking wildly inappropriate books. For instance, we told you about Orange City featuring a book called “Not He or She, I’m Me.”
A number of Iowa libraries are stocking a book called “This Book Is Gay.” The list of libraries where that book is listed in the collection includes Britt, Oelwein, Washington, and Sheldon.
This book is shelved mostly for “teens” throughout these Iowa libraries. The book asks the question why the gay scene is “so druggie?” The answer doesn’t deny the gay scene is drugie, it just says “clubbing and recreational drug use go hand in hand.”
The book delves into “chemsex,” which is where people mix drugs and sex. Kids are told about using apps to meet others.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if, in a couple of years, we can download the idea of sex so convincingly that we won’t have to bother with the messy bodily fluids and pesky emotional stuff at all…
“You may come to establish that gay and bi men in particular do seem to quite like sex. OK, nearly everyone likes sex, but gay guys really seem to have cornered the market.”
It’s fine, the book says, as long as you always use a condom.
The book includes a step-by-step process for “sex apps.”
- Upload a tiny pic of yourself
- App works out your location
- App tells you who the nearest homosexuals are
- You chat to them
- Because they are near, it is easy to meet up with them
If you’re “looking for the ubiquitous “fun,” teens are told to “be upfront about it and then no one’s feelings are going to get hurt.”
The book includes a “debate” on sex apps — the good and the bad. The good? You can get what you want quickly. It’s easy. It isn’t complicated. The bad? You find the same people. Teens are literally told:
“If people want casual sex, then something like Grindr is a must…”
The bad? Maybe the risk of meeting people off the internet…No. The bad is the men tend to be shallow and someone knew someone who got gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis from someone he met on Grindr. Finally one person notes they believe the apps are unsafe, but they give no reasons why.
After promoting the sex apps, then teens are warned about the risks. But even after noting the very real risks, the next page is full of “sex app tips,” such as…
*Include a picture of yourself
*Give your age, weight, height or people assume you’re old, fat and ugly
*If you’re “THAT HORNY that you want to do a ‘sex meet,’ meet the ‘trick’ in a public place for a drink first.” Teens are told this is much, MUCH safer to do before letting them into their house.
It gets worse. Chapter nine is titled “The Ins and Outs of Gay Sex.”
Consider this a “reader warning.” Only proceed if you can stomach some pretty messed up stuff. There will be pictures.
The chapter opens with a disclaimer warning it is about sex so younger readers who don’t feel ready for the “finer details” can skip the chapter. But it immediately says:
“Before you do, I’d like to remind you that we taught you all about straight sex when you were ELEVEN YEARS OLD during sixth grade. The fact that they didn’t also teach you what same-sex couples do is nothing less than institutionalized homophobia…This chapter is simply all the stuff teachers SHOULD be saying if they want to be inclusive of people with same-sex feelings.”
Buckle up, folks.
Did you know many LGBTQ+ people lose their virginity twice — once with each gender.
Teens are told a couple of stories about people losing their virginity at the ripe age of 16. One of those stories is about a 16-year-old hanging out a guitar shop near their house.
“The owner was older and married.”
This is the kid’s 16th birthday. Owner was “older and married.” Got it.
“As the morning went on we got more and more tactile until we were rubbing our crotches against each other. We managed to stop short of getting our knobs out in the shop, and he suggested that I come round to his house the next day on his day off when his wife would be at work to help him ‘wash his car.’ When I arrived, the car had already been washed, though it took us both a couple of hours to muster up the courage to do anything.”
They carried on seeing each other for a few months.
Things reach a new level of weird here… (This character is not edited in the book)
Two men, teens are told, “can pleasure each other in a variety of fun ways.”
“Perhaps the most important skill you will master as a gay or bi man is the timeless classic, the hand job. The good news is, you can practice on yourself. The bad news is, each guy has become very used to his own way of getting himself off. Learning how to find a partner’s personal style can take ages, but it can be very rewarding when you do.”
The book then tells the teens:
“Something they don’t teach you in school is that, in order to be able to cum at all, you or your partner may need to finish off with a handie. A lot of people find it hard to cum through other types of sex. This is fine, and certainly not something you have to apologize for.”
Teens are then told a “GOOD HANDIE” is all about wrist action.
