Week 10: Censorship in YA: A Closer Look at Weetzie Bat

This week for class we are taking a closer look at the issue of censorship in young adult materials. We were assigned to read either Monster Walter Dean Myers or Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block. I chose the latter, and will be approaching it from two angles: pro-censoring it, and anti-censoring. (For the record, I'm anti-censoring all the way.)

But first, a short summary of Weetzie Bat:

Weetzie Bat is the story eccentric high-schooler Weetzie who wears old taffeta dresses, Indian headdresses, and is head-over-heels in love with the glitz and glam of Los Angeles. One day she meets Dirk, and the two set out on a quest to find their perfect Ducks (aka boyfriends -- Dirk is gay.) One day, Weetzie receives a magic lamp and wishes for Dirk to have a Duck and for her to meet her Secret Agent Lover Man, and a house for all of them to live in. Weetzie receives all these things, but does it mean happily ever after? 

Written in poetic prose, Block takes readers on a journey through a magical and slinkster cool incarnation of L.A. as Weetzie explores friendship and love.

Pro-censorship stance: Weetzie Bat's content could be viewed as some that is not appropriate for its teen audience. Throughout the course of the novel, the characters in Weetzie Bat engage in: sexual activity, underage drinking, drug use, homosexuality and pregnancy out of wedlock. Suicide and AIDS are also discussed. Weetzie's alternative lifestyle of living with two gay men alongside her lover may also incur a negative reaction from patrons, as well as Weetzie's decision to have sex with both Dirk and Duck to conceive Cherokee, thus giving Cherokee "three dads." A concerned parent may find all of these issues that the novel tackles to be too mature, or too difficult for a child or teen.

Anti-censorship stance: There are many teens who live, or participate in alternative lifestyles. Many teens are gay and need literature that represents them in a positive light. Dirk and Duck's homosexuality is presented as normative, a small towards supporting gay rights and equality. It's also a fact that many teens (13-18 years) / young adults (19 and up) become pregnant out of wedlock; they need a support system, not to become a pariah or shunned from society, and this book is representative of this lifestyle without condemning it. Presenting alternative lifestyles in a positive way is not a gateway to encouraging teens to participate in said lifestyle, but does provide people who do literature that they can relate to. It is important to consider the experiences of all teens. There is also the undercurrent message of loving oneself and self-respect (p. 24-25) when Dirk and Weetzie are experiencing abusive relationships. Though the passage is brief, it's important message to important on young adult readers.


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You may have noticed that I have not touched on the quality of the writing or the plot, but I do not think those are issues that patrons would seriously consider when challenging a book; they are likely to be much more concerned with content and how said content will affect impressionable readers.

Block, Francesca L. (1989). Weetzie Bat. New York: Harper & Row.