The School Librarian

"Once you see it, you can't unsee it"

I’m a school librarian in a major UK city and I wanted to write to you about what is going on inside education at the moment. The final straw for me came when I received an email from the (US) School Library Journal about their trans and NB spotlight with the line “J.K. Rowling’s recent transphobic tirades on social media”. And check out the line-up on the Zoom panel!

Enough is enough.

I will admit that several years ago I was pretty full-on with my alphabet-soup allyship and then I got peaked by Mumsnet when I had my children. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. 

My issue is with how the indoctrination has seeped into books and materials unchecked. Last year I read the book “Nothing Ever Happens Here” written from the POV of a young girl about her father transitioning and it was utterly awful. The ending was the family all happy with two “mums”. It was a Stonewall pamphlet in disguise. Any possibility that the child would be upset by what was happening at home was quickly brushed aside. It turns out that its author, Sarah Hagger-Holt, is a Stonewall employee

.There are so many books like this finding their way into libraries and the library staff do not appear to be questioning the content or even the quality of the writing as long as the books tick the “inclusivity” box. For example, “If I Was Your Girl” is an award-winning story about a trans girl who gets surgery and hormones and “passes” in her new school. It’s written by Meredith Russo, a trans-identified male, who has a history of sexual and emotional abuse, but no matter! It reads like a TRA wet dream: the pretty young teen smoothly transitions and gets the life she wants, which includes getting a gorgeous, straight boyfriend. A young person reading this may not realise that this is simply wish-fulfillment wrapped up in Young Adult (YA) fiction and nothing in it is remotely feasible.

Recently I was being nosy on a secondary school’s website and discovered their library’s LGBT section was made up of “Some Girls Bind”, “Being Jazz”, and “The Trans Teen Survival Guide”. That was it. Nothing else for the LGB kids. “The Trans Teen Guide” explains to young people how easy it is to legally change your name, and signposts websites where you can buy binders. Mermaids are listed as a place to find support, of course. 

Meanwhile, JKR is Satan for standing up for women and girls. It is painful reading discussion board threads written by librarians questioning what they should do about the “problematic author.” Facebook groups are particularly interesting as I’ve witnessed the group moderators remove the comments that support JKR because they were repeatedly reported by other members of the group. Some say they won’t buy her books, or they will remove them from circulation or stock them but not promote them.

No more Harry Potter events, no more displays of her work. It’s not all librarians, but there are plenty of vocal ones who have bought into the idea that JKR is literally murdering trans kids with her words. Last year I unsubscribed from a favourite Young Adult podcast for their segment on what to promote as an alternative to Harry Potter. It’s madness. 

I think the thing I really object to in libraries overall is the lack of questioning going on. I know you have covered the Drag Story Time in public libraries but I’m really shocked by the lack of research and critical thinking from information professionals who are supposed to be champions of these skills. I’m sure that many of them believe they are doing the right thing. I know I did. 

The School Library Association made Juno Dawson one of their Patrons at the end of 2020. I met Dawson many years years ago at a library event and I really appreciated hearing an honest and frankly, painful story of a young gay boy being bullied and how much of a life-line the school library was. Dawson struck me as a very kind and deeply sad person at that point. School libraries are a safe space for the vulnerable, and it’s no coincidence that often you will find the LGBT students seek it as a place of sanctuary. We do need someone popular and well-known to speak up for us as patron. Let’s be honest though; Dawson has made a tremendous career from being trans. From speaking to packed-out auditoriums of young readers to writing non-fiction books educating us as “she knows everything about gender because she’s been both.” A few years ago, over 300 copies of Dawson’s book “What’s the T” were bought and donated to schools by well-meaning people on Twitter. So heart-warming and kind. Nobody seems to be questioning this. 

I’ve been a huge supporter of my LGBT students for the whole of my twenty-plus year career. It hurts to see these brilliant young girls telling me they’re non-binary or trans. The vast majority of our female students in this ever-growing group are on the autistic spectrum, or have mental health issues. I don’t understand why this isn’t being questioned more vocally. I’m worried that I’ve made this much, much worse by promoting this propaganda dressed up as YA fiction for years. LGBT History Month? Here, have this book telling you being a lesbian is bad and you’re probably trans. 

I’m scared that at some point the trans ideology train is going to come for the “forbidden” books in my library.  Will my Head tell me I need to remove all the Harry Potter books? What about the non-fiction books that tell these girls the biological truth about periods and puberty? Cancel culture is coming for school librarians in the UK; how long before we become like the US school system where books are regularly banned for being offensive to individual, captured parents?

Librarians were struggling to keep our jobs before Covid-19 and now it is even harder. We are being made redundant to save money. Lots of school libraries were closed and became temporary classrooms, COVID testing centres, or spill-over staff rooms in 2020. Some of us haven’t recovered. Are librarians really going to poke their heads above the parapet if it means they might be marked as “transphobic” and made unable to get a job in a school again? Or maybe have to move sectors and end up working at university libraries which are even more indoctrinated?

For the moment I’m concentrating on trying to undo some of the damage I’ve done. Last year I purchased a pile of Young Adult books featuring happy, gender non-conforming girls. I’ve researched YA love stories about positive LGB relationships. I want our girls to realise they are perfect just the way they are. 

To parents I would say, try to talk to your children about what they are reading. Honest, open communication is key. 

Please remember that there are people in schools who are trying to make a difference. We just can’t say it openly.

(Author’s name has been witheld on her request. If you have a story on how gender ideology is affecting your place of work, please write to thewhistleblowermailbox@gmail.com)