But I'm asexual, so what do I know?

I could see this game causing more gay kids to come out, but there lots worse problems in society than homosexuality.

And I always thought there were quite a few young adult novels that deal with homosexuality. What difference is another one going to make?

Just like how there are lots of books that deal with witchcraft and magic other than Harry Potter, but HP is the series that got flamed and "banned"--it's all because of publicity.

This isn't really religion or politics, but...

Hero is a new novel raising much controversy. It is just a normal young adult book about Superhero's. The thing is, the main character, who is a superhero, is gay. I find this to be a great idea because it might make kids today less homophobic. But so many parents have gotten stirred up, saying it shouldn't be in the school library. Apparently, it's not "appropriate" for their kids. So wait, now gay people aren't appropriate? I find that a horrible thought and I am just now realizing how homophobic this nation is.

Thoughts?

EDIT: Oops, I made this twice, please delete this one.

As StrongRad points out, people are still hung up on the idea that sexuality is a choice. However, the evidence continues to stack up against this idea. The assumption is that by merely portraying a gay character, young impressionable readers will be influenced to "turn" gay. This increasingly absurd notion fuels a great deal of modern homophobia; you can legitimize your hatreds if you convince yourself you're doing it to protect children. It's a handy smokescreen to cover an individual's own ignorance, insecurity, and immaturity. (Case in point: a few decades back the anti-civil rights crowd used to argue passionately that integrating the schools would put white children at a terrible risk.)

Years ago, we might be asking "What's wrong with black people?".

But there lots worse problems in society than homosexuality.

And even if people realize that this isn't something curable, there will still be Bible fanatics that will say that homosexuality is wrong and then condemn the LGBTs as being sinful. It's not their fault they're that way, and they're not even trying to hurt anybody with their orientation.

Isn't that only in the Old Testament, though? And doesn't Jesus say in the New Testament that there's no need to follow the old one anymore?

You make it sound like it is a problem, just not a major one.

Isn't that only in the Old Testament, though? And doesn't Jesus say in the New Testament that there's no need to follow the old one anymore? I don't know, I'm not a Christain or anything.

I mean, there's a gay internet porn scene, with some very descriptive adjectives. But still, I've seen similar stuff in other books for the same age level, and no one's gotten mad cause they're straight.

...if the point of the book is to forgo good storytelling in favor of addressing GLBT issues, then I'm not sure it'd provide much entertainment value to its audience.

I hadn't started reading the book when I originally posted this. Now I have. Parents might be complaining because it is fairly inappropriate. I mean, there's a gay internet porn scene, with some very descriptive adjectives. But still, I've seen similar stuff in other books for the same age level, and no one's gotten mad cause they're straight.

Is there anything more to the book than just sex? I think it's okay to have explicit scenes in books, personally--but not if it takes up the whole frickin' story. My favorite book (Looking For Alaska by John Green) has some fairly explicit scenes in it, but that's not what makes it a good book. It's just a brilliant book, regardless of the sexual content.

I could see this novel causing more gay kids to come out