Biographical book of non-binary writer arrives in Brazil after being banned from the US

The book Gender Queer, written by Maia Kobabe, arrived in Brazil after being banned from the United States. The writer calls herself asexual, someone who does not feel or feels little sexual attraction to another person, and non-binary, people who do not identify with any gender.

In her autobiographical book, Maia talks about questioning the standards of a heteronormative society. Gender Queer shows a journey of discoveries and confrontations with many pop culture references, such as David Bowie, One Direction, Tolkien and Harry Potter.

The plot accompanies a young man living in California at the turn of the century, in an environment of freedom of customs, cultural enthusiasm, intellectual curiosity and deep doubts about gender and sexuality.

The book arrives in Brazil through the publisher Tinta-da-China Brasil and comes with a negative brand: Gênero Queer, which was the target of a censorship movement, with requests for the work to be banned in libraries in the United States.

The fact occurred between 2021 and 2022, also led to the search for the title. For Mariana Delfiniexecutive editor of Tinta-da-China, emphasizing this aspect is a way of fighting against the practice of censorship.

“By disclosing that Gender Queer was the most censored book in 2021 in the United States, according to the American Library Association (ALA), we are taking a stand against this inconceivable censorship of books in a democracy – which is not restricted to the United States, it is worth remembering ”, assures her.

“At the same time, we are communicating the book’s impact and relevance, its importance in gender and sexuality debates. We ended up talking about it too when we said, on the cover of the issue, that it was published in French, Spanish, Italian, German, Japanese, Korean, Czech and Dutch – that is, that Maia’s comic opened minds around the world”, scored.

“Maia was uncomfortable with being treated as feminine, even as a child, and the discovery of non-binary pronouns (from the Spivak system, in English) was a very important moment in her life. Language is a gender queer theme. In the Brazilian edition we were very attentive to this”highlighted Delfini.

“The narrative is very vibrant, full of pop and nerd references, with music, books, fanfics: a profusion of life around Maia. And even in the moments of greatest anguish – when Maia has to have a gynecological exam, when she struggles to relate to other people – we feel that we are close to her ”, concluded.