Vietnamese comic artists today are not only finding creative ways to combat censorship, but are also working to overcome many of the negative stereotypes still associated with the medium—most frequently, the fallacy that comics are for children and cannot be…
Author: Caitlin McCabe
Young Readers on the Benefits of Challenged Books
Although book challenges often come from parents and adults who claim to be looking out for the well-being of children in their communities, a recent project by the National Coalition Against Censorship’s Joan Bertin and the National Council of Teachers of…
MA School Administrators Keep First French Kiss on Optional Reading List
A complaint about “sexually explicit” content in First French Kiss, a book that was included on the Taunton, Massachusetts, high school’s optional summer reading list, was struck down when school officials opted to keep the book in the curriculum. First French Kiss and…
WA Early Achievers Program Raises Censorship Concerns
Broad language used in a Washington State Early Achievers program that singles out specifically “fables, fairy tales, and nature/science books” has raised concerns about censorship in daycares across the state. Part of the Early Start Act, which was signed into law…
Remembering Lyn Chevli, A Woman Who Truly Changed Comics
Comics legend Lyn Chevli has passed away. Co-founder of Nanny Goat Productions, along with legend in her own right Joyce Farmer, Chevli is credited as the co-publisher of some of the most important feminist works of the underground comix era.…
Looking Back on Oklahoma’s War on Comics
With the conclusion of Wizard World Tulsa, local news outlet Tulsa World took a look back on the war Tulsa and neighboring Oklahoma cities waged against comics in the mid-1950s. From book swaps exchanging comics for perceived “higher literature” and independent review committees organized by…
Breast Cancer Self-Exam Video Censored on Facebook
Even health education isn’t safe from Facebook’s arbitrary nudity policy. The Swedish Cancer Society, Cancerfonden, ran into trouble with the social media giant earlier this month when they posted an animated breast cancer awareness video. It was taken down due to…
Columbia University Cancels Reading After Author Refuses Censorship
Due to concerns over maintaining the “values” of Columbia University and its radio station WKCR, a planned reading by author Laurie Stone was abruptly cancelled. A long time contributor to the Village Voice, a theater critic for The Nation, critic-at-large…
Burmese Artists Explore Freedom of Expression
Although 2012 saw the abolition of pre-publication censorship in Burma, many still feel the influence of the decades-long political climate that silenced artists and closed bookstores. A recent set of interviews by DVB demonstrates that a new wave of Burmese artists aren’t…
CBLDF Joins Letter Urging VA School District to Repeal Prior Review Policy
A portion of School Board Policy 9.46 that allows Virginia principals to review school newspaper content in the Falls Church City School District prior to publications is getting severe backlash in the free speech community. CBLDF joined NCAC and other free…