Heartstopper books about same-sex love face restrictions in several countries

Heartstopper, British author Alice Oseman’s graphic novel series about two schoolboys who fall in love, has faced bans and restrictions in several countries, including Malaysia, Belarus, Turkey, Hungary and the United States. The measures differ, from a nationwide ban on one volume to removals from school libraries.

In 2022 Malaysia’s Home Ministry banned Heartstopper Volume 2, including its sale, distribution and possession. The ministry said its content promoted LGBT culture and was obscene, state news agency Bernama reported. In Belarus, Heartstopper appears on a list of printed publications whose distribution authorities say may harm national interests; Belarusian PEN published the list.

In Turkey, a family ministry board deemed the first two volumes harmful to minors in 2021. The books were subsequently sold in sealed envelopes with a warning, Cumhuriyet reported. In Hungary, authorities fined the Líra bookstore chain 12 million forints in 2023 for selling the volumes without sealed packaging; the company challenged the decision. The country’s highest court ordered a new hearing.

In the United States, a school district committee in White Oak, Texas, voted in January 2026 to remove the first five volumes from district libraries. A majority considered the content vulgar and harmful, while the librarian voted against removal, a local newspaper reported. The decision applies to the district’s school libraries and is not a nationwide US ban.

Heartstopper began as a webcomic, was later published in book form and adapted for Netflix. Uránia previously reported on a separate case in Russia: courts ordered access blocked to online libraries carrying three other LGBT-themed books.