Combatting the Downwind Effects of LGBTQ+ Book Bans

Ok, I know, it’s another article about book bans. Those are nothing new. I’m going to share it anyway, for two reasons: 

1. I’m going to discuss some of the less-seen elements of book bans and give you real things you can do about them 
2. We should not stop talking about censorship and oppression, no matter how repetitive the topic is, so long as it exists. 

So with that, let’s look at some information about book bans.

Increasing bans, decreasing visibility 

Book bans have been spreading almost as fervently as the wildfires ravaging much of Turtle Island. In 2025, the number of children’s books with BIPOC characters dropped by 4%. (I focus on children’s books and YA because these are the books most commonly targeted by bans. They can also be the most important, as youth have fewer options for obtaining books on their own.) 

Books featuring queer, trans, and disabled characters are also facing decreasing acceptance. No “diverse” book is safe. 

An aside on the word “diverse”: many journalists and publishers use “diverse’ to mean “any book containing a character who is not a cishet, nondisabled white man.” This leads some to say things like “X percent of children are diverse.” See my own post about why the word “diverse” doesn’t work this way. 

The reality is that book bans and visibility of myriad identities are in a dependent relationship: as book bans increase, visibility decreases. Sure, a ban might make local or national news and cause a title to surge in popularity for a week or two, but once the dust settles, the book will still be banned. Children and young adults, who might rely primarily on school or public libraries for their reading, won’t know how to get the book, if they even know it exists. 

Unfortunately, bans themselves are not the entire problem. 

Soft bans and changing culture

Book bans are the most obvious and visible form of literary censorship, but the culture that creates them also finds other ways to keep valuable books out of the hands of LGBTQ+ youth. 

Publishing is a business; as much as a publisher might like a book, their decision to accept it is based at least in part on how well they think it will sell. This is especially true for the Big Five publishers, but it can also create barriers for independent presses who already take a big risk publishing any book. 

As book bans have spread, publishers have become less willing to take risks on LGBTQ+ books. Fearing a lack of marketability, authors are faced with a painful choice: keep the book as is and risk it never being accepted, or “sanitize” the book and thus reduce or entirely remove the benefit it would have for queer and trans youth. 

A banned book can still be bought. We haven’t yet reached the stage of fascism where these books are burned en masse. But an unpublished book can not be bought, loaned, or distributed at scale. Thus, book bans are not only limiting access to existing books, but entirely preventing new books from coming into existence. 

So what do I do about it? 

Well, first I will point you toward Book Riot’s list of 60 small tasks to defend the right to read. As we have been repeating for many activism-related things, there are many, many ways to get involved in a cause you believe in. So many that infinite typewriter monkeys wouldn’t succeed in typing them all out before the inevitable fall of capitalism.

(post continues below)

Want to receive once-a-month updates from me, directly in your inbox? Add your email below to subscribe to my newsletter. To prevent spam, you may get an email asking you to confirm your subscription.

Rather than creating another list of actions here, I am going to focus on two things: your own book-buying habits and getting supportive books in the hands of vulnerable folks (what Rachel calls sabotage below). I do want to note that books themselves are not the only path to focus on, as making cultural changes is equally important. This post is long enough already, though, so that train of thought will have to wait. 

Changing how you buy books 

I get it: online shopping, monopolized marketplaces, and thousands of titles available at your fingertips is appealing. It’s also just how the world works now for a lot of people. But here’s a difficult truth: book bans are not an individual problem, and corporations like Amazon have designed these services to draw you in as a form of censorship. 

The more influence a publisher or retailer has over the book market, the more control they have over what kinds of books readers are exposed to. From individual buyers and families to schools and public libraries, this control has been intentionally gained and obfuscated. 

The best way to combat this censorship is to purchase your books, in person if you can, from an independent, small bookstore with values you support. (If you’ve ever been to an indie bookstore, you know they are rarely apolitical!) But online shopping has significant benefits, can be more accessible for folks, and is a really hard habit to kick. So I offer a middle ground: bookshop.org. 

Bookshop was founded to combat Amazon’s monopolization of the online book market. They partner with thousands of small booksellers around the world, allowing you to have a comparable array of titles, availability, and shipping options while still supporting independent shops. 

A bonus feature is the ability to choose a partnered store to benefit from your shopping. This store then helps manage your orders and receives more of the proceeds. Personally, all of my orders support Boneshaker Books in Minneapolis, which does some kick-ass Disability Justice work that I support. 

These days, I find myself going to used book stores (and sometimes new ones) more and more, but when I have a big list of books I need for classes or a project, it’s too difficult for me to browse many places. So I rely on Bookshop, knowing that at least it is partially combatting censorship. When Bookshop doesn’t have it, online retailers like Biblio or Better World Books might. Or you can ask your local shop if they can order it for you—many of them will, or will help you find it elsewhere! 

Getting books to those who need them 

Aside from your own shopping, you can combat censorship and support social wellbeing by helping get books (especially those which may be banned or otherwise unavailable) to LGBTQ+ folks who can benefit from them. As Rachel says: 

“I’ve been contemplating the idea of sabotage a lot lately and how one of my favorite forms of sabotage (though some people might not consider it that) is to support the thriving of queer & trans folks. So book efforts that support this are something we can highlight.  

Sometimes a young person, or a not so young person, just needs one optimistic book to get them through years of hardship. (Though usually such a person will find more than one book, even if they have to re-interpret some of the stories.)” 

Of course, the simplest way to spread hopeful LGBTQ+ books is by placing them directly in the hands of people you know. But there are other options you can try out: 

• Little free libraries are huge! 
• Donating them to a local LGBTQ+ library or community center 
• Seeing if your public library has any LGBTQ+ programs that are in need of books 
• Connecting with reading groups or teachers 
• Offering them at Pride events, book festivals, or similar gatherings

As long as our habits remain the same, book bans are here to stay. Some of these actions may seem small or meaningless. The future is not written in one day; it is crafted, word by word, every day, by the choices we make. Together, we just might have a chance to write a future where representation in literature is seen as a basic human right.

What actions to defend the right to read are you most passionate about? I’d love to hear from you! Let me know in the comments on this post if you’re so inclined.

Want to receive once-a-month updates from me, directly in your inbox? Add your email below to subscribe to my newsletter. To prevent spam, you may get an email asking you to confirm your subscription.