Judy Blume

From Censorpedia

Date: 1938 - Present

Region: North America

Subject: Explicit Sexuality

Medium: Literature


Artist: Judy Blume

Confronting Bodies: Literary critics, schools and libraries across the United States

Dates of Action: 1970-present

Location: United States

Description of Artwork: Judy Blume is a reknown adolescent book writer. Her first controversial novel, Are you there, God? It's Me, Margaret (1970), is a reflection by a 12-year-old girl on subjects like large breasts and menstruation. Her novel Deenie (1973) includes female masturbation, Blubber (1974)has a bullying heroine and Forever (1975) includes adolescent sexual intercourse.

The Incident: Are You There... was banned by Blume's children's elementary school principal. Around the country, critics called her work, "anti-Christian and against parental and school authority." In 1983, schools in Leesburg, Florida and Peoria, Illinois, removed her books from their school libraries.

Results of Incident: The ACLU has challenged much of the censorship against Blume's books. Many of her titles are still on the American Library Association's banned books list.

Source: Censorship, A World Encyclopedia, ed. D. Jones