Political views, not sex and violence, now drive literary censorship | Cornell Chronicle

"Liberals and conservatives both oppose censorship of children's literature - unless the writing offends their own ideology, new Cornell research finds. Studying a representative U.S. population, the scholars in literature, sociology and information science found competing cancel cultures in which widespread opposition to literary censorship masked offsetting disagreements between left- and right-wing values. Those attitudes highlight the polarization of an issue once governed by bipartisan consensus over the need to protect children from inappropriate violent or sexual content. Now, the researchers said, offensive political ideas are viewed as dangerous - threatening free speech as a core value."

""When each side attacks cancel culture on the other side, the attacks do not cancel out - they additively contribute to the restriction of freedom of expression," said Michael Macy , Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences, with a joint appointment in the Department of Information Science in the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science. "When people see 'freedom of expression' as just another weapon to use in the culture wars, it contributes to the problem of censorship by demeaning free expression as a core societal value.""

"Fueled by social media, public efforts to censor are on the rise: The American Library Association in 2022 documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources - the highest number of attempted book bans since it began compiling the data more than 20 years earlier. Preliminary 2023 data indicated a "record surge of challenges in public libraries.""

Public opinion shows both liberals and conservatives oppose censorship of children's literature except when content offends their own ideology. Competing cancel cultures arise, with widespread opposition to literary censorship masking offsetting disagreements between left- and right-wing values. The issue has polarized away from an earlier bipartisan focus on shielding children from violent or sexual content. Offensive political ideas are increasingly treated as dangerous, and weaponizing 'freedom of expression' in culture wars contributes to censorship by demeaning free expression as a core societal value. Book-challenge incidents have surged, aided by social media and public campaigns.

Read at Cornell Chronicle