Speaking of vaginas -- or saying the word vagina while reading from Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" at an open mic session -- will get you suspended at John Jay High School in New York.
That's right, you can't say vagina in school. And don't try reading from a biology text! Or a dictionary either!
Juniors Megan Reback, Elan Stahl and Hannah Levinson were forewarned, but they did it anyway.
In Megan Reback's words:
"When I was able to say the word 'vagina' and be proud to say it … and it wasn't crude and it wasn't inappropriate and it was very real and very pure, it was important to me. We were willing and ready to take whatever came."
The good news is that parents and students alike are rising up to support these girls. I want to call them brave, but isn't it freakin' pathetic that it takes bravery to say vagina in 2007?
Saying the word "vagina" during a reading at a John Jay High School open mic session has resulted in suspension for three female students . . . [Eve] Ensler offered yesterday to take part in a public meeting to discuss with students, parents and educators why it was important for girls of high school age to feel comfortable saying the word "vagina."
"What is wrong about the word 'vagina,' which is the correct biological term for a body part?" Ensler asked. "It is not slang. It is not dirty or racy. The fact that it was censored is an indication of exactly what is going on in American schools, where girls and boys are not being educated about their bodies in a healthy way. We're pushing everything into the closet.
"We need open, healthy sex education where girls know and love their bodies," said Ensler, who addressed the United Nations yesterday during an international conference dedicated to stopping rape as a weapon in conflict.
via Feministing
Vagina Monologues Censorship Misogyny Gender Politics News
