Twilight being banned in schools!!

[YoYo]

Hi all...

This is second hand information that I have taken from another forum I belong to (not related to babies )

It was started by saying that there are schools that are wanting to ban Twilight saying that it is 'racey' and that it's not good for primary school kids. I think these are Catholic schools, but please don't quote me!

The interpretation of the books to these pepole in the forum were that of, violence to women, they say it's a recurring theme in the books (Edward with Bella after DTD when she's covered in bruises, the voilent kiss Jacob gives Bella, what happened with Rosalie) but also suicide, manipulation, and guilt!

I NEVER EVER thought about this while reading these books and I was quite shocked to see others opinions of them in this way! My question is....did anyone else interpret these books in this way? Would you stop a kid from reading them?

My opinion is that it's a fictional book...it's not real! (If Edward were real he's surely be mine right!?) You can see worse things influence kids on the 7 nightly news. If a kid wants to read it, then as long as their parents are alright with that, then I say go for it! I got my sister AND my MUM into it!! Actually...I might start reading them again

[~shazz~]

OMg it is fiction people no i won't stop my child from reading the books there are a lot more brutal books out there against women lets see the bible for one don't women get stoned to death in this book and a lot more brutal things happen not just to women but all man kind i'm pretty sure the catholic schools won't ban that one ( sorry i totally don't want to offend any one there not my intention just trying to make a point)

[Lulliloo]

i love the whole series of this and i did not even think about those issues until i read this thread.
what i load of rubbish wanting to ban it . if they do that then the kids will just want to read it more. and if the parents are ok then it shouldn't be an issue.

[STARRYSKY]

lol, its pathetic really that they would ban twilight which is really aimed at tweens, there is no SEX blatantly spread across the page etc, they are quite tame in comparison to say virginia andrews "flowers in the attic" which was available from my private, catholic, all girls school library!

[Trillian]

Years ago they banned the book Puberty Blues for the very same reason, even though Puberty Blues is about as close to real teenage life as you can get - it's a book that resonates through the generations. Same thing with harry potter - fair enough a lot of the 'argument' with those books were the witchcraft v religion issues but personally I think it's because a lot of the issues and themes that are in these books are just too complicated for young kids kwim? Personally I think books are fine so long as you know your kids are fine with reading them and understand the difference between fiction and reality.

[YoYo]

Trillian - Yep totally know what you mean. The way the people in this other forum were talking it was like girls (mainly) would take away with them that it's OK for a man to bash them up because they are the sexy girls that turned them on...KWIM? HA Puberty Blues was on here the other day...DH had never seen it before but he was transfixed! It's real life....exactly...Twilight is nothing but a fantasy and I like to keep it that way!!

[Inanna]

Well actually my dfaughter commented on the violence to women in this book! I haven't read all of it - but I could see what she meant. I am not sure where DD14 has got her feminist leanings...

I was happy she could identify what was happening - that it wasn't taken on subliminally as being okay...

[Trillian]

I know! it's absolutely riveting watching it it. When I first saw it I was 10 and so many of the concepts just went right over my head, but when i saw it again in my late teens it just *clicked* and it made complete sense. I have it on DVD and will make my own kids watch it when they are older.

Anyway I digress LOL. I think the Wowsers who carry on about this a bit too much just don't give the people reading these books the benefit of the doubt that they can differenciate between what goes on in the books and what goes on in real life - I mean for a start it's about vampires!

ETA - missed your post Deb I think girls who read it wouldn't be able to miss the violence but they aren't going to let it be acceptable behaviour IRL.

[Floweryfields]

Oh my the flowers in the attic series and her other books had soo much sex! Incestual too wasn't some of it? I read alot of those books in highschool - Mum didn't know what i was reading! In the end VA books are basically all the same. I've not read the twighlight books so can't comment there.
The virginia andrews books definitely shouldn't have been for primary school reading though!

[Phteven]

I gave the series to my niece after I finished them because she is an Edward fan. I'm not sure if she read them or not. I'm not sure if they're appropriate for primary age or not. I would have thought they're better suited to teenagers.
I'm a big advocate of encouraging reading by allowing children to choose their own books.
That said, if a parent thinks that a book inappropriate or not in keeping with the values that they're trying to instill in their children then they have my full support. If I didn't want my children to read something I would like to be supported in that - after all they will be able to read it as adults if they want.

[Nelle]

I always figured Twilight was an early teen thing and less a pre-teen thing? Could be totally wrong though, not having read it myself.

I guess I interpret these decisions as a control thing. If there is a school where some/many parents want to discourage their children from certain books until they hit high school, then perhaps asking children not to bring those books to school is sensible. I mean, we're always talking about parents taking responsibility for the media/content their children interact with, so if a parent decides their child shouldn't read something til year 7 then I guess that needs to be respected.

