RMS parents aghast that 'Gender Queer: A Memoir' is available to their children

Rochester Middle School doesn't have the book on its shelves, but students 12 and up can check it out from RPL. (Right, a page from the book. (Courtesy photos; Rochester Voice graphic)

ROCHESTER - The City Council may have voted overwhelmingly to ban the discussion of Gender Queer: A Memoir, a controversial book targeting pubescent students that has drawn widespread criticism for its imagery of sex acts, but councilors may be a bit out of step with their constituents, according to parents picking up their children from the Rochester Middle School on Friday.
"That's disgusting," said one woman after being shown an image from the graphic novel many are slamming as way too graphic.
"That is not appropriate for this age group," echoed Bonnie Cote of Rochester.
The Rochester Voice questioned a total of seven parents waiting on the south side of Brock Street just minutes before their children were to be dismissed for the weekend. When The Voice handed them a copy of what is considered the most graphic depiction, that of oral sex between two children, most turned their head away in abject disgust.
"Please get it out of my car," said one woman. "I don't want to take a chance on my kids seeing that." She was beyond belief that this book was currently available to check out from the Young Adult graphic novel section of the Rochester Public Library.
Sharon Roberts of Rochester agreed it shouldn't be allowed in the young adults section at RPL
It should be noted that Gender Queer is not available in any Rochester Public Schools library, according to Rochester Schools Supt. Kyle Repucci.
But Rochester youngsters 12 and up are free to check it out from the Rochester Public Library, according to library personnel spoken with earlier this week.

Five of those interviewed about Gender Queen asked to not be identified, perhaps fearing retribution from the LGBTQ community, who roundly mocked City Councilor Jim Gray during Tuesday's meeting when they erupted in catcalls when he said he wasn't trying to ban the book, just have a discussion.

Ultimately Gray had his request for City Manager Blaine Cox to discuss his findings on the book's appropriateness after conferring with head librarian Marie Lejeune rebuffed, after City Council including Mayor Callaghan voted 12-1 to withdraw Gray's agenda item that he had requested at an Aug. 16 meeting.
Prior to the vote councilors met with City Attorney Terence O'Rourke for 23 minutes in a secret meeting before emerging to employ a supermajority vote from Robert's Rule of Order to quash Gray's agenda item.
"So we ended up not getting the report from the city manager," lamented Gray on Thursday, "which was what I wanted."
According to Wikipedia the image referenced in this story is of (the author's) girlfriend performing oral sex on em while e wears a strap-on dildo." (e and em are what are referred to as nonbinary pronouns)
Gender Queer has received condemnation from parents nationwide.
Many libraries that received criticism have removed the books immediately, including in Keller, Texas, where Kathy May successfully led a movement for its removal from school library shelves.
"This is porn," she said on Lt. Col. Allen West's "Steadfast and Loyal" podcast a few days ago. "School districts across the country are getting this off the shelves."
May said she found many more books with disturbing subjects, but that Gender Queer was the most repugnant visually.
"Condoms that have poop on them?" she quipped referring to other such books. "They call this educational purposes? These graphic YA (young adult) novels are way too graphic."
While it appears City Council used Robert's Rules to remove the agenda item, Rochester's City Charter, itself, may prove salient in Gray's defense.
One section of the City Charter that seeks to regulate murals says they can be approved as long as:
"The mural contains no defamation, incitement, obscenity, illegal content, or images of child pornography. Obscene matter is that which the average resident of the City, applying community standards, would find, taken as a whole, appeals to a prurient interest and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value."
In another section of the city charter it seeks to regulate immorality and indecency at city departments or parks.
"Immorality and indecency. No person shall do any obscene or indecent act at any Department facility or in any park; or display, expose or distribute any picture, banner, or other object suggestive of sex in a lewd, indecent, immoral way; nor shall any person dress or undress at any Department facility or in an any park except in dressing rooms provided for such persons."
Gray said after Tuesday's meeting, the librarian told him Gender Queer was only available in the Adult section, while on Wednesday a librarian told The Rochester Voice it was available in the Young Adult section.
Gray feels that the City Council is, in fact, a legitimate body to weigh in on this subject, since they hold the purse strings to the library and appoint library trustees.
"We need the citizens of Rochester to come in and look at the book," he said.

A phone call to the RPL head librarian was not returned on Friday.