An Exploratory Examination of Book Banning and State Punitiveness in The United States

• In Event: Fear of Crime, Punitiveness, and Punishment

Abstract

Drawing on Foucault’s (1973) conceptualization of punitiveness, where society seeks to control individual habits and disciplines, the present study considers the recent, unprecedented rise in book banning and censorship in the United States. Viewing literature restrictions as an inherently punitive act, we examine the relationship between state-level punitive measures and trends in book banning. Relying upon PEN America’s open access book banning database and three aggregate measures embodying a state’s political, carceral, and juvenile punitiveness, the present study reveals that more punitive states ban significantly more books. The relationship between book banning and juvenile punitiveness was found to be particularly salient, likely due to book banning largely impacting juvenile readers. Moreover, as book banning predominantly targets books written by or about LGBTQIA+ or BIPOC individuals, we also examine the relationship between book banning and hate crimes. It was found that book banning was associated with reported hate crimes in general, and with racially motivated hate crimes more specifically. Finally, we consider the limitations of current methods of tracking book banning in the United States and their implications for current and future research.

Authors

• Gregory A. Wadsworth, University of New Haven

• Kevin Barnes Ceeney, University of New Haven