Purification Equals Silence: Censorship of Queer Expression by the Theocratic Right

Censorship in all its forms has recently been increasing across the United States. While censorship is practiced across the political spectrum, the greatest threat to free expression comes from the Theocratic Right, The largest category of material targeted by this movement is queer expression. Present censorship efforts are rooted in a long-standing American tradition of hostility to art and to dissenting voices. The five principal areas in which queer expression is censored are: (I) state and federal cultural agencies such as the National Endowment for the Arts; (II) public education, school curricula, and public libraries; (III) higher education; (IV) print, broadcast, and digital media; (V) arts and entertainment. The progress the Theocratic Right is making in narrowing the limits to speech is often abetted by unholy alliances with the Left. Anti-censorship organizations exist, but have thus far been insufficient to turn the tide.