The trigger for the new attack on the queer community is a Hungarian fairy tale book that aims to promote diversity with older, physically challenged or POC characters – and in which Cinderella is portrayed as a lesbian. The collection of fairy tales divides society, a petition against the book has already received more than 80,000 signatures, and Hungarian booksellers draw parallels with the Nazi book-burning. Nevertheless, the publishers of the book have reason to rejoice.

The book “Storyland is for Everyone” is published by the organisation Labrisz Lesbian Association. It tells fairy tales in a new – and different – way. It is intended to teach children diversity and acceptance in a playful way. It includes characters with physical disabilities, people of different ethnicities or older and poor people. Only a few stories have a queer background – but that doesn’t stop the queer-haters in Hungary from throwing themselves at them.

A thorn in the side of the self-styled moralists: Cinderella is re-told as a lesbian love story, in another fairytale a dragon slayer is transgender. A petition by the anti-queer-lobby group CitizenGO, calling for the book to be removed from bookshops, has received more than 80,000 signatures online.

The publishers are pleased with the unintentional PR: The book is a bestseller, the first edition was sold out immediately, a second edition had to be commissioned. The Labrisz Lesbian Association said that the hatred against the book had had an “opposite effect”.

Orbán takes the side of the homophobes

She got the ball rolling and put the book at the top of the sales lists: Dóra Dúró, a member of parliament for the extreme right-wing “Our Fatherland” party, destroyed the book at a press conference last week. She tore out individual pages and shredded them publicly. Her argumentation: The party would not accept that children are exposed to homosexual propaganda.

Of course, who would be surprised were it different: in a public discussion about homosexuality in Hungary, anti-LGBTIQ+ leader Viktor Orbán is not far. The politician, who earlier this year passed a law effectively abolishing the legal recognition of transgender persons, stirred up moral panic in a radio interview in which he clearly stated his position. According to the news agency AFP he said:

“Hungary has laws on homosexuality based on an exceptionally tolerant and patient approach. But there is a red line that must not be crossed”.

For him the book is a “provocative act of the homosexual community”. Hungary’s prime minister warned:

“Leave our children alone.”

Comparison to Nazi book-burning

The Hungarian Publishers’ and Booksellers’ Association (MKKE) has massively criticised the attacks on books – and pointed out parallels to book censorship, including in the form of book burning, during the Nazi era or under communist rule. The association was shocked that a member of the Hungarian parliament had publicly destroyed a book because she did not agree with its contents. All books could be criticised, even in front of the broadest public – but

“The destruction of books for political purposes is one of the most shameful historical memories in Hungary and Europe”.

It was not an expression of opinion, but a closing of ranks with the “National Socialist book burners” and the “Communist book busters”. They demanded:

“Hands off the books!”

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