April 21, 2005
Free Speech Battle at Minnesota High School
(Filed under: Society)Two Winona High School students have been threatened with suspension and expulsion after wearing buttons that said "I [heart] My Vagina" after seeing a performance of the play The Vagina Monologues. The girls, Carrie Rethlefsen and Emily Nixon, say the buttons are meant to spark discussion about violence against women and women's rights. The school thinks the statement is inappropriate and sends the wrong message.
More than 100 students have supported the girls by ordering T-shirts that say "I [heart] My Vagina" for girls and "I Support Your Vagina" for boys. The school has threatened serious action if anyone wears the T-shirts to school.
It's a peculiar story that ties into a history of free speech conflicts between students and school administrators. While students should have free speech, I wonder about the effectiveness more than the appropriateness of "I [heart] my vagina." I've seen plenty of T-shirt slogans more inappropriate than that, but I wonder how many people connect that slogan with women's rights. It seems to make more of a statement about sexuality (imagine what "I [heart] my penis" might mean).
Did I just write an entry using the words 'penis' and 'vagina'?
Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at April 21, 2005 11:47 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.realmagazine.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/70
Comments
I am making the pro-Penis T-Shirts, actually. I am a senior at Winona Senior High, as well. I am probably going to face even more trouble than them, though.
Posted by: Matt Thompson at April 22, 2005 07:14 PM
I definitely agree about questioning the "message" these pins are supposedly conveying. I'm all for awareness of sexuality and violence, but I don't think the buttons OR the t-shirts are the most effective methods of bringing about that awareness.
If this IS about sexuality and not about violence, then I think Matt's idea of penis t-shirts is fair. If Carrie is allowed to exlaim to people how she feels about her vagina (which she HAS been allowed to do for the past month), then Matt should have every right to exhibit his feelings about his penis.
Of course, I think the entire situation has just gotten entirely out of hand, but hey, why not keep beating a dead horse with a stick?
Posted by: Anne Grossardt, Winona alumna at April 23, 2005 03:11 PM
I can't believe it, my co-worker just bought a car for $25724. Isn't that crazy!
Posted by: Betsy Markum at November 14, 2005 04:02 PM
I can't believe it, my co-worker just bought a car for $10212. Isn't that crazy!
Posted by: Betsy Markum at January 19, 2006 08:44 PM