Today marks the beginning if Pride Month, a celebration created to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. While great strides have been made in securing equal rights for members of the LGBTQIA+ community, the work is clearly not done as evidenced by a number of new anti-gay laws as well as book and program challenges in school and libraries. In fact, in 2021 half of the 10 most challenged and banned books were books with LGBTQIA+ content.
Why is this so concerning? Because representation matters. For LGBTQ youth, it can be a matter of life and death. Seeing positive, realistic portrayals of queer characters is life-affirming. But books written by and/or about LGBTQIA+ characters aren’t just for for queer kids. These books can help cisgender, heterosexual readers understand the experiences of their gay friends and family members. Reading about the lives and experiences of people who are different from us helps build empathy and understanding.
So, go forth and read with Pride! Not sure where to start? Check out this list: https://www.epicreads.com/blog/lgbtq-ya-books-pride/
Read it or Weep 