press conferences held in vagina controversy

[nehemiah]

KATONAH - The three female high school students suspended for using the word vagina during an open mic night session at their school and the principal who meted out the punishment for what he said was insubordination, not censorship, held dueling press conferences late this afternoon.

It was the latest turn of events in an episode that continues to generate enormous controversy in this affluent northern Westchester community and beyond over freedom of expression, appropriate content and keeping commitments.

The students, all juniors at John Jay High School, stood by their actions, saying everyone should be comfortable with the word and the female sexuality it invokes.

"We had no doubt in our minds that we were willing to be 'insubordinate' to do the right thing and get this word out there and we were willing to take whatever consequence," said Hannah Levinson. The press conference was held in Levinson's living room where all the girls were accompanied by their parents.

"It just doesn't make sense for an administration to expect me not to talk about my body - it's mine," added Megan Reback.

The controversy centers around a stanza from Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues," a book that was written in 1996 and has since been translated into 45 languages. The stanza reads: "My short skirt is a liberation flag in the women's army. I declare these streets, any streets, my vagina's country."
http://www.nyjournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070306/UPDATE/703060453

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[Meathead]

i will need to see a demonstration

[nehemiah]

mo info about this at --> http://ourbodiesourblog.org/blog/2007/03/students_refuse_to_leave_vagina_out_of_vagina.php

The community of John Jay High School in Westchester County, N.Y. is in a tizzy over the word "vagina."

It seems that three female high school juniors received permission to read part of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" during a public open mic session. But they were told to avoid using the word "vagina," which is mentioned in the excerpt, because young children would be in the audience and it would be taped for local cable TV. (The students have countered that the youngest audience member was in ninth grade.)

With us so far?

The students -- Megan Reback, Elan Stahl and Hannah Levinson -- divided the piece into thirds and then read the final line of this section together:

My short skirt is a liberation
flag in the women’s army
I declare these streets, any streets
my vagina’s country.

They have all received one-day in-school suspensions -- not for saying "vagina," exactly, but for disobeying school officials. The students told the Journal News that they debated not saying "vagina," but ultimately decided it was important to stay true to the work.

[JLB]

i will need to see a demonstration

http://www.desert-voice.net/Demonstration%20in%20Lebanon.JPG

Here you go Meat.

[Ru]

Well, those naughty little whores. Who do they think they are using a word like "vagina" in public? I wonder if the administration would have been okay with the term "meat wallet" instead.

[Gibby]

ru as soon as thanks are back I'll be giving you some. We call em pr!ck pockets in Missouri. Well most of us, those who say Missourah call em c*ck closets :D

[mikgaes]

Video of the girls from our local newspaper:

video (http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070306/VIDEO01/70306019)

[SpikedLemonade]

the term "meat wallet" instead.

There's a new one.

I've NEVER heard that one before.

I think I'll use it.

[JLB]

ru as soon as thanks are back I'll be giving you some. We call em pr!ck pockets in Missouri. Well most of us, those who say Missourah call em c*ck closets :D



"velvet love tunnel"

:winksmile

[mikgaes]

Watching... this... thread... morph...into... a can you give me your favorite euphemism for the word in question?

http://www.floridasportsman.com/art/popcorn.gif

[ICRockets]

Video of the girls from our local newspaper:

video (http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070306/VIDEO01/70306019)

Your newspaper has videos? That's awesome.

[rob on the job]

Gosh ... those girls said "vagina" and I didn't even see their lips move.

[JLB]

Gosh ... those girls said "vagina" and I didn't even see their lips move.

X-Ray vision shoulda worked.

[unklechucky]

:guy:

Ya know we havent had much sex in the PRS forum...its about time.

[Green Lantern]

They said "vagina" just to say it?

Idiots. They deserve what they get.

[K-Gun]

My girlfriend likes it when I call her vag "my little **** toy."

[ICRockets]

They said "vagina" just to say it?

Idiots. They deserve what they get.

Umm...yeah, maybe, if we didn't live in a country where we have freedom of ****ing speech.

[Green Lantern]

Umm...yeah, maybe, if we didn't live in a country where we have freedom of ****ing speech.

Don't tell me you caught this disease too.

Jeez, where have all the adults gone.

[JLB]

Don't tell me you caught this disease too.

Jeez, where have all the adults gone.

I left it's game night! GO SABRES!

[ICRockets]

Don't tell me you caught this disease too.

Jeez, where have all the adults gone.

What disease? What possible harm is there in 16/17 year-old girls saying the word "vagina"?

[Green Lantern]

What disease? What possible harm is there in 16/17 year-old girls saying the word "vagina"?

Obviously the harm is they will get in trouble in school.

[ICRockets]

Obviously the harm is they will get in trouble in school.

And the point of this thread is that the punishment was retarded. Try to keep up. ;)

[Green Lantern]

And the point of this thread is that the punishment was retarded. Try to keep up. ;)

You people are fools.

Nothing, NOTHING, is absolute. If you go out with the intent of flaunting a right and offend enough people, someone eventually, right or wrong, will convince enough people to do something about it (re: limit your rights).

