PARENTAL PERCEPTIONS OF LGBTQ+ CHILDREN’S BOOKS: NAVIGATING COMFORT AND CONTROL ACROSS CONTEXTUAL FACTORS

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine parents’ perceptions of LGBTQ+ children’s literature, with a focus on comfort across contexts and familiarity with existing titles. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected utilizing a modified survey from Hegde et al. (2025) that addressed parents’ general perceptions of literature, the significance of diversity, comfort with LGBTQ+ books in the home and classroom, and familiarity with popular LGBTQ+ titles. To gather a deeper understanding of parents’ perceptions, contextual factors including education level, income level, and age were analyzed to determine their influence on parents’ evaluations and comfort. This study focused on North Carolina parents of children aged 0-8 years old, a context shaped by recent North Carolina legislative efforts to limit access or exposure to LGBTQ+ topics in educational settings. A total of 44 participants completed the survey. Responses indicated parents hold generally positive views of LGBTQ+ books. However, comfort levels appear to shift depending on context, with greater acceptance of these books in the home rather than in school settings. Despite overall positive evaluations of LGBTQ+ books, limited familiarity with specific LGBTQ+ titles suggests a gap between support and engagement. Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) further revealed that education level significantly influenced parents’ comfort, with higher levels of education associated with more positive perceptions. This relationship was observed specifically for perceptions of diversity and comfort with LGBTQ+ literature in school contexts, yet not for use in the home.