Gender Queer
by Maia Kobabe
In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia's intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity―what it means and how to think about it―for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.
Genres
Banned or challenged 7 times across 7 jurisdictions.
Related Laws
This book has been banned or challenged under these laws.
Also flagged by 2 challenger groups
These groups have publicly targeted this book for removal. This is NOT a confirmed ban — it’s a signal that the book is on one or more challenger lists, which often precedes formal challenges in specific districts. See methodology for how we distinguish targeting from enforcement.
Timeline
Unified view of laws affecting this book and jurisdictions where it’s been removed or challenged, in chronological order.
- 22
- 22
Mar 25, 2022
- 23
May 3, 2023
- 23
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May 17, 2023
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Jun 13, 2023
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- 26
Platform availability
3 platforms tracked
Availability at online retailers and library platforms, refreshed by our daily scanner. “Pending review” means the scanner saw the title unavailable but a human hasn’t confirmed whether it’s a stockout or a real removal.
All ban records (7)
Orange County School District, FL
school · school district
Removed per Florida Statute 1006.28(2) following parent/resident objections during the 2022-2023 school year.
Reported Jun 30, 2023
Alachua County School District, FL
school · school district
Removed per Florida Statute 1006.28(2) following parent/resident objections during the 2023-2024 school year.
Reported Jun 30, 2024
Spring Lake Schools, MI
school · school district
displays explicit sexual imagery
Reported Oct 18, 2022
Keller ISD, TX
school · school district
Removed under Keller ISD EFB policy review. Board overruled their own review committee decisions.
Reported Aug 16, 2022
Brevard County Schools, FL
school · school district
inappropriate content including sexual images and graphics
Reported Oct 12, 2021
Patmos Library, MI
public library · county
Community voted to defund library over refusal to remove Gender Queer. Library survived on 3rd funding vote.
Reported Aug 2, 2022
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
prison · state
PAGES 61 & 167 CONTAIN SEXUALLY EXPLICIT IMAGES
Reported May 4, 2022