Review of David Levithan Book "Boy Meets Boy"
Monday, August 8, 2011Review by Barb Anderson
February 2008
David Levithan has written a novel for pre teens entitled Boy Meets Boy, and parents all across the country are fighting to keep it out of their schools. Boy Meets Boy, a story about the school-days world of a young boy named Paul, is an attempt to normalize all sexual feelings and affirm the acting out of homosexual and transgender behaviors—all under a banner of acceptance, love, happiness and making this a wonderful world where anything goes.
This so-called “wonderful world” that Levithan depicts in Boy Meets Boy equates happiness and a “fair world” with following ones sexual desires wherever they may lead—so teens can “sit wherever they want nowadays” (page 5) as the writer states. This leads to a strange, upside down, feelings-based world at Paul’s school where sexual anarchy reigns and all sexual feelings and desires are validated. Paul remembers the words of his kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Benchly, who said, “What you feel is absolutely right for you. Always remember that.”
The story begins with Paul thinking back to kindergarten. He states, “I’ve always known I was gay, but it wasn’t confirmed until I was in kindergarten. It was my teacher who said so. It was right there on my kindergarten report card: PAUL IS DEFINITELY GAY AND HAS VERY GOOD SENSE OF SELF.”
Paul inquired of his teacher, “Am I definitely gay?” whereupon Mrs. Benchly “looked me over and nodded.”
When Paul asked, “What’s gay?” his teacher explained, “It’s when a boy likes other boys.” Paul relates that it took his parents a couple of years to get used to the idea of him being gay, but they finally did, and in 2nd grade he “came out.” By third grade, Paul “became the first openly gay class president in the history of Ms. Farquar’s third-grade class.” His campaign slogan was “VOTE FOR ME…I’M GAY!” Paul won. His opponent used the slogan “VOTE FOR ME…I’M NOT GAY!” Paul described his opponent’s slogan as making him “seem dull.”
In 3rd grade, Paul describes his first flirtation as trading “three Yodels for a Fig Newton” with another boy at lunch.
In 6th grade, Paul formed his elementary school’s first gay-straight alliance (GSA) with three friends including a “lesbian fourth grader named Laura.” They decided the straight kids needed their help because they “were all wearing the same clothes.” Paul said their school principal was cooperative and allowed the GSA to play “I Will Survive” and Bizarre Love Triangle” after the Pledge of Allegiance was read each morning. As a result, “Membership in the gay-straight alliance soon surpassed that of the football team (which isn’t to say there wasn’t overlap).”
Paul describes his school as “awash in Homecoming Pride posters.” His is a school where Paul says “There are few sights grander at eight in the morning than a six-foot-four football player scuttling through the halls in high heels, a red shock wig, and more-than-passable make-up.” Paul’s friend—a transvestite football player whose real name is Daryl Heisenberg—goes by the name of Infinite Darlene. This star quarterback is also his school’s homecoming queen. This, according to Paul, led to trouble a year ago when “Chuck, the second-string quarterback, fell in love with her and got depressed when she said he wasn’t her type.”
Due to the sexual content and misinformation in “Boy Meets Boy,” this book should be rejected. This novel for pre teens:
- Violates District #11’s Bullying Prohibition Policy with its inclusion and repetition of negative words such as gay boy, faggot, queer, bitch etc.
- Violates District #11’s Language of Harassment policy with the use of sexual terms and phrases referring to fake boobs, tonsil hockey, and debauchery (defined as “indulgence in sensual pleasures”). At the end of the novel after Paul and Noah are kissing and fondling each other, Noah states, “I guess the candles work.” Paul replies, “ ‘Shh,’ I say again, my voice full of glimmer.” Noah concludes, “‘Debauchery’…One of my dictionary words.” (Page 179)
- Violates District #11’s Sexual Orientation Curriculum Policy that prohibits the teaching of sexual orientation in District adopted curriculum.
