Meet Ralph

Pornography is pornography

It would be simple-minded to believe that the pornographic books in school libraries are only found under keyword searches such as “homosexuality”, “queer” or “gay”. There are many heterosexual books which are equally inappropriate for young minds. One such book, Forever, by Judy Blume, is a coming-of-age story filled with lurid details of minors engaging in sexual activity. It is page after page of too much information. In the following passage we are introduced to Michael, Katherine, and Ralph.

“Don’t,” he said wiggling out of his pajama bottoms. He led my hands to his penis. Katherine…I’d like you to meet Ralph…Ralph, this is Katherine. She’s a very good friend of mine.”

“Does every penis have a name?”

“I can only speak for my own.”

Blume, Judy. Forever. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2014.

And I can only speak for myself. This is disgusting. Katherine goes on to give Ralph a hand job until she feels “wetness” on her hand. Not to be deterred, Katherine hangs on to Ralph. (Please, someone get the girl a tissue!)

Blume can’t let go either. A few chapters later, Katherine and Michael get naked and “make love” on the bathroom rug. Unfortunately, Michael is unable to hold out long enough for poor Katherine and she is left wanting. In case you sense a lack of equity in this given situation, don’t be alarmed. Michael and Ralph make up for their lack of “love making” ability one hour later.

“This time Michael made it last much, much longer and I got so carried away I grabbed his backside with both hands, trying to push him deeper and deeper into me and I spread my legs as far apart as I could and I raised my hips off the bed and I moved with him, again and again and again and at last, I came. I came right before Michael and as I did I made noises, just like my mother. Michael did too.

While he was still on top of me, catching his breath, I started laughing. “I came…” I told him. “I actually came.”

Blume, Judy. Forever. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2014

Forever is a Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) and a 1996 winner of the A.L.A. Margaret A Edwards Award. The American Library Association is one of the key reasons why books with explicit sexual passages are astonishingly abundant in Oklahoma schools and across our nation. It did, after all, win awards; it must be good.

It’s in your schools. Go find it