I think this is really ridiculous! I came across a video clip on the TODAY show about high school students who were suspended for saying "vagina" in a school play. A group of three girls were suspended from high school for performing a school play and for using the word "vagina" after being told by their principal to not use the word in the play. The girls and Eve Ensler, author of "The Vagina Monologues" were interviewed on the Today show. (To watch the clip, click here. Scroll to "Students suspended over the v-word")
This issue totally relates to what we discussed in class. Maybe not on the grounds of pornographic images, but the use of graphic language. The superintendent of the school said they feared there were young children in the audience and this particular use of the language was not appropriate for them. However, the girls claimed the audience was only of parents and 9-12 graders. I personally think the girls did the right thing in saying "vagina." I don't see the harm in the word...it's just a body part. Yet again this is another way educators try to shelter children from learning. So what if young children were in the audience and heard the word? How would that NEGATIVELY affect them? I think if children are educated about sexuality, their body parts, then aren't we doing our job to protect them from harm; the harm of abusing it? The Vagina Monologues has been shown on college campuses nationwide, why not show it to a high school audience? If anything I think there is a NEED to show it to a teenage audience.
I thought it was just great to see these three young women standing up for what they believed in. This was their way of showing they would not be silenced. Someone in my group in seminar yesterday mentioned that nowadays and even long ago, sex education has always had a negative connotation (i.e. venereal diseases, dying from them, etc.). By including plays like the Vagina MOnologues in the high school environment teenage girls and boys will learn the vagina is a beautiful thing. I mean damn, LIFE is created from it! Where the hell else did we all come from? That's right....OUR MOTHERS VAGINAS! As a parent, I would want my child to learn about these things so he's informed and won't feel the need to EXPERIMENT to be educated about it. Really this is so ridiculous! Any thoughts.....
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Hmm... according to the interview you linked, "Principal Richard Leprine has said the suspensions, which are being reviewed, stemmed from the girls' insubordination, not from their use of the word itself. He said the girls broke a promise not to include the word in their reading." I thought that was an interesting response and it reminded me of the UC Berkeley students we talked about. Thanks for sharing that story.
After previewing the clip, I have to say that this is completely relevant in what we are discussing in class and makes me extremely upset. I have seen the Vagina Monologues and think that it is very informative and funny. I am a firm believer that if young children were informed about sex they would understand their bodies better and would not have to go out and experience it, uninformed, for themselves. In the video clip they had mentioned that people had talked about rape, war and even said the word “fuck” and were not reprimanded yet these girls said “vagina” and were suspended. As I had mentioned in my blog, it just goes to show that our society is okay with allowing people to talk and act on violence yet they are opposed to people and especially young children learning about sex and their own body parts. I believe that sex is something that everyone needs to be informed about no matter what age. The more knowledge you have the less curious and experimental you are.
I was completely shocked with the punishment the girls were handed. I guess they were like stated for using the word after asked not to. I do not believe that was fair at all. There are worse things that are done among high school students, but clearly that punishment did not fit the crime. Their freedom of speech was clearly violated. They wanted to use that word knowing that it was going to go over very easy yet they took that chance and felt that they were being censored and in a way I agree that their freedom of speech was violated. And I am glad to see young girls step up in a big way like that and stand up for what they believe was right.
that was cool to watch the video shows how our school system is chaotic. on one side i like how the school is trying to make a stand and make sure that they don't have too much slide...even though vagina is used and not a word that should be censored...it's the whole concept of talking about the vagina. i wouldn't want a guy to go up on stage and talk about his penis and how its a beautiful thing! but on the other side...the girls wanted to make a point and they went up there to speak their mind. even though the school was taking away their rights, i just didn't agree that the girls said the speech even after told not to. it was taking away their American freedom rights as school representatives but the kids were disobeying the school's authorities.
Post a Comment