“Rub the head of his cock back and forth with your hand. Try different speeds and pressures until he responds positively. A BAD HANDIE is grasping a penis and shaking it like a ketchup bottle.”
Oral sex is next, but that section is called “blowies.”
“Oral sex is popping another dude’s peen in your mouth, or indeed, popping yours in his. There is only one hard and fast rule when it comes to blow jobs — WATCH THE TEETH. Lips and tongue, yes; teeth, NO.”
That’s what the book tells teens.
Then it gets strange as the book talks about “bumming.”
“It is a universal truth that many men like sticking their willies inside things. I suspect it must be biological. Well, in the absence of a vagina, gay and bi men make excellent use of the back door…Wanna know a secret? Straight people have anal sex all the time too. Another one? Straight men like stuff up their bums just as much as gay ones.”
And the book tells teens how to “prepare.” I’m not going to type those instructions. But there is like three pages worth. Teens are told all about lube and they can get it free with condoms from gay bars, doctors and clinics or buy it pretty much anywhere.
Fair warning, here is the image used for girl-on-girl sex: (This image is not edited in the book as it is here)
Teens are told about fingers, oral and toys and strap-ons. The rest of the section is pretty vulgar and obscene.
Teens are then told about trans sex.
Once teens get past all of that, there is a section on the “promiscuity” of gay men. The author doesn’t attempt to deny it.
“In my survey, ONLY gay men reported having more than 20 partners in their lifetime, with several reporting they had had sex with more than 100. This is not meant to be shocking. It is simply a fact.”
One of the norms of the gay scene, the author writes, is promiscuity. After warning teens about the many STIs that could result from sexual activity, there’s a section on “saunas and sex parties.”
“As this is a guide to ALL things gay, it would be wrong of me not to mention the things most brochures would gloss over. In big cities all around the world, there are places that cater to gay men’s seeming obsession with sex.”
Saunas or “bath houses,” are “perfectly legal,” the book tells kids.
“People pay some money to enter and then have a bit of a sauna and some random sex. Again, this is fine as long as you’re safe.”
The book lists pros and cons of both monogamy and promiscuity. And I’m not sure it tries to seriously present “cons” of promiscuity:
*Loneliness
*Sitting at the freak table at weddings
And this leads to teens being told about open relationships, of course. The teens are presented with what the book says is “one universal truth of the universe:
“We all want to have sex with loads of people.”
And there are suggested or common rules for these open relationships presented to teens.
We’re almost done. But there are a couple more parts of the book I want to make sure teachers and school administrators and librarians and anyone else who may defend this book being in school libraries are aware of:
It says the BEST parent in the world is one who prepares for having a gay child from conception so they don’t “incorrectly” rag them as straight and cisgender.
OK, so those teachers and school administrators and librarians may not see a problem with that statement, but surely they don’t think kids need to know these words and definitions, which are listed in the back of the book:
*Glory hole: A hole in a wall or partition through which a man pokes his peenie.
*Rimming: Licking the bottom.
*Scat: Eating poop.
*Scissor sisters: A sexual position for two women OR an early 2000s electropop band.
*Water sports/golden shower: Peeing on people in a way considered sexy.
I know reading about the contents of this book is at least slightly disturbing for most of you — who are adults. I cannot imagine what it would be like for teens.
Earlier in the book kids are told just because LGBTQ’ers are in the minority doesn’t mean they’re not normal.
“People with blue eyes are in the minority too, but we don’t think of them as abnormal, do we?” it asks.
Kids are told there are three options for people with same-sex “sexthoughts.” And basically ignoring those thoughts is option one.
“But I think these people are probably very sad and angry. I also think a lot of crazy homophobes are lingering perilously close to option one, and this is what makes them so hateful.”
Option two exists, which more people choose.
“You can totally have sex with people who are the same gender as you and not be “gay” or “lesbian” or “bi.”
Option three allows people to be “out and proud and open about their relationships or gender.”
“You have very little choice about your sexual preferences or gender, but only you get to define yourself. Living with stress and secrets is stressful.”
Kids are told “we all CONSIDER sex with both men and women.”
“Why wouldn’t we? We’re surrounded by sexy images in magazines and on TV. People who say they haven’t thought about it are probably liars. Therefore, it’s all about what we prefer sexually. We need to be open-minded at all times,” the book tells kids.
