One of the constant remarks from people in Iowa when it comes to sexually explicit materials being in school libraries is — “well they’re not in ours.”
First of all, as if that matters. Reality is if they aren’t, they simply aren’t there yet. They will in due time. And once they’re in the library, it’s extremely difficult to get them out.
I’ve also never understood this argument as if lawmakers should only address issues after they happen rather than before. Why wouldn’t we want to take a proactive approach rather than be reactive when we can?
However, and more importantly, it doesn’t matter if these books aren’t in a district. The undeniable fact is they are in multiple school districts across the state and state elected representatives and senators have a duty to pass policy for the entire state, not just their respective district.
This brings us to conservative northwest Iowa. The Hawkeye State doesn’t get any deeper red than it is in this corner of the state. And sure enough, right in Rock Rapids at Central Lyon High School you can find at least a couple of sexually explicit books.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian can be found in the Central Lyon High School library. This book discusses masturbation quite a bit and contains inexplicit sexual nudity, inflammatory racial commentary, references to racism and profanity.
For example…
“I like girls and their curves. And I really like women and their curvier curves. I spend hours in the bathroom with a magazine that has one thousand pictures of naked movie stars: Naked woman + right hand = happy happy joy joy yep, that’s right, I admit that I masturbate, I’m proud of it. I’m good at it. I’m ambidextrous. If there were a Professional Masturbators League, I’d get drafted number one and make millions of dollars. Ad maybe you’re thinking, “Well, you really shouldn’t be talking about masturbation in public.” Well, tough, I’m going to talk about it because EVERYBODY does it. And EVERYBODY likes it. And if God hadn’t wanted us to masturbate, then God wouldn’t have given us thumbs. So I thank God for my thumbs.”
“Did you know that Indians are living proof that niggers fuck buffalo?” I felt like Roger had kicked me in the face. That was the most racist thing I’d ever heard in my life.”
“…And, yea, you need to take that seriously, but you should also read and draw because really good books and cartoons give you a boner.” “You should get a boner! You have to get a boner!”
“The illustration on this page depicts to young men talking to each other. “Did you just say books should give me a boner?” “Yes, I did.” “Are you serious?” “Yeah…Don’t you get excited about books?” “I don’t think you’re supposed to get that excited about books.”
“She was wearing a white shirt and white shorts, and I could see the outlines of her white bra and white panties. Her skin was pale white. Milky white. Cloud white. So she was all white on white on white, like the most perfect kind of vanilla dessert cake you’ve ever seen. I wanted to be her chocolate topping.”
‘She hugged me hard. And I have to admit that it felt pretty dang good. Miss Warren was, like, fifty years old, but she was still pretty hot. She was all skinny and muscular because she jogged all the time. So I sort of, er, physically reacted to her hug. And the thing is, Miss Warren was hugging me so tight that I was pretty sure she could feel my, er, physical reaction. I was kinda proud, you know? …No, I was mostly ashamed of my, er, physical reaction to the hug. Yep, I had a big erection when I heard of my sister’s death. How perverted is that? How inappropriately hormonal can one boy be?”
“All Your Perfects” is also available in the school library. This book contains explicit sexual activities, sexual nudity, profanity, violence including self-harm and controversial religious commentary.
This book wastes little time as this passage is on page two…
“Yeah. He’s inside all right.” He clenches his fist and taps the wall next to the door. “Inside my fucking girlfriend.”
“I’m bothered by the intensity of my desire for him. I want to turn and fill his mouth with my tongue. I miss the taste of him, the smell of him, the sound of him. I miss when he would be on top of me, so consumed by me that it felt like he might tear through my chest just so he could be face-to-face with my heart while we made love. It’s strange how I can miss a person who is still here. It’s strange that I can miss making love to a person I still have sex with.”
“His bed sits low to the floor, so his mouth is dangerously close to my panty line. I swallow when the hand he has wrapped around my leg begins to slide slowly up the back of my thigh. I’m not prepared for the sensation his touch sends through me. I close my eyes and sway a little, steadying myself with two firm hands on his shoulders. I look down at him again, just as he presses his lips against the dress covering my stomach. He holds eye contact with me as he slides his other hand to the back of my other thigh. I’m completely engulfed by my own heartbeat. I feel it everywhere, all at once. Graham begins to bunch my dress up in his hands, little by little, crawling it up my thighs. He slides his hands and the dress up to my waist, then presses his mouth to the top of my thigh. I move my hands to his hair, gasping quietly as his lips move over my panties. Holy shit. I can feel the intense heat from his mouth as he kisses there. It’s a soft kiss, right against the front of my panties, but it doesn’t matter how soft it is. I feel it all the way to my core and it makes me shudder. I clench my fingers in his hair, pressing myself closer to his mouth. His hands are on my ass now, pulling me toward him. The soft kisses begin to turn into firm kisses and before he even has the chance to pull down my panties, a tremor starts to rush through me, unexpected, sudden, explosive. I pull away from him with a whimper, but he pulls me back to his mouth, kissing me there harder until I’m gripping his shoulders, needing his strength to continue standing. My whole body begins to shudder and I struggle to remain quiet and remain upright as the whole bedroom spins around me. My arms are shaking and my legs are weak as his kisses come to a stop. He slides his mouth against my thigh and looks up at me. It takes everything in me to hold eye contact with him as he pushes my dress up a little more and presses a kiss against the, bare skin of my stomach. Graham grips me at the waist. I’m completely out of breath and a little in shock at what just happened. And how fast it happened. And the fact that I want more of him. I want to lower myself on top of him and put this condom to use. As if he can read my mind, Graham says, “How accurate do you think that expiration date is?” I lower myself onto his lap and straddle him, feeling just how serious his question was. I brush my lips across his. “I’m sure the expiration date is just a precaution. Graham grabs the back of my head and dips his tongue inside my mouth, kissing me with a groan. He slips his fingers in my bra and pulls out the condom, then stops kissing me long enough to tear it open with his teeth. He turns me pushing me onto his Star Wars comforter. I hook my thumb inside my panties and slide them off as he unzips his jeans. I’m lying back on the bed as he kneels onto the mattress and puts the condom on. I don’t even get a good look at him before he lowers himself on top of me. He kisses me as he begins to slowly push himself into me. My whole body tenses and I moan. Maybe a little too loudly because he laughs against me mouth. “Shh,” he says against my lips with a smile. “We’re supposed to be touring the house right now. Not each other.” I laugh, but as soon as he begins to push into me again, I hold my breath. “Jesus, Quinn.” He breathes against my neck and then thrusts against me. We’re both a little too loud now. He holds still once he’s inside me, both of us doing our best to stay as quiet as we can. He begins to move, causing me to gasp, but he covers my mouth with his, kissing me deeply. He alternates between kissing me and watching me, doing both things with an intensity I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced. He pauses his lips so that they hover just above mine, occasionally brushing them as we fight to remain silent. He keeps his eyes focused on mine while he moves inside of me. He’s kissing me again when he starts to come. His tongue is deep inside my mouth and the only reason I know he’s about to finish is because he holds his breath and stops moving for a few seconds. It’s so subtle as he fights to remain as quiet as possible.”
[…] Saturday, we told you about a few books found in the Central Lyon High School library. Central Lyon is located in conservative northwest Iowa, but has at least 10 sexually […]