This is not an example of people keeping our freedom of speech sacred by exercising it, it is an example of an ill-thought-out plan to piss people off. People who do these things are not protecting our rights, they are helping to erode them.

Discretion is the better part of valor.

[mikgaes]

My girlfriend likes it when I call her vag "my little **** toy."

She likes it when I call her that too.

[Green Lantern]

She likes it when I call her that too.

JIHAD!

[ICRockets]

You people are fools.

Nothing, NOTHING, is absolute. If you go out with the intent of flaunting a right and offend enough people, someone eventually, right or wrong, will convince enough people to do something about it (re: limit your rights).

This is not an example of people keeping our freedom of speech sacred by exercising it, it is an example of an ill-thought-out plan to piss people off. People who do these things are not protecting our rights, they are helping to erode them.

Discretion is the better part of valor.

They weren't doing this to offend anyone. If this were found egregiously offensive by anybody, the entire poem would have been nixed. Instead, some puritanical, near-sighted administrator thought the word vagina was icky and didn't want to have to hear it. The girls then considered taking it out, but decided to preserve the poem's integrity.

Just because somebody goes against an order doesn't mean that the reason they did so was to go against orders. They had a valid reason for saying the word, and I see nothing wrong with that.

[Green Lantern]

They weren't doing this to offend anyone. If this were found egregiously offensive by anybody, the entire poem would have been nixed. Instead, some puritanical, near-sighted administrator thought the word vagina was icky and didn't want to have to hear it. The girls then considered taking it out, but decided to preserve the poem's integrity.
Just because somebody goes against an order doesn't mean that the reason they did so was to go against orders. They had a valid reason for saying the word, and I see nothing wrong with that.

I did not see that argument in the article. Where did you get that?

[mikgaes]

JIHAD!


Geez, I was only razzing the guy.

[ICRockets]

I did not see that argument in the article. Where did you get that?



mo info about this at --> http://ourbodiesourblog.org/blog/2007/03/students_refuse_to_leave_vagina_out_of_vagina.php

They read the final line of this section together:

My short skirt is a liberation
flag in the women’s army
I declare these streets, any streets
my vagina’s country.

They have all received one-day in-school suspensions -- not for saying "vagina," exactly, but for disobeying school officials. The students told the Journal News that they debated not saying "vagina," but ultimately decided it was important to stay true to the work.


There ya go.

[K-Gun]

They said "vagina" just to say it?

Idiots. They deserve what they get.

:rofl: You can't be serious, can you? They were performing the vagina monolouges. "Just to say it?" I think you may have missed a thing or two.

Why not read Hamlet but cut out the murder scences?

[Green Lantern]

There ya go.

Thanks. I only read the first link.

They are still wrong. it is a stupidly horrible line anyway, "this is my vagina's country?"

[K-Gun]

She likes it when I call her that too.

:rofl: So you're the dude that's been paying my rent, thanks bro!

[mikgaes]

Hey, I help where I can.

[Angus]

KATONAH - The three female high school students suspended for using the word vagina during an open mic night session at their school and the principal who meted out the punishment for what he said was insubordination, not censorship, held dueling press conferences late this afternoon.

It was the latest turn of events in an episode that continues to generate enormous controversy in this affluent northern Westchester community and beyond over freedom of expression, appropriate content and keeping commitments.

The students, all juniors at John Jay High School, stood by their actions, saying everyone should be comfortable with the word and the female sexuality it invokes.

"We had no doubt in our minds that we were willing to be 'insubordinate' to do the right thing and get this word out there and we were willing to take whatever consequence," said Hannah Levinson. The press conference was held in Levinson's living room where all the girls were accompanied by their parents.

"It just doesn't make sense for an administration to expect me not to talk about my body - it's mine," added Megan Reback.

The controversy centers around a stanza from Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues," a book that was written in 1996 and has since been translated into 45 languages. The stanza reads: "My short skirt is a liberation flag in the women's army. I declare these streets, any streets, my vagina's country."
http://www.nyjournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070306/UPDATE/703060453

vagina, vagina, vagina, sukie, vagina, vagina, vagina, vagina, vagina, vagina, sukie, vagina, vagina, vagina, vagina, vagina, vagina, vagina, vagina, vagina, rob on the job, vagina, vagina, vagina.

Allow me to weigh in on the "vagina controversey", I am totally pro-vagina. Been that way ever since I was an itty bitty baby. Kind of a family tradition. My Pop was pro-Vagina, my Grand-Pop was pro-vagina and so on. I dare say, some of my best friends are vaginas. They don't say much but are always there to help a friend. Show me a vagina and I'll show you a friend I haven't met.

[Ru]

Allow me to weigh in on the "vagina controversey", I am totally pro-vagina. Been that way ever since I was an itty bitty baby. Kind of a family tradition. My Pop was pro-Vagina, my Grand-Pop was pro-vagina and so on. I dare say, some of my best friends are vaginas. They don't say much but are always there to help a friend. Show me a vagina and I'll show you a friend I haven't met.

So, I guess you could call yourself a vagitarian.