Before McMaster called for ‘obscene’ school book review, this SC mom made her case
A mother who complained to Fort Mill School Board about some books available to high school students said the problem is the “explicit content and images.”
On Wednesday, Gov. Henry McMaster called for an investigation into potentially obscene or pornographic materials after a parent complaint to the Fort Mill School District.
At last week’s school board meeting, Ellen Abramo told board members that books shared with her by a father in her neighborhood from a high school library were too graphic. Abramo said she has six children at each school level in the district.
“No one’s targeting material about gender issues in and of themselves,” Abramo told the school board. “We know many students are faced with this topic and we support education on social issues to further understanding and compassion.
“The issue with these books is their explicit content and images,” she said.
McMaster made the request Wednesday after he receiving examples of what he called “pornographic materials” found in schools, specifically the book “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe. Kobabe’s autobiography talks about growing up being nonbinary.
“Please know my intent is not to vilify anyone in Fort Mill School District, but to raise awareness in the hopes of protecting all students,” Abramo said.
The school district won’t name who filed the complaint, spokesman Joe Burke said Thursday. However, Burke said there has only been one complaint.
Abramo told the board she is a Florence native with a master’s degree in special education and taught in Anderson County Schools before moving to Fort Mill. She said more needs to be done to filter what materials students can access in school.
“You will find detailed sexual encounters, sometimes between adults and minors,” she told the school board. “And even graphic comic book-like images of sexual acts. I believe these amount to pornography and rape.”
During the school board meeting, Abramo also called out two other books as too explicit: “Lawn Boy: A Novel” by Jonathan Evison and “All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto” by George M. Johnson.
Efforts to reach Abramo for comment were unsuccessful. Fort Mill School District chairwoman Kristy Spears did not immediately respond for comment Friday.
Burke said the book was removed from high school media centers and online catalog while the district review process is completed.
This story was originally published November 15, 2021 at 12:16 PM.
