Anti-LGBTQ+ bigots target Barnes & Noble with boycott calls for selling ‘banned books’
Right wing bigots are calling for a boycott of Barnes & Noble. (Getty)
Anti-LGBTQ+ bigots are livid after discovering an LGBTQ+ section in their local bookshop chain.
Homophobic right-wingers initiated a wave of harassment against American bookstore Barnes & Noble after a user claimed to find a ‘banned books‘ section which they said was “pushing LGBTQ+ propaganda on kids”.
Photos show two book stands in the child section of a Barnes & Noble store in the US – one of which was advertising the LGBTQ+ graphic novel Heartstopper.
The other had several progressive books on display, including Grandad’s Pride by Harry Woodgate, Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope by Jodie Patterson and All Moms by Sarah Kate Ellis.
Several outraged followers called for a boycott of the chain while using slurs and spreading conspiracy theories.
“Bring back book burning!!” One user wrote, while another called on fellow homophobes to “Bud Light these b****rds” – referencing the boycott of the alcoholic beverage earlier this year.
While the books pictured on display have seen pushback from anti-LGBTQ+ groups attempting to censor them, none of the titles pictured are currently listed on by Barnes & Noble in its own ‘banned books’ list.
Books listed on the Barnes & Noble website’s ‘banned books’ section include notoriously censored classics such as 1984 by George Orwell, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, and Lord of the Flies by William Golding.
LGBTQ+ books that have experienced censorship or pushback from anti-LGBTQ+ US districts are also included in the list, such as Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer and This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson.
In June, the children’s graphic novel Grandad’s Pride became the target of an online hate mob after ‘gender critical’ pundits accused the book of damaging the gay community while making several bizarre claims about the title.
In response, the book’s publisher stood by its author, Harry Woodgate, calling the criticisms “baseless, deeply offensive and homophobic”.
“We believe it is a faithful representation of Pride celebrations and Pride parades around the country enjoyed by many families,” Andersen Press, the book’s publisher, told PinkNews.
