The #MeToo movement brought to light the harassment
and abusive behaviors of many well-known men, including authors. From James
Dashner, a children’s book author who was dropped by his publisher after being accused
of sexual harassment, to young adult author Jay Asher, who was dropped by his
literary agent after accusations of him harassing women came out.
An article by Alexia Underwood (Underwood, 2018),
points out that although some men, such as these two, have suffered consequences
under their publishers, some publishers have written statements about accused
authors they represent and continue publishing their works anyway, or refuse to
acknowledge the situation altogether.
In other workplaces, an act of sexual harassment would
result in firing or severe consequences. Well known, high profile men should
suffer the same consequences in their jobs as they would if they were working
in any other workplace.
The article by Underwood shares, “One issue,
according to Brooke Warner, the publisher of She Writes Press, is that men in
the industry don’t seem to think their behavior is out of line. ‘[They] think
they’re being charming, or flirtatious. It’s not something they would identify
as sexual harassment,’ she told Publishers Weekly” (Underwood, 2018). This is
why consequences are so important. As much as I would love to separate the
author from the work and enjoy what they have written, men in the industry need
to be shown that their behavior is out of line. Bringing it to light and not
letting it pass is the way to make a change.
As important as it is to call out these men and have
consequences for their actions, I know it is difficult to grapple with how to
view their work going forward, especially if you were a fan of it before the allegations
came out. Sherman Alexie, the author of The Absolutely True Diary of a
Part-Time Indian, was accused of sexual harassment. His popular book has
formed ideas for many young people and connected with them. We form attachments
to the authors and works that have impacted us and have shaped how we view the
world.
I think we can still read books like Alexie’s and have conversations around it. This is easier to do with high school and college students. With younger kids, I would hesitate to bring books by controversial authors into their lives. They cannot have nuanced conversations about the author’s life yet. This makes me think about Dr. Suess and the racism in many of his books. I would never read those overtly racist books in storytime, but I have read books of his like Ten Apples Up on Top. Is it okay to read some of his books and not others, to celebrate his birthday, to make crafts based on his books? I'm curious what others' opinions are.
Sources:
Underwood, A. (2020, December 7). The #metoo movement hit the literary world hard
this week. It's not the first time. Vox.
https://www.vox.com/2018/5/10/17323642/metoo-junot-diaz-allegations-nobel-literature-prize
Hi Christina,
ReplyDeleteI like how you gave examples of how you are conflicted with children's books and explained why it is easier to recommend a book to teens or adults if there are controversial authors. I wrote about authors who use fake names to write outside of their usual genre or ethnicity. With children's books I think these subjects are much more sensitive to talk about and not for young children to hear. Do you think there is a way to disconnect the author from the book for them? I know I had my favorite authors growing up, including Dr. Seuss, and I knew about some of them but was oblivious to others. I never knew about Dr. Seuss being racist until I was in high school and did my own research. Do you think in the day and age where kids get on/have devices more that these authors are more well known to them?
Abby Abbott
Your Dr. Seuss reference is timely, since today is his birthday and they have also announced they are discontinuing publication of 6 of his books that have been deemed racist.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think it is not our place as librarians to stand in moral judgement of every author. For one, if we limited our purchasing and recommendations to only authors who are morally faultless, we'd have an empty library. I agree with the New Yorker article from our assignment that unless the author's prejudices, etc., are explicitly mentioned in the text, it's not necessary to know that person's views. So yes, the Dr. Seuss books with racist imagery should be discontinued, but I do not think that invalidates every book he wrote.
I was a huge fan of Sherman Alexie in high school, and it broke my heart to learn about the sexual harassment accusations that came out about him. You're right about it being difficult to read his works now without separating them from his past actions.
ReplyDeleteI actually did my post this week about the Dr. Seuss controversy, and there are so many opinions from librarians about what they will do with his books: remove the six titles from their collection entirely, wait until the books are weeded in accordance with their collection development policy and then not replace them, move them to a special collection, preface them with a warning sticker, do nothing, etc. Personally, I love Would You Rather be a Bullfrog, and I still think I would still recommend that to patrons since it's not one of the offending titles. It's a very complicated issue, and I don't know if there's a correct answer.
I read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian for a class in college. I enjoyed the book and still remember it fondly. However, I had no idea there were sexual harassment allegations against him until I read your post! I had to look it up immediately.
ReplyDeleteThis just makes me think that there are other authors, like actors, directors, and comedians, who have sexually harassed people. We may not even be aware of what some authors have done. It's shocking and scary to think about how prevalent sexual harassment is in so many different industries and the #MeToo movement really brings this issue to light.
Hi Christina!
ReplyDeleteYou bring up an interesting question about whether or not to introduce children to controversial authors. However, as librarians, I believe it is our job to expose kids to all types of books. No matter what we do, we will inadvertently end up offending someone, which is out of our control. We cannot worry about which books will end up being scrutinized next.
You bring up a myriad of great posts and your classmates added to your thoughts. Great post - full points!
ReplyDelete