Crazy people II

On the heels of that last school story, we have another: students at Winona High Schools who are wearing buttons that says "I ♥ My Vagina" are getting into trouble.

I don't even know where to start with this. First of all, if a student wore a button that said "I ♥ My Pecs" or "I ♥ My Enormous Brain", I don't think we would be seeing any controversy. Thus, it appears that the only problem is that the button acknowledges the fact that females have a reproductive system.

Second, this message is at its root a positive one. If a girl came to school wearing a button that said "I hate my looks", again I don't think there would be threats of disciplinary action. It's odd how in a culture where teen girls have to deal with body image issues and eating disorders, a positive message about the body is shunned, while a negative one would be accepted. Does this make sense?

It seems that conservatives will not be happy until everybody feels total shame about anything physical. Women are not allowed to even acknowledge the fact that they have vaginas, to say nothing about enjoying them. Enjoying healthy sexuality? That goes against God and nature, apparently. At the same time, the media continues to portray unrealistic and unhealthy sexual attitudes, people (even conservatives!) have affairs and damaging sexual relationships, and sex ed is nonexistent in schools.

From the sound of things, these excellent students certainly have the sense to make good decisions about their health, something that many teens cannot say. These people aren't going to be the ones who get pregnant before they graduate, for example. It just pisses me off that anybody who tries to have a frank discussion about sex these days is instantly cut off. America is completely psychotic in this respect, and it is damaging to everybody, especially girls.

Personally, I can empathize with them, since I was pretty much in the same boat at their age: an excellent non-troublemaking student who tried to provoke a little more critical thinking in a place where, to be honest, critical thinking is about as welcome as a drag queen at the Bachmann family dinner table (ka-ching!) These are the people who should be our next leaders, but they are being taught early that rocking the boat will get you a swift kick in the rear. Way to go, USA!