Tampa school board bans 'This Book Is Gay' from middle school libraries: Book detailed sex apps, hookups

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The Hillsborough County school board decided to ban the book ‘This Book Is Gay’ from middle school libraries in a 4-3 vote on Tuesday. 

Tampa residents are part of a national uprising of parents speaking out about material they see as offensive in schools. "This Book Is Gay," a nonfiction book geared toward LGBTQ+ youth, was criticized by many parents for sexually explicit descriptions and diagrams and even promoting the use of hookup apps.

Sex app Grindr was reportedly featured in the book, which some have criticized for having a "flimsy" age verification process.  Julie Kvedar wrote in the Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, "As a result of its flimsy age verification process and its indiscriminate marketing, Grindr poses risks to both minors and adults. Minors who sign up for the app risk encountering predatory behavior, while adult users risk inadvertently engaging in criminal activity."

The Hillsborough County School District’s official YouTube channel shared footage of the meeting, where members of the local community and school board officials discussed the book and whether it should be allowed in schools.

Fox News Digital previously reported that 'This Book is Gay,' which contains information on BDSM/kink, was found in DoDEA schools. (Juno Dawson | iStock)

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"It is my job to ask if the content of that book violates state statute," board member Patti Rendon said during the meeting. "I apologize that in this particular book, it addresses a particular community."

She later added, "I’ll be honest with you, if this was reversed, and it was content about Tinder and looking at a relationship for my 15-year-old and telling her where she can find heterosexual partners in her community, I would be just as upset about that content as I would be about this."

According to The Florida Standard, the book says this about sex apps: "It is a fact that that although grown-up adult types are sometimes looking for a serious relationship, sometimes they are just looking for a spot of sexyfuntime." 

The Tampa Bay Times wrote that the meeting over the graphic book was a tense political confrontation at times, "Some saw the nonfiction material as helpful to LGBTQ+ teens seeking direction in life, while others viewed it as dangerous pornography that could damage children’s minds. People from both sides accused the other of engaging in ‘political theater.’"

Hookup app Grindr has been the source of many scandals, and has been criticized for its age verification process not being thorough enough. (Photo Illustration by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) (Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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The Times also quoted one of the speakers at the event who implored, "Please don’t fall for the nonsense that removing this book would be fascism or an attack on LGBTQ people."

Hillsborough County Public Schools, which presides over 206,841 students and 303 schools, have had confrontations about sexual content before. 

Tampa residents previously raised concern over a sex education curriculum at a school board meeting, claiming it violated state laws.

22 August 2022, Berlin: The school library at the school in Köllnische Heide in Neukölln. Photo: Jens Kalaene/dpa (Photo by Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images) (picture alliance / Contributor)

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Hillsborough County Public Schools Chief of Communications Tanya Arja told Fox News Digital that "the reproductive health education curriculum was created to provide students in 7th, 8th, and 9th grade with medically accurate information regarding reproductive health," and claimed that the curriculum "fosters communication with parents and guardians to help continue the conversation at home."

Additional reporting by Fox News' Joshua Q. Nelson.