The Hoohaa Monologues

[anitram]

I still want to know what 4 year old was reading this theatre billboard?

 

[corianderstem]

I think a 4-year old wouldn't run around yelling 'vagina.' They'd find 'butt' much more amusing.

 

[Angela Harlem]

Did you?

This is the whole point, isn't it. There's nothing offensive about a vagina. And it seems no one can name any child who has ever had this word get out of hand from overuse and reactionary taunting, as 4 year olds do love to do.

I respect 80s view where it's better to take precaution and avoid difficult situations with kids who are too young to understand, but I do think it is unrealistic and more an issue with the parent and onlookers who get into a flap than it is with a child.

 

[dazzlingamy]

People are so over the top about the smallest things now adays. Do you think this inadvertatly leads to what the parent is really scared of?

Like a parent of a child i used to babysit used to tell him his penis was yucky and naughty and if he touched it bad things would happen to him. He was also told that it was used for dirty despicable things you only do with someone you love (hows that for a headfuck saying?) He was so terrified he would wet himself rather then touch it to go to the toilet. Later on he realised (like a lot of teenagers that was to piss off their parents) that being rather upfront and graphic about sex and masturbation pissed his mum off, so he would sleep around and i was always hearing stories about him getting caught having a wank at school. Anyway he's now 14 and has a child with one girl and got another girl pregnant. I mean this is just one story, but looking at it, the message his mum gave him, instead of warning him off anything sexual just made him go in the other direction... its interesting.

 

[martha]

I respect 80s view where it's better to take precaution and avoid difficult situations with kids who are too young to understand

But driving by a theater marquee?

When does the "won't somebody think of the children" attitude end, and the "let's live our lives like regular people" begin?

 

[LemonMelon]

People are so over the top about the smallest things now adays. Do you think this inadvertatly leads to what the parent is really scared of?

Like a parent of a child i used to babysit used to tell him his penis was yucky and naughty and if he touched it bad things would happen to him. He was also told that it was used for dirty despicable things you only do with someone you love (hows that for a headfuck saying?) He was so terrified he would wet himself rather then touch it to go to the toilet. Later on he realised (like a lot of teenagers that was to piss off their parents) that being rather upfront and graphic about sex and masturbation pissed his mum off, so he would sleep around and i was always hearing stories about him getting caught having a wank at school. Anyway he's now 14 and has a child with one girl and got another girl pregnant. I mean this is just one story, but looking at it, the message his mum gave him, instead of warning him off anything sexual just made him go in the other direction... its interesting.

Wow...I think that says it all.

 

[muffetee]

lol, why do i sense that this is being billed as just another commonplace issue..

 

[trevster2k]

http://www.nearlygood.com/audio/vaginasong.html

They should be playing this on loudspeakers outside the theatre!!

 

[Angela Harlem]

But driving by a theater marquee?

When does the "won't somebody think of the children" attitude end, and the "let's live our lives like regular people" begin?

I agree with you. I am also lazy, though, as some might know I have a 4 year old (and I thought this 4* yo angle was only a generic example anyway?) and she only knows letters and basic words. As for her saying vagina, it's not a dirty word and I dont actually care. I get irritated when she repeats any word incessantly, and this would be the same. She is most certainly going to learn what a vagina is in a few years, along with penis and sex and homosexuality and fallopian tubes. If she asked what was on a billboard and happened to ask, I'd tell her anyway.

Upshot is if people want to get concerned over it, that is their right. I'm not going to, nor ever make a fuss for the sake of someone else. If someone has a massive problem then they can get all tired over the effort of it. "wont someone think of the children" is a funny one. I only have my own child as experience but given my open attitutude with things and the relative free rein she has to learn about whatever she wants, she's still 4 and still has narrow vision. Her main interests in life are painting, these 2 little friends of hers, stealing her sisters' care bear, what's for dinner, and making words from letter magnets. She can know what a vagina is, but it wont alter her reason for living which is a pink and a green care bear.

