The Hoohaa Monologues

[MrsSpringsteen]

I can't believe someone actually complained about that-and is actually concerned about a child seeing the word vagina. That's what it's called, get over it. Seems to me there are so many other things you should be spending your time protecting your children from-and that you should tell them the proper words for body parts, and teach them to be comfortable with those, at a certain age. I'd much rather have a kid use the word vagina than any slang word for it. I find the slang words far more objectionable, and objectifying of women.

So ironic of course given what that play is about. I've never seen it, but I've read and heard about it.


http://www.news4jax.com/entertainment/10948346/detail.html

ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. -- A modified marquee in Atlantic Beach has been drawing some attention. "Hoohaa" replaced a word in the title of a play after a driver complained about finding the previous wording offensive.

The marquis for Atlantic Theaters advertises a number of plays including, the Masquerade Ball, Band Jam, and now The Hoohaa Monologues.

Some said hoohaa is a strange word and that its definition depends on its context, while others said it sounds like a country band.

However, it's not a band at all. In fact, most people know hoohah by a different name -- vagina.

"We got a complaint about this play The Vagina Monologues," said Bryce Pfanenstiel, of the Atlantic Theater.

The Hoohah Monologues is a replacement title for The Vagina Monologues -- a well-known play about that part of the female body.

"We decided we would just use child slang for it. That's how we decided on Hoohah Monologues," Pfanenstiel said.

They did this after a driver who saw it complained to the theater, saying she was upset that her niece saw it.

"I'm on the phone and asked 'What did you tell her?' She's like, 'I'm offended I had to answer the question,'" Pfanenstiel said.

Some parents said they applaud the title change.

The theater said they're trying not to offend anyone, but the publicity doesn't hurt.

"We hope people understand we're trying to do the right thing. But as far as doing it for attention, we're a comedy club, we do all kinds of shenanigans," Pfanenstiel said.

The play is being brought to the theater by a group of law school students and all of the proceeds are going to various charity organizations.

The director of the play said she was going ask the theater and comedy club to return the title back to its original name.

 

[BVS]

Puritans

 

[Liesje]

I prefer cha cha

 

[corianderstem]

Va-jay-jay.

God forbid some parent might have to explain to a kid what a vagina is.

 

[80sU2isBest]

Va-jay-jay.

God forbid some parent might have to explain to a kid what a vagina is.

Do you want your 4 year old going around saying the word all over the place?

 

[phanan]

That's where proper parenting skills come in.

 

[BVS]

Do you want your 4 year old going around saying the word all over the place?

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...

 

[Liesje]

Do you want your 4 year old going around saying the word all over the place?

No, so explain to him that it's inappropriate to do so.


That reminds me of my ultra-conservative next door neighbors. I babysat their four kids and one day I heard them making comments to each other about my "dark" friend. Apparently, their parents were too worried the kids would accidentally say something offensive that they never explained that is NORMAL for some people not to be white. I said "oh, that's my friend so-and-so and she was adopted from Bangladesh, that's why she is darker skinned." They never made any remarks about it after that.

 

[Vincent Vega]

A penis or vagina is part of the human body. Why acting as if there wasn't such a thing?
You don't have to tell your children what adults are doing with these, but it's crazy to tell them some stories or something.

That reminds me of the swimming course I was taking when I was about four years old.
Boys and girls changed clothes in the same room, and when we were chanigng one day I accidentally saw that there was something different at another person.
So I asked my mum and she just told me that this is a girl and they don't have penises.

I wasn't traumatized for life because of that.

 

[martha]

Do you want your 4 year old going around saying the word all over the place?

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

 

[80sU2isBest]

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

It's not a swear word, you're right. But swear words aren't the only words that it's inappropriate for kids to run around saying.

So you would be okay with your 4 year old running around saying it?

 

[BVS]

So you would be okay with your 4 year old running around saying it?

Do kids run around saying "arm", "leg", or "foot"?

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

No, so explain to him that it's inappropriate to do so.

Exactly, 80's. This isn't rocket science here.

Why is it so hard for some parents to have an actual conversation or explain something to their children?

 

[BAW]

Why is it so hard for some parents to have an actual conversation or explain something to their children?

Because vaginas are dirty and shameful and we should never talk about them.

Think of the children April!!

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

Because vaginas are dirty and shameful and we should never talk about them.

Think of the children April!!

Oh, damn, that's right. Silly me!


