Eleven-Year-Old Reads Sex Scene From Teen Book At Local Library Out Loud To School Board

Printed from: https://newbostonpost.com/2023/02/26/eleven-year-old-reads-sex-scene-from-teen-book-at-local-library-out-loud-to-school-board/

An 11-year-old boy recently read aloud at a school board meeting in Maine a passage from a book he found on display at a local public library depicting two boys engaging in sexual activity.

The student, Knox Zajak, spoke during public comment at a meeting of the Windham-Raynham School District Board of Directors on Wednesday, February 15.

He was one of several speakers addressing a book called Gender Queer, which is in the library of the school district’s public high school. School board members were scheduled to discuss in closed session later that night whether to remove the book from the school library.

The boy didn’t mention the title of the book he read from, but it was later reported by The Maine Wire as Nick and Charlie, a book rated for ages 14 and older.

Below is a transcript of what the boy said, with a redaction for vulgarity. (His comments begin at 9:57 of the video, which is available at the school district’s web site.) Passages from the book are in italics.

 

Hi, my name’s Knox Zajak. I’m 11 years old, and I go to Windham Middle School. I’m a sixth-grader.

I was in the library, and this book was on a stand. I’d like to read you a page.

My back over my hips, as I ask if we should take our clothes off. And he’s saying yes before I finish my sentence. He’s pulling off my T-shirt, laughing when I can’t undo his shirt buttons. He’s undoing my belt. I’m reaching into his bedside drawer for a condom. We’re kissing. Again, we’re rolling over.

Obviously you can see where this is going.

I don’t know if it’s because we’re feeling especially emotional or just tired. Or these past couple of weeks have been too much. But this reminds me so much of the first time we had sex. We were both f——- terrified. And the whole thing was kind of terrible, because we didn’t know what we were doing. But it was good, too. So good. Because we were a mess of emotions, and we were scared and excited, and everything felt new. So this sort of feels like that.

Now, this book was at my middle school, and it was at a stand. When I rented it out, to show my dad it, the librarian asked if I wanted more, and if I wanted a graphic novel version.

 

The boy’s father, Adam Zajac, spoke next.

“By the entry door of our library, this is the smut that he is finding, all right?” Adam Zajac said. “I don’t care whether it’s gay, straight, bisexual, whatever the terms are for all this stuff. Doesn’t need to be at our school. Doesn’t need to be at our 11-year-old’s library.”

He also said Gender Queer is not an appropriate book for the high school library to have, describing at one point in graphic terms male-on-male oral sex.

“… I’m very, very frustrated about it. O.K.? And, you may think that schools know the best for our children. You know who know the best for our children? The parents,” Adam Zajac said.

Another speaker, who identified himself simply as Matthew, spoke in favor of keeping Gender Queer in the high school library. He cited statistics showing a high percentage of suicide and suicidal thoughts among teen-agers who identify with a gender other than the one that corresponds to their biological sex.

“Now think, what type of message does it send, to these children, to these students, to their families, when a school board will take the advice, which targets them explicitly? And remove representation of that group from their entire school life? What does it say that anything associated with their inner life must be behind a black curtain, and a special-access-only? Does it send a message of affirmation? Does it send a message of support? Would you feel supported if your own life were hidden behind a black curtain?” Matthew said.

Windham is a town of about 18,000 people about 10 miles northwest of Portland. Raymond, a neighboring town, has about 4,500 people.

The school board’s next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 1.

The 11-year-old boy’s comments were first reported by The Maine Wire, in a story published Wednesday, February 23.

 

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