Florida governor Ron DeSantis' bill bans Mem Fox's book Guess What? as 'pornographic'

The book Guess What? by renowned Australian author Mem Fox is banned under Florida's controversial "Parental Rights in Education" bill, commonly known as the "Don't Say Gay" law by opponents of state governor Ron DeSantis.

The book was banned in the Jacksonville county of Duval. As per the bill, Duval Schools prohibit the distribution of “any picture, photograph, drawing … of a person or portion of the human body which depicts nudity or sexual conduct, sexual excitement, sexual battery, bestiality, or sadomasochistic abuse and which is harmful to minors."

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What are the 'objectionable' content in the book?

Mem Fox is the author of Australia’s highest-selling children’s book, Possum Magic. Her book Guess What? contains illustrations of its lead character, a witch called Daisy O’Grady. The book has illustrations by Vivienne Goodman wherein O’Grady is depicted taking a bath. To the county that banned it, the illustration appeared pornographic.

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Commenting on the issue, Mem Fox's agent said in a statement, “We have nothing to say on this issue. Duval County is a county of 997,000 people in Florida. It is not important.”

Apart from Mem Fox's book Guess What?, many other books have also been banned in Florida.

According to PEN America, which stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide, as many as 565 books were banned in Florida since 2021 under the controversial legislation.

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One of the directions given to Florida schools was to “empty libraries and cover classroom bookshelves," reported The Guardian.

Books of many renowned authors have been removed from school libraries and classrooms. Those includes big names such as Booker prize winners Margaret Atwood and Arundhati Roy, and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison.

In order to not randomly let the books leave the school libraries, teachers in Duval and Manatee counties are asked to review every book before they are banned and taken away from the classrooms, PEN America said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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