Person 1: What's over here?
Person 2: These are a bunch of books that have been banned in schools in America.
Person 1: Ooh! Controversial! Umm... why was this one banned?
Person 2: Well, just on page 7, the main character f[long bleep] and every time they get up, they just [long bleep] and they take a ton of drugs and they just start going [extended bleep], and finally everyone dies!
Person 1: Wow! [chuckle] now that's what I'm talking about! This sounds crazy!
Person 2: Yeah, it is.
Person 1: Why was this one banned?
Person 2: Oh, uh, there's a gay character in it.
Person 1: Oh, that's it?
Person 2: Yeah. [Beat] Also, they mention witchcraft once.
Person 2: These are a bunch of books that have been banned in schools in America.
Person 1: Ooh! Controversial! Umm... why was this one banned?
Person 2: Well, just on page 7, the main character f[long bleep] and every time they get up, they just [long bleep] and they take a ton of drugs and they just start going [extended bleep], and finally everyone dies!
Person 1: Wow! [chuckle] now that's what I'm talking about! This sounds crazy!
Person 2: Yeah, it is.
Person 1: Why was this one banned?
Person 2: Oh, uh, there's a gay character in it.
Person 1: Oh, that's it?
Person 2: Yeah. [Beat] Also, they mention witchcraft once.
Man Carrying Thing, "the two types of banned books"
In the United States, the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) has yearly produced a list of "commonly challenged books", with data gathered from media reports and reports from librarians and teachers.
Usually, the top three reasons for challenging books are due to them containing "sexually explicit" content, "offensive" language, or being "unsuited to age group".
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Works that are commonly challenged
- The Catcher in the Rye has been challenged for having "offensive language" and being "unsuited to age group", as well as for being used as a manifesto by Mark David Chapman, the killer of John Lennon.
- Captain Underpants is another commonly challenged work, challenged for containing "offensive language" and violence, and being "unsuited for age group".
- Harry Potter was the most challenged work from 2000 to 2009. It was challenged for being "unsuited to age group", containing witchcraft and violence, for containing scary sequences, and for setting bad examples.
- Heather Has Two Mommies was challenged for featuring the daughter of a homosexual couple.
- The Hunger Games has been challenged for being "unsuited to age group" and containing graphic violence.
- The Junie B. Jones series has been challenged for "encouraging disobedience"
Works that are less commonly challenged
- The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby is occasionally challenged for "encouraging poor spelling"
- American Psycho is occasionally challenged for containing graphic violence.
- The Little Bill books have been challenged due to Bill Cosby's sexual assault allegations.
