V-Day
Kind of close enough to NYC, don’t you think?
What kind of world do we live in when a medical term for a part of our anatomy - you know, much like elbow, or nose, or mucus - is so politically charged…actually, strike that. It’s so MORALLY charged that people freak out to even hear it uttered?
I’m talking about penis.
No, I’m not. I’m talking about an even worse one.
Vagina.
You know, the va-jay-jay of “Grey’s Anatomy” speak.
Seems some girls wanted to perform a monologue from “the Vagina Monologues” in a high school open mic program. The principal agreed if they would not utter the dread word which has been documented, upon being heard, of causing young girls to shuck their clothes and begin humping anything even remotely approaching a male of the species.
It’s true. Empowering girls with the knowledge that their bologna has a first name that’s V-a-g-i-n-a apparently not only causes them to become raving whores but also encourages boys who hear the word to see what all the fuss is about.
So the girls were suspended for one day.
The Principal, in true straddling the fence fashion, has tried to say this isn’t about censoring any rights to speech or the word itself, but rather punishing them for disobeying…yes, that’s right. For disobeying. Disobeying what, you might ask? A demand that they squelch that word!
That’s dancing on the head of a needle right there.
I am going to keep my soapbox short, but it’s really beyond time where we worry so much about a word like vagina…or penis.
“Eric!” principal Rich Leprine might say. “There were young children in the audience! They don’t need to hear words describing sexual organs!”
Oh, you’re so right, princy. I mean, after all, when *I* was a little boy, well before I began school, I called it my pee-pee or weenie. I mean, CLEARLY calling it a penis means I would have been working the street corner trying to make a buck off the pedophile market. But this isn’t about penis. This is about vagina…and about the fear of women understanding what they have “down there” doesn’t make them lesser human beings and that it shouldn’t be feared.
But…fear and loathing. It’s all some people have left to them to keep people in control. In this case, a couple of girls in a school who have now been told by the powers that be that what is an integral part of them is to be loathed, hated, and feared.
And never, EVER acknowledged. Because that’s insubordinate.
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bologna??? ew. ;)
me, i’m partial to the term bajingo.
i’m a big fan of “naughty bits” can’t we bring that one back? It works for everyone!
See, now you guys are just proving my point. :-) I smile, but it’s true. In the end, who really cares what we call it, but acting like it’s such an unmentionable - and it’s a CLINICAL term at that! - is just wrong.
vagina! vagina! vagina!
I double dog dare ya to say that in a public school, Chris!
I like “vagenius” myself.
But instead I’m going to run around at the next meetup yelling “vagina! vagina! vagina!”. Who’s with me? I know Chris is.
once bike riding in brookline, ma, i found a beautiful monestary. a monk came out and i think he wanted me to go away, but i tried to talk to him, found out it’s a greek orthodox monestary. he was edgy and basically rude, as i tried to tell him about my best friend from home, how her dad is a g.o. priest. when i got home and told my roommate, she said, you talked to a monk wearing THAT? i suddenly noticed i was wearing my “VAGINA do you speak?” shirt. even better, when i told a co-worker (who’s husband’s a g.o. priest) she said the particular sect affiliated with that monestary is very sexist and won’t let men be in the presence of menstruating women…whee, i bet i REALLY freaked out mr. priesty.