*edit: had originally written 40 year old, lol

 

[martha]

 

[dazzledbylight]

My cousin's 3 year old asked "mommy where's your penis, did it fall off?" Instead of making up some story, she explained to him that mommies have vaginas and don't have penises. The child never went around repeating the word or asking everyone about it. Children are curious, that's the nature of childhood. Be honest with them...

good post!

i think ESP if the parent etc just says it as a matter-of-fact......
.....then kids don't pick up the or Vibes that MIGHT INDUCE them to GO running around repeating the word/s................ to get attention or a reaction out of grownups.

 

[dazzledbylight]

Get over it, 80s. It's not a swear word. Although some of the people you vote for might think it is.

RTG martha!


Sorry 80's-- I was when i was a young to mid-teen really one of those "prissy" [hope that IS one of the words i'm thinking of....or maybe priggish? No Thesaurous at the Net cafe ]....
...and I'm so glad i thought myself away from that type of thinking over time.

 

[dazzledbylight]

^ Exactly. It's just a body part, jeez.

The theatre should have changed "vagina" to "pussy", the concerned citizens would have been begging them to change it back before the paint was even dry.

OMG!!!!!!


THAT"ll teach 'em!

 

[dazzledbylight]

People are so over the top about the smallest things now adays. Do you think this inadvertatly leads to what the parent is really scared of?

Like a parent of a child i used to babysit used to tell him his penis was yucky and naughty and if he touched it bad things would happen to him. He was also told that it was used for dirty despicable things you only do with someone you love (hows that for a headfuck saying?) He was so terrified he would wet himself rather then touch it to go to the toilet. Later on he realised (like a lot of teenagers that was to piss off their parents) that being rather upfront and graphic about sex and masturbation pissed his mum off, so he would sleep around and i was always hearing stories about him getting caught having a wank at school. Anyway he's now 14 and has a child with one girl and got another girl pregnant. I mean this is just one story, but looking at it, the message his mum gave him, instead of warning him off anything sexual just made him go in the other direction... its interesting.

Jeezzzzz...............
THAT is SO sad! for everyone invovled

Do you know that during the ......... the Clinton era..... .abortions DECREASED because at least in SOME places MORE real sex ed was being taught!

 

[A_Wanderer]

So, that trend has continued under Bush.

 

[80sU2isBest]

RTG martha!


Sorry 80's-- I was when i was a young to mid-teen really one of those "prissy" [hope that IS one of the words i'm thinking of....or maybe priggish? No Thesaurous at the Net cafe ]....
...and I'm so glad i thought myself away from that type of thinking over time.

Dazzling, I'm much older than a young to mid-teen -I'll be 40 in July- and I have no desire to change my long-held opinion that there are certain things that are not appropriate to be plastered on public billboards and marquees.

If that makes me priggish in your eyes, that's cool. Throw in a little "old fashioned" while you're at it, and that'll make me really proud.

 

[meegannie]

I only get annoyed because the term vagina has become synonymous with vulva.

 

[martha]

I only get annoyed because the term vagina has become synonymous with vulva.

But you do have a point.

 

[BVS]

and I have no desire to change my long-held opinion that there are certain things that are not appropriate to be plastered on public billboards and marquees.

But why? Why is it not appropriate, just because they didn't in the 50's?

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I only get annoyed because the term vagina has become synonymous with vulva.

Mulva?


To the other point-the word vagina is in the title of the play. It's not as it they're just throwing out the word for all to see for no reason, or showing a picture of a vagina. Even if they did just put the word there for no reason, it's just a name for a body part. A picture of someone's vagina, yeah I wouldn't really want to see that on a marquee. Not that there's anything inherently offensive about a vagina, but that's where the modesty thing comes in for me. Even the picture though, if I saw it I wouldn't get freaked out or anything. And little girls already know what vaginas look like.

What about that Puppetry Of The Penis play? Would they censor that word too?

 

[Vincent Vega]

Yes, you have to live in denial with part of your body until you are 18 (or 21).

You aren't allowed to mention that word, read that word or do anything else with that word.
This word can't be penis or vagina when you are a child, because that would hurt you for life and leave you traumatized.


