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Friday, 08 March 2024
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RuPaul is one of three people behind Allstora, an independent online bookstore that has caused controversy this week.
Photo: www.instagram.com/rupaulofficial
On the first Thursday in March, the UK marks World Book Day when schoolchildren across the country celebrate the joy of reading by dressing up as a character from one of their favourite books. The principle is a sound one but can fill parents with horror when their little cherub reminds them – as I was this week – that they need a costume. In my house, my son was thrust out of the door wearing a hastily cobbled together Billionaire Boy outfit – his best suit and a blingy gold baseball cap.
Yet in the scheme of things, it is hardly a problem. Elsewhere in the world, much bigger issues around books are being debated.
This week, the state of Oregon passed a bill ([link removed]) that would seek to ban book bans. Senate Bill 1583 ([link removed]) intends to block school boards from discriminating against books used in state schools, of which those challenged are typically about or written by people of colour, LGBTQ+ people, women and other underrepresented groups. Democratic Portland Senator Lew Frederick said it represented “a way to guarantee that all children in Oregon have the ability to see themselves represented in books they find in school libraries”.
This week also saw the launch of Allstora ([link removed]) , an independent, online bookstore “committed to sharing all stories”. It is the brainchild of author and historian Eric Cervini, drag performer and actor Adam Powell, and television icon RuPaul of Drag Race fame. It is the second iteration of a former online store called ShopQueer. The new site’s blurb says it has been launched at a time “where important stories, especially from queer and marginalised voices, are being banned and ostracised”.
But Allstora is a very different proposition from ShopQueer. ShopQueer had a curated selection of just 3,000 books while the new site sells stock from Ingram Book Group, a large distributor of print and digital books. More than 10 million titles are now on offer. On the face of it, Allstora still appears aimed at its former audience: online shelves are signposted for LGBTQ readers as well as the neurodiverse, Black and other communities.
Yet Allstora has caused a storm this past few days for the other categories of books it was stocking including controversial anti-gay, transphobic and antisemitic tomes. One TikToker from a lesbian bookshop in Massachusetts called Allstora a “rainbow capitalist dropshipping operation” ([link removed]) .
Allstora claims it is “ensuring there is access to books that represent a vast range of intersections, narratives, and history”.
And what a range. At the beginning of the week books like Hitler’s Mein Kampf and Matt Walsh’s transphobic What Is a Woman? were freely available to order.
The torrent of criticism levelled at Allstora appears to have had some effect. The two works mentioned above have now been removed. However, we checked for other controversial titles and found they remain available, such as the notorious and discredited antisemitic The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and white nationalist “manifesto” The Turner Diaries.
Some media outlets, including Pink News ([link removed]) , reported that a new section was added to Allstora’s FAQs to explain the availability of such titles. This was reported to read: “At Allstora, we believe that the censorship of any book, perspective, or story is incompatible with the survival of democracy. We cannot fight the ideologies of hate if we lack the ability to study, understand, and react to them. For this reason, like university libraries and online book marketplaces across the world, Allstora has made the decision to carry all books.”
That explanation has now disappeared.
It would be interesting to know whether RuPaul knew what he was letting himself in for when he signed up to the Allstora concept. (“The library is open” anyone?).
RuPaul is right to challenge the concept of book bans and his Rainbow Book Bus ([link removed]) , launched at the same time, is an idea that should be supported.
We also believe there is a place in the world for controversial books. We’re just not sure it’s here.
Peddling highly discredited books that, at best, belong in libraries as historical artefacts is not a good look. RuPaul and co can stay true to the spirit of free of expression while saying no to stocking certain titles. The idea that these two are incompatible is a trap that too many people are falling into.
Drag. Now there’s an idea for next World Book Day.
Mark Frary, associate editor
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** Remembering the women who pay the ultimate price for freedom
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Photo: Camila Quintero Franco/Unsplash
Today is International Women’s Day ([link removed]) , which inspires optimism in many. Yet this day cannot be truly marked without acknowledging the suffering and sacrifice endured by female dissidents worldwide in their relentless pursuit of freedom of expression. Our CEO Ruth Anderson reflects on another deadly 12 months for women dissidents. Read the story here ([link removed]) .
** From the Index archives
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** Welcome to the Kingdom of Impunity
by Michael Deibert
Summer 2022
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In Haiti, gangs are trying to oust Prime Minister Ariel Henry who has not been allowed back in the country since going on a trade visit to Guyana last month. The country has since been racked by violence. This article from 2022 ([link removed]) looks at freedom of expression in Haiti since former PM and journalist Jean Dominique's murder.
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