Graduation Term
Summer 2026
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Department of English
Committee Chair
Christopher Breu
Committee Member
Jeremy Johnston
Abstract
In this thesis, I use intersections between sexuality studies, feminism, queer theory, and theories of children’s and young adult literature to examine and historicize the prevalence of book bans and challenges between 2020 and 2025 that target young adult literature on the basis of sexually explicit content. To understand the opposition to portrayals of underage heterosexuality, I analyze John Green’s Looking for Alaska, considering its history of censorship as well as the author’s response to those bans. To understand the challenges to depictions of LGBTQ+ identities aimed at young people, I look at Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer and Juno Dawson’s This Book Is Gay, two books by transgender authors that have been accused of being pornographic and inappropriate for young adult readers. Through examining book bans and challenges against young adult books that depict sexuality, I aim to critique the faulty logic behind the claims of protecting children and expose how this rhetoric does more harm than good. Finally, I begin to articulate a different framework for how young people and the adults in their lives can engage with literature and other works that depict sexuality in a way that is safe and affirming of their autonomy.
Access Type
Thesis-Open Access
Recommended Citation
Fortner, Kate, "The Right to Read: Opposing the Censorship of Young Adult Literature on Grounds of Sexually Explicit Content" (2026). Theses and Dissertations. 2401.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/2401
Included in
American Literature Commons, Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Queer Studies Commons