Culture / Rupi Kaur’s Book “Milk And Honey” Banned In Texas & Oregon

Rupi Kaur’s Book “Milk And Honey” Banned In Texas & Oregon

Culture Apr 27, 2022

by Hina P. Ansari

As part of the American’s state recent actions to remove any books deemed controversial or against a particular moral compass that are being espoused by parents, Rupi Kaur’s hit novel Milk And Honey has now been banned across all libraries and schools in Texas and Oregon. We take a closer look at why this is such a huge problem when it comes to free speech and expanded narratives, and proper BIPOC representation when it comes to storytelling and sharing of diverse experiences through literature.

I can’t believe that I am having to write this in 2022, but here we are.

All across the United States there is a scary phenomenon this happening and we can’t look away. An active movement is a foot where books are being banned, simply because they are making people (most notably white people) uncomfortable. White parents. White lawmakers. White people. Yes this isn’t 1940s Germany, this is 2022 USA.

Driven primarily by conservative groups buoyed by Republican lawmakers, the book ban notion was initially proposed to combat the fake notion that Critical Race Theory was being taught in school. Critical Race Theory an the idea supported by Civil Rights leaders and activists is the teaching of history through the lens of intersectionality, while examining the racial history and how that has influenced the establishment of key institutions. Because of this fear, groups have arisen from key conservative demographics focused on ensuring that White children, along with their White mothers and White fathers are all protected and not feel “distressed”.

And here we are. Various school districts across nearly half of the country (mostly Republican white districts), are now passing motions to audit books that are being available through the school’s curriculum and their related libraries and ban books that don’t meet their criteria.

Critical Race Theory is not being taught in schools anywhere in the United States. Which just makes this whole thing even more disturbing. Because now, that fabricated concern has not allowed White parents and their fellow Republican lawmakers to use that excuse and expand that ban to cover books which they think are too obscene or sexual in nature for their White children to be exposed too.

There are 1500+ books (at last count) that are banned across the United States (click here to read the entire list of the 1500 banned books). A list of more than 850 books to ban was created by a state legistlator in one state only — Texas as it was feared that these books would cause students to feel “discomfort, guilt, anguish or any other form of psychological distress” because of their race or sex. A Dallas Morning News review found 97 of the first 100 books on the list were written by ethnic minorities, women or LGBTQ authors. That includes Rupi Kaur, allegedly because her book’s mention of sexual assault.

Among the 1500 books that are banned across 26 states “41 percent contain main or secondary characters of color and 33 percent contain LGBTQ themes. Other notable topics targeted by this ban are sexual assault and racism.” According to PEN America.

So now Rupi Kaur is part of that unfortunate club.

The Brampton author aired a public statement on Instagram which also included a video clip of her addressing the ban in an interview.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by rupi kaur (@rupikaur_)

“Over the last few months parts of Texas and Oregon have banned or attempted to ban Milk and Honey from schools and libraries. Why? because it explores sexual assault and violence experienced by a young woman,” Kaur explains in an Instagram post.

She continues, “The banning of ‘milk and honey’ along with an ever growing list of literature is dangerously terrifying. banning books is the banning of culture and experiences for everybody.

i think about who i was at 21-years-old when i published ‘milk and honey’. before this book reached your hands and sold millions of copies my proudest memories were and still are- young women and men who used this book as a safe haven from their own experiences of sexual assault. it’s sad this safe haven is now restricted from them.

in the words of one parent from oregon fighting to keep ‘milk and honey’ on shelves:

“you all want to protect your children from a measly little book but not the situations it touches on. let the students read if they want. they are old enough to be aware of the topic or have experienced it themselves but [may] not have a safe, trusted person to go to.” more than 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men experience sexual violence, according to the centers for disease control and prevention, and 1 in 3 of these assaults occur between the ages of 11-17. it would be unfortunate if high school students are no longer able to check out a book that deals with these issues.” – librarian miranda doyle for oregon live @losdlibrarian

thank you @abcnewslive and @trevor.ault for having me on your show today.

According to PEN, Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas lead the United States in book banning. Among the three have had more than 1300 instances of book bans. Other Republican states who are banning books include Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. In total, school districts in nearly half of the states have started motions to ban books or have successfully eliminated specific books from their schools and libraries.

Rupi Kaur’s world tour will be hitting Texas and Oregon including a slew of dates in Canada.

This issue of book banning has only just started. And it is imperative for all of us to pay close attention to this act that’s become a significant tool of erasure, eliminating the diversity in storytelling from authors who are from the Black, Brown, LGBTQIA+ communities.

These are perspectives necessary to complete the overall story and conversation about all facets of life and the understanding on how America came to be.

But, this is today’s America, so….

Main Image Photo Credit: www.yahoo.com

Hina P. Ansari

Author

Hina P. Ansari is a graduate from The University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario). Since then she has carved a successful career in Canada's national fashion-publishing world as the Entertainment/Photo Editor at FLARE Magazine, Canada's national fashion magazine. She was the first South Asian in...

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Rupi Kaur’s Book “Milk And Honey” Banned In Texas & Oregon

by Hina P. Ansari

Hina P. Ansari

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