The Disturbing Reason Why A School Librarian Is Defending A Pro-Prostitution Book In Schools
A school librarian defended a pro-prostitution novel in the school, alleging that it validates student sex work.
There is a reason so many parents are upset with public education, and pulling their children out of the system for alternatives. Educators like Stefany Guido, a school librarian in Sterling, Virginia, might be a prime example of why this is happening. In a recent report from The Post Millennial, Guido allegedly defended a controversial book on the shelves of her middle school library, suggesting it validates the acts of student sex work.
Stefany Guido is the school librarian at Sterling Middle School in Virginia. After a co-worker brought a conversation she had with the librarian to the attention of authorities, she has come under fire for possibly promoting prostitution and student sex work. It all started when the teacher came to Guido asking her about a controversial book she had seen being discussed on social media.
The book in question was Seeing Gender, by Iris Gottlieb. Amazon recommends the book for young adult readers beginning at ninth grade, yet the librarian confirmed it was accessible in the school’s library for middle schoolers to check out. Furthermore, she defended the book’s place in the school, citing that she knew student sex work was happening.
The biggest concern the teacher had with this conversation wasn’t necessarily the fact that the librarian was defending the book touted as being pro-prostitution. It was the fact that Guido was insinuating that she might have knowledge that student sex work was happening in the school, and was doing nothing about it. Because of her concern for the well-being of her students, the teacher brought the situation up to the police.
Feeling morally obligated to speak up, the teacher said, “As a teacher, if you get an individual student coming to you because [they’re] abused, you have to go the police immediately.” And according to reports from The Daily Wire, local police acknowledged that student sex work in the area wasn’t unheard of. Deputy Jamie Holbein, a former school resource officer for Sterling Middle School, noted that the school’s surrounding neighborhoods are located in “rough neighborhoods”, adding that child trafficking is known to occur.
So what about Seeing Gender makes the book so contentious and seemingly in approval of the acts of student sex work? To start, one chapter in the 208-page novel titled “Sex Work Is Not Bad” insinuates pro-prostitution right off the bat. In other parts, the story talks about the reasons children tend to turn to sex work. It cites the need for food, housing, drugs, and hormones for transgender kids. In another section, it presumably gives the act validation, saying prostitution is “like being a store clerk.”
There is a reason books like these are being banned at historic rates in schools across the nation. Whether or not their place in school libraries is affecting young children in a major way, however, becomes a moot point when you have teachers that may be promoting student sex work in schools. According to UNICEF, incidents of sex trafficking are rising at alarming rates. News reports noted that the teacher never named any individual cases suggesting current students were being abused, but it appears to be an ongoing investigation.
