After the Aspen School District Board of Education began requiring students to bring a signed permission slip in order to participate in an LGBTQ-themed high school book club, Madison Nelson felt she had to do something.
“The school board did not like the graphic elements [of a chosen book] but I just thought this was super unfair,” Nelson said. “For kids who live in unsafe households, to [have to] report to their parents what they were reading, that could be detrimental to them.”
Nelson, who is now a senior at Aspen High School and identifies as asexual/aromantic, said that although a specific graphic novel the book club was reading prompted these permission slips, it still led to a valuable discussion among participants.
“People were coming to the book club and saying they were so grateful we had read this book because it gave them language to identify themselves,” Nelson said. “Reading and literature are so valuable because they give language to these experiences that a lot of people feel isolated in.” Now, participants were able to identify with others, find a community and know they are not alone.
Shannon Foster, head of youth services at the Pitkin County Library, remembers when Nelson approached her about moving the book club to the public library instead of basing it at the high school.
“[Nelson] approached me wanting to do a book club for LGBTQ+ youth and allies and I said, ‘Okay, let’s do it!’ I think I caught her by surprise,” Foster laughed. “It’s been incredible to see her grow as an adult from someone who mentioned something casually to someone who took it seriously.”
The Read the Rainbow book club began in December 2023, Nelson’s junior year. The group meets once a month and reads books written by LGBTQ+ authors or ones that contain the stories of LGBTQ+ characters. The group now rotates meeting locations in order to make it more accessible for teens throughout the Valley.
At the inception of the club, Foster said she told Nelson it would be important to have a mission statement for the group. The mission statement Nelson crafted reads: “It is essential that all individuals have the opportunity to see themselves represented in the literature they read. However, this can be a challenge for LGBTQ+ teens. We aim to establish a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth and their supporters to congregate and connect over LGBTQ+ literature in a positive way. Once a month, we will select a book authored by an LGBTQ+ writer or featuring LGBTQ+ characters. We encourage open and respectful dialogue among all of our participants.”
Clare Williams, who identifies as queer, is another high school senior and member of the Read the Rainbow Book Club. Williams wrote that being out in the Valley feels difficult with the current political climate.
“Over the past few years, it has felt increasingly difficult to be outwardly queer and judgments are rising and we are being ostracized,” Williams stated. “This is most felt at school where people are desperate to fit in, so they create out-groups in order to be a part of an in-group. Obviously this valley is fairly liberal leaning and generally accepting, so it is easier than other parts of the country, but that doesn’t mean that bigotry does not exist here; it’s just more subtle.”
Foster, who identifies as an ally and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, said having spaces where all children and teens feel safe and supported to be themselves is crucial and responsibility falls on adults to facilitate that.
“Teens don’t get listened to enough,” Foster said. “Teens are listening, teens are engaged, they have their own way of doing it but are engaged in their community.”
Nelson said she knows how scary it can be to be admit things and be out, but by leaning into her identity with involvement with the Aspen High School Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), the book club and in a podcast with Williams called “Out and About with Madison and Clare,” she has grown into a more confident person. She added that interested teens should join the club.
“My freshman year, I remember being so scared to join the GSA that I didn’t until the end of the school year because it’s scary to admit things and be out there,” Nelson said. “Don’t think twice, put yourself out there and do what you want to do. Follow your passion and it will take you to the right place.”
The next meeting for the Read the Rainbow Book Club is at the Carbondale Branch Library on Feb. 4 from 5:30 to 6:30pm and all teens ages 14-18 are invited to join. The book being discussed is “Being Ace” by Madeline Dyer.