Why I Support Book Bans

As an author and a writer, I support banning books in schools. Why? Porn. Let’s get into it.

But first, before you get all mad at me, read the entire post first. Still want to read more? I’ve included a list of additional sources at the end of this article that I suggest reading.

I want to give both sides of the argument a chance so that you, as the reader, can form your own opinions. Later, I will explain my own reasoning on why I support the bans and why I believe you should as well.

So let’s start with the argument against book bans. 

Many say that banning books is done intentionally so that children are not exposed to critical topics that are important to learn as they grow up. Topics like racism, sex, consent, and LGBTQ. These are important topics and many people argue that children shouldn’t be kept in the dark about them.

In an article by Rachel Brooks titled “Taking a stand against book bans”, she quotes a professor from Case Western Reserve University, who wrote, “Making sure that children see themselves represented in books that they read gives them a sense of belonging that empowers them to engage in school.” Brooks goes on to write, “Unrestricted access to books exposes people, including children, to critical material about history and human behavior.”

The argument here is that, like I said earlier, they are trying to represent a larger audience and believe that banning books is wrong because it suppresses marginalized voices and prevents proper representation in fiction and non-fiction.

That sounds all well and good, doesn’t it? Now let’s get to the other side of the argument.

Why I agree with banning books.

Books that are being banned from schools are not suppressing marginalized voices. Books that are being banned from schools include pornographic material. People advocating for these books, whether they know it or not (though to not is to be willfully ignorant), are advocating for porn to be accessible to children. This is not just my opinion, it is actually happening.

Let’s quickly define what porn actually is. According to Merriam-Webster, pornography is “material (such as books, movies, or photographs) that depicts erotic behavior and is intended to cause sexual excitement.”

Sexual excitement… and why are we giving actual children these books again?

One particular example is a book with 20 bans, titled Breathless by Jennifer Niven. It is described as a coming-of-age story… that’s not all this is. The book has on-page sex scenes. Why do children--and let me repeat--why do children need to be reading a book that has sex scenes in it? In a school environment. Why? Why do children need to be exposed to this type of material?

But it’s informative about consent!

It’s porn. What’s the argument here? Why are people advocating for children to be reading porn? This is grooming (see resource 6). Exposure to porn has actual physical effects on the brain, especially on young minds. It doesn’t matter if it’s not a video. Words on a page can impact them in the very same way.

Let’s actually take a moment to jump into the research a bit.

In the study, “Brain Structure and Functional Connectivity Associated With Pornography Consumption”, Simone Kühn and Jürgen Gallinat found that there was a “negative association between reported pornography hours per week and gray matter volume…” (2014). This means that they found an association between more pornography watched and less gray matter in the brain.

Keep in mind that gray matter in the brain is what processes thinking, movement, and memory. It’s the part of our brains that helps us process information, interact with our environment, manage memories and emotions, and even affects our problem-solving and decision-making (Cleveland Clinic, n.d.).

Since this association implies that individuals who consume porn have less ability to plan, regulate emotion, problem-solve, control impulses, and even interact with the world around them.

I can’t stress enough how much of an issue this is.

Porn can rewire the brains of those consuming it.

Think about how constant social media use affects the brains of children. Too much social media use is connected with hyperactivity, impulsivity, inattention, low self-esteem, and loneliness in adolescent users (Perry et al., 2023). Notice any similarities to people with porn addictions? I do.

Many porn addicts also report anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem (Privara & Bob, 2023). By exposing children to pornographic material at a younger age, we are setting them up for failure in the long run.

It normalizes the use and consumption of porn, which can lead to addiction.

Normalizing porn being presented to children is normalizing the sexualization of children. This has effects outside of just schools. Outside of reading. And outside of just affecting the brain.

This is how children are now being groomed. Little kids are attending events that include kinks and fetishes (see gay pride). They are being exposed to things they do not understand at their age and are being told it's normal. You know what this does to them?

