Uttering the V-Word: You Go, Girls!
“Privates,” “down there,” “ ’gina” (that would be with a soft "g" and a long “i”), or just plain old vagina. What do you call it? Around our house, raising a daughter (and a son, too), we called parts of the body by their proper names (though vagina sometimes morphed into ‘gina when uttered by my female-offspring-who-shall-remain-nameless-in-print, when she was very young).
Even now as I write this, I am having trouble coming up with the other acceptable “code names” for this body part. I have nothing against using them, and believe that it is, of course, a personal decision as to how one chooses to refer to parts of the anatomy, whether one is raising kids or not. What I do have a problem with is banning the word because it is “dirty.”
So I am especially interested in an incident unfolding right in my very own area code. It seems that three Juniors at John Jay High School in Cross River, New York, were suspended for saying the word “vagina” during their reading of a selection from Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” at a recent open mike night. Apparently, school administrators had warned the young women not to use the word ahead of time, saying it would be “inappropriate” to do so where young children might be present. The three had initially agreed to the school’s request, but after further thought, decided they could not - and should not - alter the play as written. Censorship? Why, not at all, say the school officials. The suspension was due to “insubordination” – the students’ having reneged on their agreement not to utter the word.
Ensler sums up my own feelings on the matter. “What is wrong about the word ‘vagina’ which is the correct biological term for a body part?” she asks. “It is not slang. It is not dirty or racy."
To the John Jay High School administration, I say: Call your own body parts by whatever names you choose. But please don’t tell us that the correct biological term for one of them is “inappropriate” for young children to hear. And to the three young women who had the courage to stand up for what they believe in, no matter what the consequences, I say “You go, girls!” A suspension is a small price to pay for doing the right thing. An added plus? You’ve each just got yourself one unbeatable college essay topic.
Comments
I heard about this last night. What word did the administration want the girls to use? There are many to replace the word Vagina that would warrant suspension. However, "Vagina" does not. Vagina. Vagina. Vagina. Vagina. Vagina. Vagina. Vagina.
I feel better now.
cannot believe it.....that's the most thing bizarre thing i have heard. i am going to google and search for this whole story...suspension over vagina....that must be some conservative school administration!!!!
Wow! We don't have that issue in our house, but we stopped referring to penises as willies a long time ago.
I can't believe that they were suspended for that. Kids say much worse things in the hall of a school, yet teachers ignore that. If parents had a problem with their kids learning the correct terminology, then they should have not permitted them to go.
I feel bad for the girls, because a suspension, no matter how stupid the reason, could be hard to overcome when applying to college. Hopefully they won't face too much of a problem.
I agree with the "You go girls!" I bought the Vagina Monologues YEARS ago and I love it! I can't find my copy though, so I'm definately going to buy another...
Anyway, I think that anyone who stands up for their opinion should get kudos! This is also coming from some one who (just in the last couple of weeks) was suspended at work and demoted for telling a higher up what I thought about her and her department. I wasn't mean or nasty about it, but I DID put it in an email (in response to her snarky, condescending email). Apparently you shouldn't do that... **grins** It was totally worth it!
we use pica (her) (sp?) and wewo (him). pica, being the polish word and wewo just because it sounds hilarious.
As much as I commend these young women for using the "v" word in an appropriate context, I do not condone their disrespecting their principal -- at first agreeing to his request and then doing whatever they pleased anyway.
As far as this being fodder for their college essays: I surely hope that their reason for using the "v" word at the HS Open Mic Night was not fueled by this thought.
I think that a better "forum" would have been for them to have written an article for their school's student newspaper about the controversy over their plan for
Open Mic night. A local newspaper might have picked up the story and given it a more flattering light than it has now.
sad to say, my three daughters all attend (or have attended) said high school and this was the nuttiest decision we've encountered in 14 years with the school district. Last spring there was a huge controversy over the mandatory reading of July's People by 10th graders, which some parents wanted to opt out of because of the graphic sexual content. But the school stood up for the book and their decision. Now, this about face. Even odder, one of the selections read at the open mike night included the F word. Go figure.
Perhaps I'm missing something - but didn't the school district realize there could be some controversy associated with performing a play with the title "The Vagina Monologues"?
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