AMANDA BLUMES, FUCK YES!

@Martha’s Vineyard 

Amanda meets Judy Bloom (a gain!💃) 

“She taught me: Keep writing. Keep telling the true-est emotional story, however far you can take it. As far as “they” will allow, then break beyond that acceptable barrier. Keep going. Likely you’ll make people uncomfortable; likely they’ll punish you, likely they’ll try to silence you. Keep going, you’re on the right path.

Write the truth and connect.

Write the truth and heal.

Write the truth and find your people. They’re there.

I needed this reminder so badly after the year I’ve just had.“ ~ AFP🎶 #dyor she’s back TFFT

The Evolution of the Bans On Judy’s Books 

The censorship of Blume's books evolved through distinct political and cultural eras: [1, 2]

• The Quiet 1970s Intercepts: When novels like Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (1970) were first published, censorship was mostly isolated. Rogue school principals or small groups of parents would quietly remove copies from individual library shelves without national coordination. [, 2, 3]
• The 1980s Backlash: Following the 1980 U.S. presidential election, conservative and religious political groups organized heavily. Blume noted that "censors crawled out of the woodwork" to determine what all children could read, causing her books to be stripped from entire school districts. [1, 2]
• The 1990s and 2000s Legacy: According to data from the American Library Association (ALA), Blume became the second most frequently challenged author of the late 20th century, trailing only horror writer Alvin Schwartz. Five of her novels remained on the ALA's Top 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books list throughout the decade. [1]
• The Modern Resurgence: In recent years, Blume's books have faced a heavy resurgence in bans. Sweeping state legislation targeting themes of gender, sex education, and puberty has led to her work—particularly Forever...—being banned once again across multiple school districts. [1, 2]

Why Censors Targeted Her Work

Unlike historical book bans focused on radical political ideologies or overt violence, the pushback against Blume stems from her signature literary style: unflinching, gentle realism. [1, 2, 3]

Censorship Motive [1, 2, 4, 5]	Core Fear	Example Impact
Demystifying Puberty	Parents feared that reading about biological milestones would encourage children to grow up too fast or experiment.	Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was routinely banned simply for mentioning menstruation, pads, and buying bras.
Normalising Autonomy	Censors objected heavily to young female characters exploring or taking ownership of their own bodies.	Deenie was restricted primarily because the main character engages in masturbation.
Rejecting Pure Moralism	Critics felt children's books should act as moral guides where bad behaviour is punished.	Blubber was banned because the central school bully doesn't face traditional, moralistic consequences at the end.
Validating Teen Sexuality	Censors argued that validating consensual, protected teenage intimacy ignores traditional emotional and moral maturity.	Forever... was targeted because the high school protagonists use birth control and safely navigate sex without tragedy.

Her Transition to Activism

The relentless targeting of her writing turned Blume into a fierce, lifelong advocate for intellectual freedom. [1, 2, 3, 4]

She joined forces with the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) to defend students, teachers, and librarians. She edited  Places I Never Meant to Be, an anthology of short stories by other banned authors, explicitly donating the proceeds to anti-censorship causes. Today, she uses her independent bookstore in Florida, Books & Books Key West, to actively highlight and sell banned titles, famously stating: "Let children read whatever they want and then talk about it with them." [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Inter National colleagues collaborators kind hearted wild ones. The smART ARTists, rebels, renegades, aware & astute. Erudite, fun loving light hearted, why so serious? Unless it is… The Life Lovers like Judy Bloom, Kathy Lette, Amanda Fucking Palmer, Hannah Ferguson, Amy Remeikis, Holly Rankin ➕ multiple allies who simply get it… 

See ewe 🐑 inn Sydney 📚… ore knot! 🤣 gee nah 

@FESTIVAL OF MOFO DANGEROUS IDEAS ✅

Lighten up! One Gloriously Grounded Infinite Paradox 

Learn 2 Laugh loudly about stuff that actually TF matters! 

Demystifying Puberty

Parents feared that reading about biological milestones would encourage children to grow up too fast or experiment.

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was routinely banned simply for mentioning menstruation, pads, and buying bras.

Normalising Autonomy

Censors objected heavily to young female characters exploring or taking ownership of their own bodies.

Deenie was restricted primarily because the main character engages in masturbation.

Rejecting Pure Moralism

Critics felt children's books should act as moral guides where bad behaviour is punished.

Blubber was banned because the central school bully doesn't face traditional, moralistic consequences at the end.

Validating Teen Sexuality

Censors argued that validating consensual, protected teenage intimacy ignores traditional emotional and moral maturity.

Forever... was targeted because the high school protagonists use birth control and safely navigate sex without tragedy.

THE ART OF ASKING EVERYTHING