It sets them up to be abused.

Children who are exposed to pornography have less ability to avoid, resist, or escape sexual victimization (Reist & Bray, 2011). This is not okay. It has never been okay.

So why are we giving children porn? Why are we introducing them to sexualized content? That’s a good question. Why are we doing this to kids? Why are so many people sexualizing them at a young age, all for the sake of ‘education’? Education does not involve graphic sexual scenes. Education does not introduce children to kinks and fetishes and glorify toxic relationships. It doesn’t matter what kind. It doesn’t matter if it’s a woman with a man, or a man with a man, or with a dead body (ref: Sibylline), or whatever other combination under the sun. It is porn. And it is harming our children.

This issue goes beyond books, as many issues do, but schools should be the foundation of a safe place for children to learn. Everything else in our society is already being sexualized to a sickening degree, and in order to promote these degenerate ideologies, there is a push to start young with kids.

Don’t let it get into our schools. Don’t let it stay in our schools.

That’s why I support book bans, and why you should too. 

P.S. I know this article went beyond just schools. You could say this is me also calling out the YA and middle grade genres as a whole as well. The entire topic makes me sick. This was a hard post to write about but SOMEONE needs to say it. Someone needs to do the research.

PLEASE read the resources I used. Dive into your own research. Check out the additional studies I included. If you are doubting, read source 6. I can’t stress enough how eye-opening some of this stuff is. This article could have easily been ten times longer.

Resources

1. Books, Rachel. “Taking a stand against book bans.” https://www.apa.org/monitor/2025/07-08/fighting-book-bans-censorship

2. Cleveland Clinic. (2023, March 19). Grey Matter. Cleveland Clinic; Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/24831-grey-matter

3. Kühn S, Gallinat J. Brain Structure and Functional Connectivity Associated With Pornography Consumption: The Brain on Porn. JAMA Psychiatry. 2014;71(7):827–834. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.93

4. Perry, J., Devore, S. K., Pellegrino, C., & Salce, A. J. (2023). Social Media Usage and Its Effects on the Psychological Health of Adolescents. NASN school nurse (Print), 38(6), 292–296. https://doi.org/10.1177/1942602X231159901

5. Privara, M., & Bob, P. (2023). Pornography Consumption and Cognitive-Affective Distress. The Journal of nervous and mental disease, 211(8), 641–646. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000001669

6. Reist, M. T., & Bray, A. (2011). Big porn, inc.: Exposing the harms of the global pornography industry. Spinifex.

   1. (You can also find an online PDF here: Big Porn Inc. Exposing the Harms of the Global Pornography Industry by Melinda Tankard Reist, Abigail Bray etc..pdf. I recommend reading the chapters titled “The New Lolita: Pornography and the Sexualization of Childhood” and “Groomed to Consume Porn: How Sexualised Marketing Targets Children”. Further reading includes “Part 3: Harming Children”)

7. Tolin, Lisa. “Banned Books List 2025.” PEN America, 4 Feb. 2025, pen.org/banned-books-list-2025/.

Want to read more on the topic? Check out these studies!

8. Hilton, D. L. (2021). Pornography and the developing brain: Protecting the children. In E. Caffo (Ed.), Online child sexual exploitation. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66654-5_5

9. Sabina, C., Wolak, J., & Finkelhor, D. (2008). The Nature and Dynamics of Internet Pornography Exposure for Youth. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 11(6), 691-693. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2007.0179

10. Gottzén, L. (2022). Boys’ brains on porn. In Posthumanism and the man question (pp. 73–84). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003219613-8

P.P.S. It’s stupid that people are up in arms about book bans anyway. You can still buy these books at a bookstore. Just take them out of schools and the hands of children. This whole debate is dumb. Common sense is the rarest form of sense these days. People need to start actually thinking about issues and doing their own research before yelling into the void about them.

Book bans are not there to take away marginalized voices. They are there to take away the sexualization of children.