PS on The V-Word Trio
Here’s the latest on the V-word Trio. In case you haven't heard, these are the three Juniors at John Jay High School in Cross River, New York, who were suspended for saying the word “vagina” aloud during their reading from “The Vagina Monologues,” because it was "inappropriate" for young children to hear.
Talk about a teachable moment! The school administration has decided to rescind the girls’ suspensions. Kudos to these educators for setting a terrific example to people young and old. People make mistakes every day, so bravo to these individuals for reevaluating their stance and righting a wrong, rather than just sticking to their guns for the sake of doing so.
PS: According to my friends with kids in this school district, the youngest “young children” in the audience were in the 9th grade...
Comments
are they not the same 3 girls who also came on one of the morning shows. i think NBC's today?
Great news. It would have been an utter shame on the school district to have suspended those girls.
Hi Floridagal, Yup...they are one and the same. The three girls did appear on "The Today Show" talking about this whole controversy. Ciao, Laurie
My 20 year old daughter has always referred to her vagina as vagina. She and I have seen The Vagina Monologues and enjoyed it.
The censorship of ONE WORD was not the issue. It was the message of the stanza which was inappropriate for younger kids.
"My short skirt is a liberation flag. I declare these streets, any streets my vagina country."
This stanza can be interpreted as sanctioning promiscuity or prostitution. Though your suburb may not have teen girls being lured into prostitution, Atlanta and other cities do. Al Roker did a special for Court TV "Innocence Lost" which chronicled this. Eve Ensler says that vagina is a body part...just like elbow or hand. Not exactly. Exposing a hand or elbow does not increase the risk of sexual molestation.
Since younger children could have been in the audience on open mic night, the administration had the responsibility to keep the content appropriate. (The F word should also have been struck.)
These 3 "special" girls acted smug about lying to the principal.
I think that the "Vagina Monologues" is an appropriate choice for adults who want to purchase a ticket and make a conscious decision to attend the theater. It is an inappropriate choice for a school recitation because of the volitility of the word "vagina". No matter what you all say about "proper body parts" the word evokes emotional responses from some people. Call these people "uptight" or whatever, but this mindset exists, as do anti abortionists,and other opinionated people so just leave the VM out of school and perform something more benign.
