The “most dangerous living writer in America today” spoke to a crowd of nearly 70 people in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union Thursday night.

Leslea Newman, author of more than 25 books, said this self-description is a reference to her much criticized children’s book, “Heather Has Two Mommies.”

It was not only the first time Newman wrote a book for children, but also the first picture book to portray the confusion and the pride a young child has in dealing with her lesbian mother’s relationship.

In the last 20 years, “Heather” has become one of the top books to be banned.

Newman opened her lecture with some discussion about “Heather,” whom she described as an average child.

“She has two arms, two legs, two eyes,” Newman said. “And she also has two moms, Mama Jane and Mama Kate.”

Newman stressed she did not write a controversial book, but “wrote a book that became controversial.”

“My books are not about sex, they are about families,” she said.

Newman said as a child, she faced a similar lack of role models in the media because of her Jewish background.

When she was growing up, media influences convinced her that her family was different because they didn’t put up a Christmas tree or hunt for Easter eggs, she said.

Newman said when she first wrote “Heather” in the late 1980s, “nobody wanted to touch it.”

“Heather” was finally published by Alyson Publications, eliciting immediate controversy; however, Newman said as a whole, children have reacted very well to her books, and most understand the importance of having a loving family, regardless of its structure.

“Every child deserves to be proud of their family,” she said. Newman showed the audience various news clippings about “Heather,” including one in which her book finished behind Madonna’s book, “Sex,” in a list of banned books.

In addition, she displayed a photo of a magazine cover she shared with President Clinton, joking that it was “not for the same reasons as Monica Lewinsky.”

Newman also presented a controversial segment from “60 Minutes” about New York City public schools attempting to implement the “Rainbow Curriculum,” a program that promoted learning about culture and diversity.

The Rainbow Curriculum would have included books such as “Heather” in their teachings to elementary school children.

After much debate, only one of the New York schools has been using the Rainbow Curriculum as it was originally intended, meaning most students will not learn about gay/lesbian issues until an older age.

Newman also refuted a conventional notion that if children are taught gay issues, they will “grow up to be gay.”

Newman, a lesbian, told audience members that her parents were relatively supportive of her coming out at age 27, and because of the popularity and controversy surrounding her books, Newman has become an activist for the gay community.

During her lecture, she mentioned several high-profile cases in the gay community, including the Sharon Bottoms case, in which a mother sued her daughter for custody of her grandson because she felt her lesbian daughter was an “unfit mother.”

She also mentioned the dispute surrounding the possibility of gay marriage.

“We will remain second-class citizens until we are allowed to marry like anybody else,” Newman said.

Newman added she feels there is a backlash response to the gay community’s evolution, and that it has become a “three steps forward, two steps back” issue.

She said the gay community is not limited to one image or identity.

“Our image is expanding,” Newman said. “Sexuality is something to be celebrated.”

Other books by Newman include the children’s books “Saturday is Pattyday,” “Too Far Away to Touch,” “Remember That,” “Matzo Ball Moon” and “Fat Chance.”

Her books for adult readers include “A Letter to Harvey Milk,” “Love Me Like You Mean It” and “Out of the Closet and Nothing to Wear.”