A reading and analysis of a peer-reviewed article on the topic of censorship.
Givens,
C.L. (2009). Hidden forms of censorship and their impact. Bookbird: a Journal of International Children’s Literature. 47(3),
22-28.
In
her 2009 article, Canadian author Cherie Givens provides an insight into the
ways children’s authors and illustrators may be impacted by pre-censorship of
their work by educational publishers, trade publishers, and award committees.
These
insidious forms of censorship are hidden from and largely unknown by readers as
they occur prior to publication, often as a means of avoiding post publication
censorship. Broadly defined, censorship in this context refers to the “practice
of suppressing or deleting material considered to be objectionable” (Fourie
& Dowell, 2002).
Motivations
behind censorship are varied but generally fall into four categories: family
values, religious grounds, political views and minority rights. Content is the
single most important factor prompting a desire to censor due to offensive subjects and offensive language. Censorship motivations
influence not only educational and trade publishers, but also have a
significant impact on the decisions made by award committee members who can
make subjective decisions based on their own values and predilections (Givens,
2009, p. 23).
While
censorship claims its aim is to present unbiased information and illustrations,
educational publishing responds to pressure groups from the left and the right. However, such
restrictive guidelines can actually lead to censorship (Givens, 2009, p. 24). Censorship in trade publishing,
particularly for children’s books, occurs during editing where language can be
changed in response to concerns about family values or religion (Givens, 2009,
p. 25).
Pre-censorship
occurred to author Cynthia Grant. Her Young Adult novel’s protagonist in Hard Love (1983) was a conscientious
objector. Grant found all references to this eliminated from the final text due
to concerns that conservative reviewers would object to the characters morals
(Grant, 1995, p. 48). Grant argues that authors have an obligation to children,
to write honestly and to not write for censors. Authors and illustrators should
not serve as instruments of any particular religious, moral or political agenda
(Grant, 1995, p. 50).
While
censorship can occur at any point in the publication process, it can also occur
after distribution, impacting sales and subsequent printings. Book awards and
awards short lists have a powerful influence on a books success and marketing,
and failure to gain recognition through Prize Committee recommendation due to
censorship results in loss of exposure for the work. Such censorship can be a
result of bias on the part of a single judge, concerned for example about
language used in the book or family values (Givens, 2009, p. 27).
The
information in the article is highly relevant for information professionals,
who perhaps are unaware of the pre-censorship that occurs of trade books for
children and young adults. It is important that such pre-censorship of books is
limited and that young people have access to a broad selection of points of
view, values, and language. It is recognised that Libraries select books for
their collections based on book awards
and award short lists, author recognition and marketing by publishers and as
such pre-censorship of books influences decisions made by information
professionals.
This
article increases awareness of the various hidden forms of censorship prevalent
in children’s publishing and highlights the need for authors and illustrators
to be supported in their intellectual freedom and their creative choices.
References:
Fourie, D. & Dowell, D. (2002).
Libraries in the information age: an
introduction and career exploration. Greenwood Village: Libraries
Unlimited.
Givens, C.L. (2009). Hidden forms of censorship and their impact. Bookbird: a Journal of International
Children’s Literature. 47(3), 22-28.
Grant, C. (1995). Tales from a YA author: slightly uneasy. School Library Journal, October 1995, 48-50.
Rubin, R. (2004). Foundations of
library and information science. (2nd ed.). New York: Neal
Schuman Publishers.
Thanks for this interesting post!
ReplyDeleteAnother form of hidden censorship sometimes occurs when books are translated and the translator veers away from the original. Generally this is because of the cultural context - the idea is that the translation becomes more comprehensible - but sometimes because the original story doesn't suit the norms of the society it is being translated into. I came across a number of examples - one that stuck in my mind was that because the concept of 'playing' is not very admirable in Japan, translators have problems with European protagonists at play. It never occurred to me how much our own attitudes to, for example, children (are they 'equal to adults but younger' as they are in Germany or 'incomplete adults' as they are in France?) can end out influencing the books we select for our collections!
Sibylle
Reference:
Thomson-Wohlgemuth, G. (1998). Children's literature and its translation. An overview. (Master's thesis). Retrieved from http://homepage.ntlworld.com/g.i.thomson/gaby-thomson/ChL_Translation.pdf
Thanks for your post. Censorship is one of those ideas that I often struggle with in developing a collection, as we are always making a value judgement when assessing books to go into our collection. Just as we're always adding books to our collection, we're also choosing not to purchase some books, and we're always weeding, as is the nature of collection development. If these decisions are based on the political / moral content of the book, aren't we, by definition, exercising censorship? Ideally, we should be stocking a balanced collection of every political, moral, and religious view under the sun, if we wish to avoid being labelled as censors, right?
ReplyDeleteOne regular commentator on this issue, The Annoyed Librarian, addressed such an incidence a number of years ago (2008) when conservative Christians claimed that their local school library was exercising censorship by refusing to add certain titles to their collection. Whether or not the decision was based on political views is contentious, but she makes the point that, "librarians can always find a legitimate sounding reason not to add a book to the collection". She also points out that if the politics of the situation were reversed, the consensus would be that this is a clear case of censorship.
So, if this is censorship, is that necessarily a bad thing?
Reference:
The Annoyed Librarian (2008) Some "Censorship" is Good. Retrieved from http://lj.libraryjournal.com/blogs/annoyedlibrarian/2008/10/08/some-censorship-is-good/