This part of your body is dirty, the word is dirty, and mentioning it is a crime.

Don't ask me why, because I don't know.

 

[80sU2isBest]

Yes, you have to live in denial with part of your body until you are 18 (or 21).

You aren't allowed to mention that word, read that word or do anything else with that word.
This word can't be penis or vagina when you are a child, because that would hurt you for life and leave you traumatized.


This part of your body is dirty, the word is dirty, and mentioning it is a crime.

Don't ask me why, because I don't know.

It doesn't have anything to do with any part of the body being dirty. I don't think any part of the body is dirty; God created the human body - he didn't create any dirty thing.

However, I come from a generation that was raised to put stock in modesty, class and decorum. That's how my parents raised me, and I'm glad.

 

[BVS]

However, I come from a generation that was raised to put stock in modesty, class and decorum. That's how my parents raised me, and I'm glad.

Modesty? No one is flashing their vagina on this marquee or even in the show.

Class? Very subjective. Some may consider class to be able to talk to their children in a real way and not have to make up stories or words for body parts.

Decorum? Also subjective and I don't see anything that doesn't fit in decorum here. Maybe if they had used a slang term.

 

[80sU2isBest]

Modesty? No one is flashing their vagina on this marquee or even in the show.

Class? Very subjective. Some may consider class to be able to talk to their children in a real way and not have to make up stories or words for body parts.

Decorum? Also subjective and I don't see anything that doesn't fit in decorum here. Maybe if they had used a slang term.

In a general sense, I'll just say that you and I have very different values and ideas about modesty, class and decorum. And it's not just a difference between you and I; most people of my generation and previous will have different values and beliefs concerning this than more recent generations. Just as you don't understand why I would object on those grounds, I can't understand why you wouldn't.

But I will address what you said about class specifically. What does having a play with a body part mentioned in the title have to do with the subject of talking to your children about body parts? That connection doesn't make sense to me.

And why do you assume that someone who doesn't want to see that word on a marquee is someone who won't have the conversations you're talking about with their kids? As I said, there is no connection.

 

[BVS]

In a general sense, I'll just say that you and I have very different values and ideas about modesty, class and decorum. And it's not just a difference between you and I; most people of my generation and previous will have different values and beliefs concerning this than more recent generations. Just as you don't understand why I would object on those grounds, I can't understand why you wouldn't.

They probably aren't as different as you may think.

But I will address what you said about class specifically. What does having a play with a body part mentioned in the title have to do with the subject of talking to your children about body parts? That connection doesn't make sense to me.

And why do you assume that someone who doesn't want to see that word on a marquee is someone who won't have the conversations you're talking about with their kids? As I said, there is no connection.

Well I was addressing your specific concern which seemed to be that the word was out in the public for a child to see. I didn't see any posts specifically about the play itself.

Your concern seemed to be that a 4 year old would say the word. That is what I was addressing.

 

[BrownEyedBoy]

80´s, repeat after me:

Vagina, vagina, vagina. Penis, penis, penis.

 

[80sU2isBest]

Well I was addressing your specific concern which seemed to be that the word was out in the public for a child to see. I didn't see any posts specifically about the play itself.

But there is still no connection between what you said and I what said about class, because of this: just because a parent doesn't want his/her child to see that word in public doesn't mean that parent is going to tell lies about body parts or make up words for it.

 

[80sU2isBest]

80´s, repeat after me:

Vagina, vagina, vagina. Penis, penis, penis.

Repeat after me:

Classless, classless, classless. Juvenile, juvenile, juvenile.

 

[BrownEyedBoy]

^ haha I knew you wouldn´t be able to do it!!



...

 

[anitram]

But there is still no connection between what you said and I what said about class, because of this: just because a parent doesn't want his/her child to see that word in public doesn't mean that parent is going to tell lies about body parts or make up words for it.

Why would they care if the child sees it? I mean, if they've spoken to the child or plan on speaking to the child about what the word means, what difference does it make if they see it on a theatre marquee? It's not as if we're branding our McDonalds fries with "vagina!"