Illinois Valley Times

The LaSalle Public Library, which last week hosted a “Drag Queen Storytime” featuring a local cross-dressing man, carries a book that features pornographic cartoon illustrations depicting gay oral sex, according to a review of library catalog records by Illinois Valley Times.

Aimed at teenagers, Gender Queer: A Memoir, by Maia Kobabe, features comic-book style images of two male teenagers performing oral sex upon one another, using sex toys and masturbating, drawn by Kobabe.

According To the LaSalle Public Library online catalog, Gender Queer is on the shelf at the library, listed as a “YA (Young Adult) Biography.” 

“Gender Queer” is on the shelf at LaSalle Public Library | LaSalle Public Library

Libraries in North Carolina, Florida and Texas have removed Gender Queer from their catalogues on account of its pornography.

St. Louis-based Lion Forge published Gender Queer as part of a series of "graphic" cartoon books aimed at teenagers and pre-teenagers, encouraging them to ignore their biological sex. The publisher says its mission is to create characters that appeal to children who might want to cross-dress, or have sex change surgery.

Kobabe, a biological woman who claims to now be neither a woman nor a man, says she uses so-called "gender neutral pronouns," to refer to herself.

In a Dec. 2021 profile on Kobabe in her hometown newspaper, the Santa Rosa (Calif.) Press Democrat, author Matt Villano referred to her by these "gender neutral pronouns."

"When e got eir first period at age 11, however, everything changed. E felt betrayed by eir own body. E became unhappy and confused by societal expectations and norms. E withdrew and turned to reading and sketching to cope with feelings of depression and dysmorphia," Villano wrote, comparing Kobabe to "Harper Lee, J.D. Salinger and Mark Twain" as authors who have "penned banned books."

Left-wing activists have sought to ban Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Salinger's A Catcher in the Rye and Twain's Huckleberry Finn for using language they say is "offensive" to blacks and women. None of the three books includes any pornographic cartoon illustrations depicting gay sex.

The LaSalle Public Library, located at 305 Marquette Street in LaSalle, Illinois, is a Carnegie library that opened between 1905 and 1907 with a $25,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie. The building was designed by Victor Andre Matteson, who also worked on other structures in the area.

The “Drag Queen Storytime” hosted by the library last week featured a cross-dressing man who goes by the stage name “JJ Adonis.”  Adonis regularly performs at events, such as “JJs Drag Bingo“ at Haze Smokehouse, also located in LaSalle. Adonis has also led Drag Queen Storytime sessions, including events at Prairie Fox Books in Ottawa, Illinois.

The LaSalle Public Library Board of Trustees includes Jo‑Ann Benassi, who serves as President; Matt Valle, Vice President; Ali Braboy, Treasurer; Nancy Nieslawski, Secretary; Joe Jeppson, City Hall Representative; and Trustees Becky Christoperson, Marc Zeglis, Kathy Parker, and Emily Schaub. The board is responsible for overseeing library policy, finance, and operations through regular meetings and committee work.