Sexual preference and gender are also fluid, kids are told — meaning they can feel one way now and another way later.
“In fact, when this book was first published, I was a gay man,” the author wrote. “Now I’m a trans woman! That’s just the way it goes, ain’t it.”
Kids are told the following about being “curious” or “questioning:”
“All young people should spend time thinking about desire. I think everyone would be a lot happier if they took a few weeks to dwell on what does it for them. It’d resolve a lot of tension and grief.”
Just like when it compared LGBTQ identities to people who have blue eyes, it compares things you might not think you’d like to food you might not think you’d like.
“I wouldn’t eat prawns until I was 18 — the mere idea of them freaked me out. But then I tried them and it turns out they’re DELISH.”
Transgender is defined as an umbrella term for all people who experiment with or move between genders.
Transsexual is a person who feels they were born into the wrong gender.
Transvestite is a cross-dresser who enjoys wearing clothes traditionally assigned to the opposite sex, mostly for fun.
And a drag queen/king is a “performance cross-dresser.”
“Advertisers would like us to believe that being female somehow feels different to being male, but we will never really know,” the book says.
“It sometimes seems bonkers to me to think that a dude would have to be ‘trans’ to put on a skirt or some heels,” the book continues. “Sadly, as most of the world is blind to how small-minded this is, that’s the way the cookie crumbles. For now.”
Mental gymnastics is required to follow the next part — that people choose separate identities for both gender and sexuality.
The author used to identify as a gay man, but is now a straight trans woman.
Kids are told LGBTQ+ people do not choose to be LGBTQ+, but “homophobes and transphobes” who are bigoted choose to hate.
The author writes that they hope they have “sold” the LGBTQ+ thing pretty well.
“I mean, it does sound brilliant, doesn’t it? You get to dress how you like and make out with whomever you want. It’s hip and trendy.”
Here is a list of libraries the book is available in, according to a statewide database:
Ames Public Library (Ames)
Bettendorf Public Library Information Center (Bettendorf)
Bondurant Community Library (Bondurant)
Britt Public Library (Britt)
Kirkwood Community College Library (Cedar Rapids)
Coralville Public Library (Coralville)
Council Bluffs Public Library (Council Bluffs)
Southwestern Community College Library – Creston (Creston)
Des Moines Public Library (Des Moines)
Ruth Suckow Memorial Library (Earlville)
Scott County Library System (Eldridge)
University of Iowa Libraries (Iowa City)
Robert W. Barlow Memorial Library (Iowa Falls)
Southeastern Community College – Keokuk – Fred Karre Memorial Library (Keokuk)
Marshalltown Public Library (Marshalltown)
Mason City Public Library (Mason City)
Newton Public Library (Newton)A
Osceola Public Library (Osceola)
Rippey Public Library (Rippey)
Washington Free Public Library (Washington)
Waverly Public Library (Waverly)
Kendall Young Library (Webster City)
West Branch Public Library (West Branch)
West Des Moines Public Library (West Des Moines)
West Liberty Public Library (West Liberty)
Winterset Public Library (Winterset)
Adel Public Library (Adel)
Altoona Public Library (Altoona)
Clive Public Library (Clive)
Iowa State University – Parks Library (Ames)
Dubuque County Library – Asbury Branch (Asbury)
Scott Community College (Bettendorf)
Cambridge Memorial Library (Cambridge)
Cedar Rapids Public Library (Cedar Rapids)
Center Point Public Library (Center Point)
Lied Public Library – Clarinda (Clarinda)
Council Bluffs Public Library (Council Bluffs)
Cresco Public Library (Cresco)
Davenport Public Library (Davenport)
Des Moines Public Library (Des Moines)
Ely Public Library (Ely)
Drake Community Library (Grinnell)
Iowa City Public Library (Iowa City)
Jesup Public Library (Jesup)
Marion Public Library (Marion)
Nevada Public Library (Nevada)
Oelwein Public Library (Oelwein)
Indian Hills Community College Library – Ottumwa (Ottumwa)
Sheldon Public Library (Sheldon)
Solon Public Library (Solon)
Storm Lake Public Library (Storm Lake)
Waterloo Public Library (Waterloo)
Waukee Public Library (Waukee)
