this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2025

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133

Alberta bans school library books it deems sexually explicit (www.cbc.ca)

submitted 5 days ago by NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world to c/canada@lemmy.ca

33 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Explicit sexual content, defined by the province as detailed and clear depictions of sexual acts, including masturbation, penetration and ejaculation, will not be accessible to students in any grade.

also

Religious texts, such as the Bible, will be allowed on the shelves.

I'm shocked... really, like, i 100% knew that was going to be in there article. So actually, I'm not shocked. Fuck you Alberta.

all 34 comments

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[–] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 27 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Religious texts, such as the Bible, will be allowed on the shelves.

... as most of the books Nicolaides said he was looking to take off shelves deal with 2SLGBTQ+ subject matter.

Have the Satanic Temple republish those books so they remain accessible.

[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 15 points 5 days ago

I'm actually surprised they haven't done something like that.

We're republishing Looking For Alaska, as it's now a holy text that teaches our disciples about loss and grief.

[–] MapleEngineer@lemmy.world 13 points 4 days ago

The Bible contains stories of rape, incest, murder, torture, dashing babies heads on rocks, prostitution, and more. Ban the Bible.

[–] swagmoney@lemmy.ca 7 points 4 days ago

oh fuck not here too. 🤦‍♂️ we really are just old america aren't we?

[–] BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago

Is Trump still talking about the annexation thing because the US can have Alberta.

[+] Randomgal@lemmy.ca -20 points 5 days ago (4 children)

NGL this sounda like a nothing burger. The news are "Adults Only" books are no longer awolled in schools? What non smutty book even fulfills that criteria?

[–] CanadianCarl@sh.itjust.works 16 points 4 days ago

The bible is still not removed, which has incest, adultery, more incest with rape, prostitution, more prostitution. I can list more. My question is, what is wrong with regular books, with sex in them?

[–] silasmariner@programming.dev 14 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Lolita, The French Lieutenant's Woman, IT. All books I read as a teen with explicit sexual content...

[–] alaphic@lemmy.world 14 points 5 days ago

How did it go again... "I know pornography when I see it.", wasn't it?

Which, honestly, is actually rather impressive as far as non-answers to things in general go in that it not only made the speaker simultaneously sound both like a condescending prick AND some sort-of super creepy dude who is waaaay too into porn, all while assuring us that these qualities gave them the necessary authority to... Identify porn, I guess? Ya know, like that wood book fellow

[–] ideonek@piefed.social 8 points 5 days ago (1 children)

All David Gemmells books.

[–] silasmariner@programming.dev 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

My brother an I came up with 'Gemmell theory' which breaks down all his characters by archetype. Female archer, strong willed, 'manly' in some regards, yet sexy. Warrior. Has seen some shit, probably had a deal with a demon and/or has a destiny. Bard. Light comic relief. Probably a mate of the warrior. May know a little light magic. You get the idea. I think there are only about 5 archetypes in Gemmell theory.

[–] ideonek@piefed.social 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Oh for sure. There is of course a gentle-soul warrior that is cursed with killing being his only real talent, and the giant that hide a lot of emotions under surface. Most of his books are very symilar to eachother, to the point that he uses exactly the same comparisons, metaphors and jokes sometimes... I still think he's a master-writer. Gemmel writing heroic fantasy is like Kubrick directing a porn. Genre is not enough to obscure the genius behind it.

[–] silasmariner@programming.dev 2 points 2 days ago

Oh I think those two are the same as the warrior, lol. My archetypes have a little tolerance. But there's definitely a dual strand -- the 'dark' hero (waylander) and the 'light' one (druss). Both ends up characterised by both aspects usually though, which is why in Gemmell theory they're unified.

Best one was lion of Macedon. I still think about that sometimes.

[+] teppa@piefed.ca -33 points 5 days ago (3 children)

I mean are you guys thinking we want pornographic material in schools?

Clearly its messed up, its not something to put in schools.

[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 31 points 5 days ago

So get rid of the Bible.

[–] floofloof@lemmy.ca 23 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

When conservatives call something pornographic, it's very doubtful whether it really is.

[+] teppa@piefed.ca -10 points 5 days ago (2 children)

https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/ec-examples-of-sexual-content-in-school-libraries.pdf

Well heres the reference they cited in the law.

[–] splendoruranium@infosec.pub 14 points 5 days ago (1 children)

https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/ec-examples-of-sexual-content-in-school-libraries.pdf

Well heres the reference they cited in the law.

Everybody has their own unique internal world, so obviously you do you. All I can tell you that from my point of view it looks very confusing when you talk about "pornographic material at schools" in one comment and then provide references that, by anyone looking for pornographic material could at best be described as "incredibly disappointing".

I mean, seriously: If you were a bookshop owner and someone asked you for some good porn, would you hush them, look around fertively and then genuinely recommend any of this?

[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 8 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Looking for Alaska, a book about loss and grief, frequently taught in Canada (and Alberta), one of the most banned books in the USA, and almost certainly about to be banned in Alberta now.

I'd give the book shop owner mad props for recommending this to me if i asked for some good porn!

Warning: May offend easily offended people. (edit: just changing to an image of the whole page)

spoiler

collapsed inline media

[–] floofloof@lemmy.ca 12 points 4 days ago

I can see where the censors are coming from, and how they might see these as pornographic, but I think they've responded to the surface appearance rather than what's actually going on in the book.

These excerpts are fairly explicit and describe sex acts and being turned on. In that, they resemble porn. But they also tend to be describing teenage sexual discovery in a realistic way, showing how the development of sexual feelings can be tender and complex. If you remove teenagers' access to these books, what are they left with to help them understand what they're experiencing? Internet porn and the manosphere? It can be helpful for kids to have access to more nuanced and sensitive materials, even if they are somewhat explicit.

So I can see how the censors see this, but I still wouldn't ban these books just because they contain sexually explicit scenes, and I still think it's a mistake to classify these as porn.

[–] GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca 11 points 4 days ago

Pretty much any book that is going to have useful information for sex ed, which is taught at around ages 10 to 12, is either going to be useless or sufficiently graphic for hormonal pubescent kids. Back when I was a kid, the go-to source for accessible nudity was National Geographic. Also, there were kids who would read the National Geographics to learn about the world (which included places with different taboos than us). Should the education of some be hampered for the sake of the ignorance of others? Alberta says yes.