It’s become a lightning rod for conservatives in the US and been banned in dozens of school districts there – but the ground-breaking Gender Queer: A Memoir has received an ‘unrestricted classification’ by Australian censors for classification following a complaint by conservative blogger Bernard Gaynor, who was sacked by the Defence Force in 2013 for anti-gay comments on social media.
The Australian Classification Board deemed that the themes of the graphic novel, by non-binary cartoonist Maia Kobabe for teenagers and young adults, are not high in impact or offensive, nor its treatment of sex or nudity, offensive, exploitative or very detailed.
The book received an Alex Award from the American Library Association, recognising books that appeal to young adults, and was a finalist for the Stonewall Book Award for non-fiction.
