Kinokuniya awaits ‘Gender Queer’ classification appeal

Sydney bookshop Kinokuniya has paid for the Australian Classification Board to determine the classification of the graphic novel Gender Queer: A memoir (Maia Kobabe, Oni Press) after a complaint about the title, but the board’s subsequent decision that the title should be available Unrestricted, is being appealed.

After a complainant submitted Gender Queer to the board as a title that might cause offence, the bookshop received an email from the board on 17 March, about ‘calling-in’ the book for classification within three business days.

‘Once a title as been called-in we essentially have three options,’ said the bookshop in a post. ‘The first is to approach the local publisher/distributor of the title and ask them to submit it to the board. In the case of Gender Queer there isn’t a local supplier. We have recognised the importance of this title and we import it ourselves, which makes us (and anyone else who sells it in Australia) the “publisher”, in the Classification Board’s terms.

‘Our second option is to remove it from sale and write-off the stock. … The cost to have a single book classified for a single store is prohibitive—in this case, based on the number of pages, it is $560. The process could take several weeks, and there is no guarantee of The Board’s decision. So, there you have our third option—to pay to have it classified ourselves. And we feel so incredibly passionate about being able to represent and champion this title in Australia that we paid the fee, and then waited.’

The Classification Board determined that Gender Queer should be available Unrestricted, with a recommendation of M for mature readers, over 15 years old. The bookshop received a Classification Certificate on 4 April, stating that the book could be sold Unrestricted. However, the board’s decision has been appealed and the decision is being reviewed. Kinokunyia has suggested that readers should make their own submissions in relation to the board’s decision.

Gender Queer is the number one book on the American Library Association’s list of banned books in the US in 2022, with 151 challenges. The same year saw the highest number of attempted book bans in the US since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago.

Category: Local news