Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Law Bans Portions Of Shakespeare Plays Containing Sex
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Florida has banned portions of famous Williams Shakespeare works deemed too sexual.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, school districts across the “Sunshine State” have begun shying away from Shakespeare literature and other books that “contain pornography or obscene depictions of sexual conduct.”
Hillsborough County became the latest Flordian locale to ban parts of the Bard’s canonical literature, with plans to exclude more in compliance with the controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Specifically, Hillsborough told educators, “they could assign excerpts of plays such as ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ but not the full text.” Changes to Hillsborough County Public Schools’ curriculum were also made to “read a wide variety of books for new state exams,” an official press release from the county read.
Additionally, the statement explains that not all of Shakespeare’s plays and stories have been altered—just some. “First and foremost, we have not excluded Shakespeare from our high school curriculum. Students will still have the physical books to read excerpts in class,” the statement said. “Curriculum guides are continually reviewed and refined throughout the year to align with state standards and current law.”
However, not all teachers in the area were proud of the drastic changes made to the English classroom. “I think the rest of the nation — no, the world, is laughing [at] us,” Gaither High teacher Joseph Cool said. “Taking Shakespeare in its entirety out because the relationship between Romeo and Juliet is somehow exploiting minors is just absurd.”
In March 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the contentious “Don’t Say Gay” bill into law. The Associated Press reported that the legislation is widely criticized for marginalizing LGBTQ+ people and youth. The governor claims the law “is reasonable and that parents, not teachers, should be broaching subjects of sexual orientation and gender identity with their children.”
“Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards,” the law reads. The new bill also adds that parents could sue school districts for violations of the new law.
More from VIBE.com
