Mom prevented from sharing sexually explicit book available at school library at school board meeting

During the public comment section of a recent school board meeting, a Florida mother attempted to share a sexually explicit image featured in a school library book, but she was promptly interrupted, the New York Post reported.

Julie Gebhards, a Tampa resident, addressed the Hillsborough County school board, hoping to bring attention to an inappropriate graphic novel in the district’s libraries.

Gebhards explained that “Blankets” by Craig Thompson, which features sexually explicit images and passages, was approved unanimously by Plant City High School’s seven-person panel, despite being challenged by parents.

“This is in children’s libraries here in Hillsborough County,” she said. “Approved by that committee unanimously.”

According to the author’s website, the book is a “poignant graphic memoir” about “a young man coming of age.”

Before reading the graphic novel to the school board, Gebhards advised parents in the audience to remove their children from the room, warning that the content would be inappropriate.

“The book also contains crass talk like this: ‘Church camp is the best place to score p***y,’” she stated. “Also: ‘Did you feel up her t*****s?’ It has images of masturbation, naked boys peeing on each other, and sexual assault of a child. … I imagine we’re all uncomfortable now.”

Gebhards also brought in an oversized image from the graphic novel that depicted a young couple in bed together with the female’s breast exposed. After only a few seconds of holding up the image for board members to view, a police officer approached Gebhards, grabbed the display from her hands, folded it, and placed it on the ground.

Gebhards also noted that the book references “erections, breast fondling, biting, tasting, oral copulation, stripping off clothes in heated passion,” and included “22 images of the aroused couple, 10 images of her naked breasts.”

The outraged mother called the graphic novel “shameful, base, and degrading.”

After Gebhards’ two minutes were up, board chair Nadia Combs attempted to quickly move to the next speaker while noting that “no one is allowed to bring displays.”

Before leaving the podium, Gebhards added, “This is in a library book in your classrooms.”

Gebhards spoke at a previous school board meeting, encouraging members and other community members not to fall for the “book banning narrative,” Florida’s Voice reported.

“Lets be clear. It’s intellectually dishonest to suggest that parents are banning books,” she stated. “Labeling parents' attempts to protect their children from the graphically sexually explicit content that I’ve read to you, again and again, at these board meetings, labeling this as ‘book banning’ may be politically acceptable, but again, it’s intellectually dishonest to do so.”

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