Banned Books: Health and Wellness

Book bans and health intersect in numerous ways. In the 2022-2023 school year, 42 percent of banned books cover topics on health and wellbeing for students (n = 1,402). This includes content on mental health, bullying, suicide, substance abuse, as well as books that discuss sexual wellbeing and puberty (PEN America). Books that tackle sexual topics such as sexual violence have continued to be particularly targeted into 2024 (PEN America). Limiting access to these materials has negative effects on survivors, who can use literature to help cope with their trauma (Wohl et al., De Vries et al.). 

Banning books in general also has negative health effects. As a high percentage of banned books focus on marginalized populations, people belonging to those groups experience negative mental health and psychological effects as it furthers stigma against them. LGBTQ youth feeling isolated and without social support are more likely to consider or attempt suicide (The Trevor Project). Authors of banned books are also negatively impacted in terms of mental health and wellbeing, as they experience not only the stress of public scrutiny (which may even include threats of violence), but also financial losses. Similar stresses burden librarians facing book challenges in their libraries. 

You can read more about these issues using the linked articles below. We've also provided a curated book list of select banned books which feature different health and wellness topics.