How ‘Gender Queer’ Incited Republicans In A Michigan Town

The Patmos Library in Jamestown, Michigan, was Chavala Ymker’s refuge for many years.

“We didn’t have the internet, and the library was the only place we had access to books and places outside the house,” said Ymker, 23, who was home-schooled while growing up in a small town.

But in a few years, that place of escape probably won’t exist.

Last year, residents of Jamestown, a town of nearly 10,000 people, voted to defund the public library after a push from conservatives to remove the book “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe from the shelves.

Conservatives across the country have targeted the memoir — in fact, they have prohibited in other countries than any other book in America – about Kobabe’s journey to discover her own gender identity. He particularly took issue with consent that contained pages about sex toys, and he claimed it was wrong to say that just reading the book could make a child change their gender identity or sexual orientation.

“Libraries are a disaster because of one book,” Ymker said.

The Patmos library has historically relied on public funding from a tax called the millage ― and a renewal of the millage to keep the library operational is on the primary ballot in August 2021. Conservative claims about the library having LGBTQ-themed books have been met, and some residents have put up signs on the lawn about how tax money going to be used for “former” children.

“Some people put out fliers claiming librarians are groomers and offering pornography in the library,” said Salem Sousley, a Jamestown resident and co-founder of Inclusive Ottawa County, a group that works to promote diversity and inclusion in the area.

After the millage was voted down by 25 percentage points, the library board put the question on the ballot in November. More people voted to renew the tax than in August, but not enough people voted “yes” to keep the funding. It’s unclear if the question of the millage will appear on next year’s ballot.

As it stands now, the library will stop receiving funding in the fall of 2024.

“It’s going to be hard to lose this resource,” Sousley said. “Kids from the local school hosted a club there, where people donated blood, and where people voted. People voted to defund the library in the library.

Some residents are now scrambling to figure out if they can keep the library doors open long-term, while also reckoning with the anti-LGBTQ rhetoric sweeping the city.

Enough donations have been poured in to keep the Patmos Library operational for several months after the funds ran out. A GoFundMe set up last August raised more than $12,000, while author Nora Roberts donated $50,000 and a Michigan family who had never visited the library gave another $100,000. But library officials say private donations aren’t a sustainable option.

Rachel Cain, a member of Inclusive Ottawa County who lives in Jamestown, said she was invited to join a new group aimed at saving the library and that she hopes conservatives “lose their stronghold.”

But it’s still an uphill battle, and three people sympathetic to the right-wing argument about book removal only began terms on the library board this month.

Concerned that many residents are closing their libraries, they are more concerned about what is happening where they live. The debate is about more than removing books from the shelves: the library of Patmos said it even moved “Gender Queer” behind the counter after the initial complaints.

“Jamestown is not a friendly place these days,” Sousley said. “My husband is trans, and I’m non-binary. It’s really hard to live here every day, knowing that your neighbors treat you with contempt and contempt.

Jamestown is in Ottawa County, a traditionally conservative area where Donald Trump won about 60% of the vote in 2016 and 2020. the supervisory board is under review by the state attorney general for several actions that took place immediately after he was sworn in earlier this month – including the removal of the district’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

This city is only one place where fight right in the library played out. Conservatives have targeted the institution, claiming librarians are trying to indoctrinate or indoctrinate children with books with LGBTQ characters and themes. It’s not true, but conspiracy theories have spread – with significant consequences, including people threatening public libraries and protests at a family-friend story hour hosted by a drag queen.

“It’s very reminiscent of what happened with community pools during the Civil Rights Movement,” Cain said. “When white Christian Americans are forced with the possibility of sharing their space with blacks, they choose to fill it. [with cement] and deny access to all.”

Weeks after it was successfully defunded, the debate about the Patmos Library continues.

Last month, Shane Trejo, a Michigan GOP official who does not live near Jamestown, posted on Facebook: “Time to forcefully close the library. Then maybe charge the person who wrote the check with being an accessory to child abuse. He later against the Michigan Bridgenon-profit news outlet, which is obviously through law enforcement.

A few days after the initial comments, the Library of Patmos closed early, citing safety concerns. The library did not provide a specific reason to HuffPost for the closure, however local police said they were not made aware of any safety concerns that required the library to close early.

At the next library board meeting, residents were outraged by the closure. One woman reportedly accused the library of lying about the threatand others said the library just wanted media attention.

A library staff member, who has not been publicly named, was horrified by the allegations and directed the room.

“We have a breaking point. We have been threatened, we have been condemned,” he said. according to viral TikTok. “I’m tired, and I’m tired of all of you. I moved to this city two and a half years ago, and I [have] Regret every day for the last year.”

For Ymker, who spent a lot of time in the library as a teenager and made friends there, watching the place she loved become the target of hate has been devastating.

“It’s very angry and bone-chilling,” they said. “It’s a safe place. Librarians are people who make me feel important.