Samuel Case, FISM News
The office of Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis released a video Wednesday exposing the sexually explicit books found in the state’s public schools.
The video was shown at the governor’s “Exposing the Book Ban Hoax” press conference, where DeSantis challenged his opponents’ claims that his office is banning books in schools.
The video can be watched by clicking here. (WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT)
Highlighted books include “Flamer,” a graphic novel about a gay boy with a scene involving group masturbation, and “Gender Queer,” another graphic novel, which also depicts masturbation and, according to the video, encourages transgender surgery.
“Let’s Talk About It” — a self-described teen guide to “sex, relationships, and being a human” — includes graphic guides for masturbation, anal sex, and sexting.
“This is porn,” the video says. “These books violate Florida standards and curriculum. The hoax from the left is that these books were never in Florida schools.”
Several poetry books by Rupi Kaur; “Homebody,” “Milk and Honey,” and “The Sun and Her Flowers,” were allegedly discovered in 15 schools. These books included sexually explicit lines, such as “masturbation is meditation” and “look me in the eyes, when you’re down there, eating for your life.”
DeSantis said some news stations were forced to cut the press conference feed due to the graphic images highlighted in the video.
“Every minute you spend focusing on some of this pornographic stuff, that’s less time you’re spending on doing the things that really matter to our kids, in terms of them getting the education they need in math and reading and all of these other things,” DeSantis said.
“Pornography is absolutely prohibited from our school libraries,” Florida Education Commissioner Manny Díaz said at the press conference. “That is not new. That is a statute that has been on the books in Florida.”
“Removing clear instances of pornography and sexually explicit materials, often within arms reach of our youngest kids, is not book banning,” he added.