(no subject)

After reading that bizarre (though also bizarrely hilarious) 'fic' yesterday (snopes lists it as 'indeterminate' as to whether it's a satire or the real thing.  On the one hand, if it's satire it's hilarious enough as to be brilliant (but wow would someone have to be overcommited to go to that much effort).  On the other hand... yeah, mindboggling stupid people do exist (in too large a number).

Either way, the fic was rife with misogyny (either as the point of its satire or as a genuine expression of misogyny) .  {{It was also rife with an odd obsession with chest hair and pork products.  No idea why).

Anyway, as apalling as the bizarro-fic's Hermione was, the movie's "Hermione" did a bang up job recently at the U.N.

12 Weirdest Reasons Certain Books Were Banned

From i09
12 Weirdest Reasons Certain Books were banned

12. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Reason:  Jumper fumbling.
(Rationalization here)

9.  Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Reasons: Promoting masturbation, talking animals, that smoking caterpillar

It was banned in the US in the 1960's because of all the hookahs and mushrooms; and then again in the '90's, in New Hampshire, because the novel was supposed to promote "sexual fantasies and masturbation." It wasn't drugs or sex that got this book in trouble in China in the 1930's though—that was all the fault of the talking animals. The Governor of Hunan Province banned the book, arguing that it was "disastrous to put animals and human beings on the same level."

8. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Reason: swearing and "questionable themes"
And yes, the irony of a book about burning books getting targeted for banning is not lost on anyone. Another frequent flyer on the banned-book lists, Fahrenheit 451 still faces frequent banning attempts. It was removed from a high school reading list in Mississippi because it contains the words "God damn," and has also been criticized for "portraying "questionable themes" that aren't suitable for young readers."

6. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Reason: "religious viewpoint"
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins takes place in a future dystopia where the wealthy Capitol forces the formerly rebellious Districts to send their children to fight in a high-tech arena. And it's a perennial item on the list of the year's most frequently banned and challenged books, because of its violence and anti-authority messages. But this year, for some reason, Hunger Games is singled out for its "religious viewpoint." What viewpoint is that? Well, someone says the word "Hell" once in the entire book, and Katniss' mother is good at healing people with herbs

5. 1984 by George Orwell
Reason: Not communist enough... and too communist
Banned in the USSR for implicitly criticizing Stalin's regime, the book was later challenged by parents in Florida for being "pro-communist."

4. The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum
Reason: Too many strong women, theologically impossible
The Wizard of Oz, the story of a tornado that takes Dorothy from Kansas to a magical realm,has a good century of banning under its belt. It was widely banned in 1928 for "depicting women in strong leadership roles," an argument that held on for several decades, and in 1957 the Detroit Public Library banned the series for supporting "negativism and [bringing] children's minds to a cowardly level."

One prominent case, initiated in Tennessee by several Christian Fundamentalist families, concerned the book's theology. Arguing that all witches were evil, the group claimed that the presence of Glinda the Good Witch was a "theological impossibility."

1.  Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Reason: magic fingers, depiction of women
This book about a man unstuck in time has been targeted over the years, for various reasons including the use of profanity. And sexuality: in 2007, the book was challenged in the Howell, MI high school by the Livingston Organization for Values in Education, or LOVE, which asked the police to investigate whether laws against distribution of sexually explicit material to minors had been violated. But the weirdest reasons for banning Slaughterhouse-Five include a mention of "magic fingers" in the protagonist's motel bed. (Dean Winchester would be shocked.) Also, the book was challenged in 1986 for "negative portrayals of women." (And if you have a moment, Vonnegut's letter about the banning of this novel is very much worth reading.)