UPitt art center pencils in LGBT-themed coloring books

The University of Pittsburgh Arts Department is now offering students LGBT-themed coloring books in the Frick Fine Arts Library.

The books include “Drag Queens of the South”, and “The Big Gay Alphabet Coloring Book.” A series of coloring books on butch lesbians are also available, including “Butch Lesbians of the ‘20s, ’30s, and ‘40s” and “Butch Lesbians of the ’50s, ‘60s, and ’70s.”

Housed within the University Arts Library at Frick Hall, the coloring books are located along the back wall in the meeting rooms next to the “RESIST!” and “Lesbian Witchcraft” zines for interested students. Pitt provides colored pencils alongside the books for use.

[RELATED: UW Madison hosts event for ‘white identifying LGBTQ+ folks’]

Pitt’s library system, PITTCat+, houses over half a billion different types of content for student learning and 435 books aimed at teaching coloring for Pitt’s college students. 

The collection is “for the research, teaching, and learning needs of faculty, staff, and students, which includes collecting materials that represent diverse groups and interests,” Kate Joranson, head of the library, told The Pitt Maverick.

Joranson added, “we [The Frick Library Staff] support Pitt’s commitment to diversity and inclusion as a core value.”

After Joranson ignored The Pitt Maverick’s query on the cost of these books, The Pitt Maverick returned to the Frick Fine Arts Library for investigation. However, the books in question were removed the day after reaching out for comment. 

BEFORE: 

AFTER:


The market value of all the books shown in the photographs is $120.40. 

[RELATED: UW-Madison renames ‘LGBT Center’ to avoid ‘binaries’]

Various other coloring books sit in the same place, none of which include the LGBT-centric coloring books as the day before. The Pitt Maverick requested a comment from Joranson, receiving no response.

This article was originally published in The Pitt Maverick, a conservative student newspaper affiliated with the Leadership Institute’s Campus Leadership Program. Its articles are republished here with permission.

Follow The Pitt Maverick on Twitter: @ThePittMaverick