No book is banned in the United States. Every book that has been challenged or removed from a school library remains available for purchase at any bookstore, on Amazon, at public libraries, and online. The word 'ban' is deliberately chosen to evoke authoritarian censorship, but it's a mischaracterization of what's actually happening.

What's actually happening is parents reviewing the content of books available in school libraries — particularly elementary and middle school libraries — and objecting when they find sexually explicit material. Many of the challenged books contain graphic depictions of sexual acts, including between minors. Material that would be inappropriate to show a child in any other context is being defended simply because it's between two covers.

The question isn't whether these books should exist — they absolutely should. The question is whether they belong in a school library for children. There's a reason we have age ratings for movies, TV shows, and video games. Curating what's appropriate for school libraries is the same principle.

A review by Brave Books found that many challenged titles contained content that would be rated R or NC-17 if it appeared in a film. Teachers and librarians already curate library collections every day — choosing some books and not others based on educational value, age-appropriateness, and community standards. That's not banning; it's their job.

The ALA's 'banned books' list is itself misleading. Many books on the list were challenged by a single parent and retained. Others were moved from elementary to high school libraries, which is an age-appropriate decision, not a ban. The number of books actually removed from school libraries represents a tiny fraction of challenges.

Parents have the right and responsibility to participate in decisions about what their children are exposed to in publicly funded schools. Characterizing that as fascism trivializes actual authoritarianism and dismisses legitimate parental concern.