- Sexualizes same-sex friendships and normalizes same-sex hand holding, kissing, touching and fondling with detailed descriptions. (Pages 18, 26, 50, 52, 61, 63, 65, 69, 78, 88, 100, 104, 110, 118, 120, 121, 156,171, 173, 174, 178). On page 178 Paul says, “Noah reaches over to touch my cheek. His thumb moves over my lips and down the side of my neck. He leans me back against the wall and kisses me. I kiss him back hard. We breathe each other in….we grasp at each other and explore each other and mark the time in movements and whispers.”
- Confuses children about their sexuality by offering a range of sexual “identities” to experiment with including “bisexual…ambisexual…duosexual” (Pages 85, 90). Page 143 even suggests that the cross-dressing Infinite Darlene football player (whose real name is Daryl) might be a lesbian.
- Depicts the Boy Scouts as a negative organization because of their non-homosexual policy. Because of this policy, Paul tells how they decided that the Boy Scouts had no place in their town and a new group was formed called the Joy Scouts—where boys take guitar lessons from a retired monk. (Page 66)
- Condones cheating and deceiving teachers. (Pages 34, 56). On page 34, Paul and Tony, who have similar handwriting, do each other’s homework without their teachers awareness stating; “We try to do this as often as possible.” On page 56 one student suggests sneaking in a keg at a school party.
- Condones cheating and deceiving parents. (Pages 36, 153). On page 36 Tony tells his parents that he is going on a church retreat and hops a train to the city instead. Tony, who feels he is gay, pretends to leave his house with Joni so his parents won’t question him. Page 153 tells of all the years they pretend to go to “bible study groups” and “wash the scent of a basement rave out of Tony’s clothes, or let Tony onto our computers to go places his parents wouldn’t let him go.”
- Introduces children to a mystical meditation practice to induce altered states of consciousness called “Going Elsewhere.” (Page 113)
- Acquaints students with R-rated movies, The Advocate, and P-FLAG (pages 73, 76, 96, 115). Note: The Breakfast Club is rated R for bad language. American Pie is unrated which (according to Blockbuster) makes it worse than an R due to nudity, sexual content and language. The Advocate is a mainstream homosexual magazine that contains pornography and links to pornographic sites. P-FLAG is a radical gay activist organization whose recommended books for children include pornographic content and encouragements to experiment sexually.
- Makes a mockery of prayer and the Bible. (Pages 6, 7, 17, 48, 95, 149) Page 6 and 7 state, “You’ve run out of chapter and verse for your study group? ‘O Lord, as I walk through the valley of the shadow of doubt, at least let me wear a Walkman…The Lord is my DJ…I shall not want.” On page 17 Paul says, “Yes, I pray to my Big Lesbian God Who Doesn’t Really Exist.”
- Depicts parents who are opposed to homosexual behavior as religious fanatics and undermines Christian values and teachings about homosexuality
(Pages 1, 95, 96, 97, 152). Page 95 states, “Tony and I figure the best thing a straight boy with religious, intolerant parents can do for his love life is tell his parents he’s gay. Before Tony’s parents discovered he was gay, they wouldn’t let him shake hands with a girl. Now if he mentions he’s doing something with a girl—any girl—they practically pimp him out the door.” Page 96 says, “They didn’t kick Tony out of the house, but they made him want to leave. They didn’t yell at him—instead they prayed loudly delivering all of their disappointment and rage and guilt to him in the form of an address to God.” On page 152 Tony says, “They honestly believe that if I don’t straighten out, I will lose my soul. It’s not just that they don’t want me kissing other guys—they think if I do it, I will be damned.” Paul replies, “But they’re wrong….Part of love is letting a person be who they want to be.”
At the end of the novel, the students decide that the best theme they can pick for their school dance is “death.” To draw inspiration for this theme, they make a trip to the cemetery.
In conclusion, there is nothing in this novel for kids that can be said to be healthy, moral, uplifting or respectful of parents and teachers. Putting pre teens in a maze of sexual confusion without healthy, valid direction can be harmful to their thinking and behavior at a very vulnerable and critical time in their lives.