Censorship in the Y.A Genre

Ahh censorship. A delicious topic that has enthralled me since my film studies from yesteryore. I remember waxing lyrical about the evil Australian censorship laws which cited violent movies as the cause of violent events, such as the Port Arthur massacre, as the prime reason that censorship laws were (and probably still are) totally insane. (A mildly amusing aside is that I discovered in my research about the Port Arthur Massacre that the police search of the gunman's house revealed a shocking total of ten copies of The Sound of Music but no violent movies. Ban The Sound of Music? hmm)

So all the cool kids today are talking about this article "Darkness too Visible" By Meghan Cox Gurdon that appeared in the Wall Street Journal about how the Young Adult book Genre is far too violent and dark for the youth. The sub-header reads “Contemporary fiction for teens is rife with explicit abuse, violence and depravity. Why is this considered a good idea?”

Well thanks very much for your question Meghan. I'm sure my pals and I can help clarify a few points for you.

Firstly, for those who are unfamiliar with the genre these days, it's a bit arbitrary that she has tarred a whole genre with the same brush. Not every YA novel is as dark as the one she discusses in brief in her article.
However dark YA has its place too. Perhaps these novels can give validation to the experiences of teenagers who might otherwise feel totally freakish. Perhaps it allows teenagers to build up a world picture which is inclusive of some of the darker things in life that they never have and hopefully never will experience. Perhaps it is just fun for teenagers to delve into a different world. I mean I read heaps of serial killer books in my teen years and I've not yet turned into a serial killer. 

If you're a parent open to your Y.A reading teenagers perhaps such a book can open a dialogue for discussion.

This here is the crux of the situation. It's not the books that make people afraid. It's the inability to talk to their teens about uncomfortable issues that make them afraid. Even if their children are brought up in a world violence free, drug free, carefree, they know that their children will at some point or another be in contact with other people who haven't had such fortune. Parents know that they should somehow talk to their teen about this stuff but have no clue how to do this. So where does this leave them? Trying to censor the world for their teen and sugar coating it to death? I guess a dinner table conversation about self-mutilation or drug abuse is out of the question, but gee the weather was nice today.

I really feel this type of literature can open a myriad of doors. It opens the mind to the realities that other people face. This cultivates empathy for other people, a very valuable and not easily earned skilled. Surely this can't be harmful especially for an age group that is notorious for the pre-occupation with the self?

It can open communication between parents and children. And who knows maybe that leads to greater understanding between them, maybe parents learn their kids aren't so naive and silly and learn to trust them. Maybe kids learn that their parents aren't all up-tight money machines good for a hot meal and a roof over the head but are real people who might not be such bad people to know after all.

And even if you disagree entirely and think "No way is my kid EVER going to read a book that has sexual abuse in it" what about other Y.A books just as hard? Isn't the Diary of Anne Frank practically mandatory reading? Isn't that a horrible book if you get down to it?  Does it make it any better just because few to none of us will be exposed to the political climate she was exposed to? That's great we can have empathy for her but how any teens know anyone from such a background of persecution? Some? A few? But how many teens know someone who has been exposed to violence, drugs, sexual abuse? A lot more I'd say.