Japanese comics stir debate in Maine Racy content worries schools, libraries

Japanese comic books are becoming increasingly popular at schools and public libraries across Maine, but critics say the comics represent racy fluff that doesn’t belong on the shelves.

Critics are disputing the value of the comics, which feature female characters in sexy outfits and sometimes behaving in ways that conform to sexist stereotypes.

Deering High School senior Colleen Hagyari wrote a column in the school’s newspaper questioning why the school was buying what she called “written garbage” in the “Mew Mew” series, which features seventh-grade girls who Hagyari said dress and act like “floozies.”

The cover of another book, “Peach Girl,” depicts a girl with her pants unzipped wearing a shirt that barely covers her breasts, she said. It was promoted on a school bulletin board.

“The innuendo is so heavy,” Hagyari said in an interview. “By buying something so trendy and obviously new and exciting, they want to bring kids to the library. But it wasn’t done carefully.”

The school librarian, Ellen McCarthy, defended the books in her own column in the school paper, saying the library must appeal to different tastes and reading abilities.

“Peach Girl” explores racism by telling the story of a dark-skinned girl in a Japanese culture that prizes pale skin, she wrote. The American Library Association recommends the book for high school girls.

“I hope we don’t get censors pounding at the door to get the books removed,” McCarthy said. “A lot of people might say they shouldn’t be in a school library, but kids are reading them and they appeal to reluctant readers.”

The controversy raises questions about the relative value of graphic comic books versus conventional reading. It also highlights the emergence of graphic books in youth culture and their growing acceptance among adults.

The Japanese comics, called “manga,” are more sophisticated and complex than most American comics, which are dominated by superheroes. In manga, the focus is on character development. Illustrations are usually in black and white, girls’ outfits are often provocative, and many contain some nudity.

Some parents don’t like the way girls are depicted in many of the books and are offended by the nudity.

“It’s gratuitous and very sexist,” said Faith Rawding, whose 12-year-old son at King Middle School is a heavy reader of manga. “They have 12-year-old girls who look like 25-year-old strippers.”

Sandra Rockett, librarian at Gorham High School, this year struggled with what to do with a 582-page graphic novel called “Blankets,” which one library worker thought was pornographic because it contains an illustration of a reclining nude couple.

Rockett got a mixed response when she sought the help of other librarians through an e-mail list used by many of the state’s librarians. Many said there is no simple answer, and that like any book, what’s appropriate for one person may not be appropriate for another.

In the end, she decided to keep the book on the library shelves because it would appeal to students who might not normally read a conventional novel.

“We used to think comics were a waste of time,” she said. “But they help people get to the next level. They are like stepping stones.”