U.S. bans popular yaoi manga

On August 27, the Brevard County School District in Florida decided to add three new titles to its list of banned books, including the first volume of the popular yaoi manga, "Sasaki to Miyano" by Sho Harusono. This decision was made despite the recommendations of the Florida Book Review Committee, which had suggested keeping manga in school libraries. The school board voted 3-2 in favor of the ban, which also includes the books "People Kill People" by Ellen Hopkins and "Damsel" by Elana K. Arnold.

The main argument behind the ban on 'Sasaki to Miyano' is the depiction of a romantic relationship between two male teenagers, which some board members deemed "potentially offensive" to the students. One board member went so far as to say that children can be harmed by exposure to age-inappropriate content, suggesting that these materials can lead to confusion about sexual identity and affect young people's self-esteem.

Jennifer Jenkins, a school board member who voted against the ban, openly criticized the decision on her social media, arguing that "this is not a slippery slope, it's an avalanche." Jenkins also mentioned that during the hearing, the board president could not understand why a Japanese translation should be read from right to left, which led to even more controversy.

Importantly, although 'Sasaki to Miyano' does not contain explicit material, it was included in the list of banned books for its focus on a same-sex relationship. In contrast, titles such as 'Damsel', which was also banned, include graphic descriptions of rape, which has led to its ban in other US school districts.

Interestingly, despite the ban on 'Sasaki to Miyano', the school board suggested other manga as alternatives, including 'Young Miss Holmes', 'To Your Eternity', 'Phantom Thief Jeanne', 'The Seven Deadly Sins', 'Sailor Moon' and 'A Silent Voice'. The inclusion of 'Sailor Moon' was surprising, given that in the original work a lesbian relationship between two of its characters, Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, is openly depicted.

'Sasaki to Miyano', whose first anime season aired from January to March 2022 and which featured a film titled 'Sasaki and Miyano: Graduation' released in February 2023, now joins the growing list of banned manga in the United States, an increasingly common phenomenon in the country.

Source: Twitter