A couple weeks ago, the National Education Association (NEA) included the (porno)graphic novel, Gender Queer, on its summer reading list for educators.  According to one description of the novel:

It is almost impossible to describe "Gender Queer's" text and illustrations, encompassing as they do everything from masturbation to bodily mutilation to gay blowjobs to Plato's Symposium to bullet vibes to tasting one's own vagina. 

The NEA's recommendations, which also included anti-racist screed White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, was published on June 5 of this year.  The internet Wayback Machine, a website that catalogs website pages by date, has a link to the NEA's list as it looked on June 12.  Note there is no italicized introductory explanation regarding the intentions of the list when it was first published.

After significant criticism from the public and multiple news stories, however, the NEA added a clarification.  Prior to the recommended reads, now an "Editor's Note" states:

Educators read diverse books so that they can better understand their colleagues, students, and families they serve. The books here are not recommended for students.

The NEA emphasizes that the books listed — including White Fragility and Gender Queer — "are not recommended for students."

Last year, the NEA argued that parents who criticize Gender Queer are not acting in the best interest of students and "want to exclude certain children by removing people who look like them."

Now, the NEA recommends Gender Queer for educators, but not students.

So which is it?  The NEA contradicts itself.

And if the NEA's most recent commentary admits that Gender Queer is unsuitable for our nation's pupils, then why does the graphic novel remain on primary school shelves?

Image: Oni Press.