[Floweryfields]

Yes I agree - it should be the parent's choice, what they believe is acceptable for their child to read. I think there is a big difference to the books being available in the library (though the age probably should be limited for certain books) than say, if the teacher were using it as a class novel that everyone had to read.

[Chocaholic]

Quite frankly, I don't mind if the library at school is banning them. I think it is a parental thing to determine what books are appropriate and if the child wants to read a certain book and it is not available at the school, then ask their parents and surely mum or dad could take them to the local library or purchase the book if the child is that interested.

TBH I very rarely read books from my school library as they didn't appeal to me. My mum would take me to the local library at least once a fortnight to exchange the books I had checked out. It was a great mother/daughter experience as it always turned into a coffee/hot chocolate chat session.

[krysalyss]

I think banning books is quite controversial in any regards. But I have to say I don't really think it is suitable for primary school children mostly due to the amount of sexual references, but also due to the violence in the book although I wouldn't pinpoint it just to violence against women but there is certainly detailed violence in there. Although I wouldnt support banning I also wouldn't go and recommend it to a pre-teen. Just my opinion.

[Roryrory]

virginia andrews "flowers in the attic" which was available from my private, catholic, all girls school library!

LOL Flowers in the Attic was hot property at my all-girls Anglican private school - you had to be on the waiting list (I bet no one at the school ever read it). Tweens will always want slightly racy stuff. As for the violence part, I've not read the books but it sounds pretty mild. IMO a girl will grow up to think violence against women is ok she sees her dad beat up her mum, not if she reads about a rough kiss in a fantasy novel. I bet every girl who read flowers in the attic didn't race out thinking it was ok to sleep with her brother.

Although I wouldnt support banning I also wouldn't go and recommend it to a pre-teen. Just my opinion.

This is the crux of it though - aren't they talking about not having it at a primary school library? I would say I'd support that, because 12 year olds might be up for it but I don't personally think 10 year olds should be reading about fictionalised sex (unless we are talking about a 10 year old who has been abused and her therapist has recommended that she read a particular fictional book which might help her deal with what had happened to her). Personally I am pretty repulsed by the overt sexualisation of young girls - sure 10 year olds are sexual creatures - all humans are - but I see pre-teens reading Twighligh just part of the same continum which sees 6 year olds wearing mini-bras and high heels. My stepbrother's wife is looking for a g-string for her 8 year old - that is just wrong IMO....

[AnyDream]

My feeling is that they're not so appropriate in the primary school context - better suited to a high school age group. This doesn't mean they should be actively "banned" though. In the school context this comes down to the teacher librarian selecting the titles that are most suitable in content and interest for a range of readers of varying ages at that school. A good rule of thumb is the age of the central characters...isn't Bella 16 at the start of the series? That places these books well out of the context of the average 10-12 year old's experience. Also reflected in the movie adaptation's rating, which was M and not a PG.

My DD (11) has expressed an interest in reading these but I have told her she can wait a couple of years and enjoy them then. None of her peers have read it either (but I think a few have older siblings who have read them or seen the movie so it's seen as very cool).

ETA - ugh Rory the gstring thing is soooo wrong!! Why why why???

[leckert]

In the school context this comes down to the teacher librarian selecting the titles that are most suitable in content and interest for a range of readers of varying ages at that school. A good rule of thumb is the age of the central characters...isn't Bella 16 at the start of the series? That places these books well out of the context of the average 10-12 year old's experience. Also reflected in the movie adaptation's rating, which was M and not a PG.

MD, as a Teacher Librarian (TL for short) I pretty much stick to that guideline age of characters as to what age is likely to be okay to stock in the library. I have worked in a R-12 school setting and in 8-12 school settings. I actually ummed and ahhed over actually getting the series into my high school where I currently work (okay on mat leave from). I wasn't so keen on getting the whole series (I haven't read them - no time so far) but had heard/read reviews that meant I wasn't keen on getting book 4 in but the bookseller I got the first 3 from accidentally gave me book 4 instead of book 1 and I only realised after it was processed so ended up with the whole series. I was lucky in the end that it was just Yr 10-12s that actually wanted to read the series and had asked for it to gotten in. I wouldn't have allowed access to it by students under Yr 9 in the R-12 school that I worked at. They have separate collections for R-3, 3-9, 10-12. Students can read down but not up (the Yr 8/9s can if they have parental permission). I would have been putting the twilight series in the oldest collection.
I don't think it's appropriate for a primary school library.

[CrazyLady]

The author wrote the books to be pg rated so that her child and child's friends could read it. I feel that the series is far more appropriate then majority of the teenage aimed literature out there.

Also, didn't schools want to ban Harry Potter due to the use of "witchcraft"?

So what's to stop kids going to the local library and borrowing from there? Are local libraries going to ask students for proof of age to borrow these books?