I really don't get it. The human body is something that should be celebrated, and talked about. Embarrassment over it can only lead to bad things, whether it's discomfort with their own bodies, leading to low self-esteem, or much worse problems later on.

 

[Liesje]

I really don't get it. The human body is something that should be celebrated, and talked about. Embarrassment over it can only lead to bad things, whether it's discomfort with their own bodies, leading to low self-esteem, or much worse problems later on.

Definitely. I've babysat probably close to 100 children at this point and the ones whose parents explained these things to them never ran around saying inappropriate things. I used to watch this girl twice a week, and one day I went there and her mom said "I didn't realize it, but today Sammy was watching A Baby Story, so we had a little talk about babies. If she asks you more questions, just tell her the truth in a way she can understand." Sammy was the most well behaved three year old I've ever dealt with, and she certainly couldn't have cared less about babies, penises, and vaginas once it was explained to her.

The kids whose parents thought they were too young to be curious, they were the ones who acted out in the weirdest ways, punching girls in their "boobies" or always wanting to drop their pants.

 

[UberBeaver]

I find this whole topic highly erotic.

 

[LemonMelon]

!!!!OMG OH NOES if THE children learn about the dirty, sinful thing that is their bodies at an early age, they're guaranteed to get STD's and then get hooked on crack and then influence others to do the same and then we'll all be overrun by dirty (by dirty, of course I mean syphilis-infested, but we can't talk about that because it's icky) crack addicts by 2084 and think of the global warming (that's another dirty word) that would ensue from all the crack smoke!!!

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Honestly if I had a four year old I wouldn't want him or her running around saying vagina as my preferred display of behavior from them, but I certainly would much prefer that to any of the degrading terms that can be used. If you talk to them correctly about it they will use it in appropriate settings and at appropriate times. And if they don't, well sometimes kids will just be kids and it's usually harmless.

My mother comes from a different generation and honestly I don't ever remember her using the word vagina when I was a kid (certainly not my father, lmao). It sent me the message that somehow there was some sort of shame involved with my body. Looking back now I realize that. It is tough enough dealing with body image issues when you get older as a female. I think it's quite healthy to use the proper terms with kids-it makes them have a healthy view of their bodies and they will be less inclined to use the vulgar terms, perhaps. From what I have read the play is about feeling good about ourselves and our bodies as women and not feeling shame. What could be wrong about that? Men should support that too and teach it to their daughters AND their sons.

 

[martha]

So you would be okay with your 4 year old running around saying it?

No. But I would explain to her why she shouldn't "run around" saying it. And I'd rather her run around saying vagina than be afraid to use the proper term for something that's a part of her body.

 

[anitram]

Do you want your 4 year old going around saying the word all over the place?

So four year olds can generally read the word "vagina" as in this example?

 

[Greenlight]

It's a shame that the theatre felt they had to give in to such pressure.
Actually this reminded me of when one of my sons was around 4 and was passionate about trains especially Richard Branson's high speed red Virgin trains. We were in a cafe one day and he saw a Virgin express whiz past in the distance. He shouted at the top of his voice "look mum there's a Virgin" A group of old ladies at the next table looked aghast and started tut- tutting that a young boy shouldn't be talking like that. When they realised that he was only talking about a train they then complained about how Branson shouldn't have named his business "Virgin" I did later explain to my son that perhaps it was best he didn't shout out the word in public as some people thought it was a bit rude. To be honest you can't really explain the term to a 4 year old.

 

[yolland]

^ That's one of the best parts of having kids, the amazing and hilarious and occasionally embarrassing things they innocently come out with sometimes.

All three of our kids know both 'penis' and 'vagina,' and they've never run around gleefully shouting those words or collapsing into giggles over them. If you present it without fanfare as simply a term for a body part, they won't see it as anything to get worked up about. Our oldest son knows they're also relevant to sex, but at his age that's not particularly interesting and certainly doesn't change his sense that they're unremarkable words.

I think using "alternative" words like 'weewee' or 'hoohaa' or whatever actually tends to have the opposite effect from what's presumably intended, i.e., promoting an attitude of modest avoidance. Kids can tell a babytalk euphemism from a Real Adult Word right away, and they'll know immediately that the "real" word must therefore be a "bad" one, which is exactly what creates the tendency to delight in loudly saying it over and over.

Explaining what the play is about to an older child would actually be harder than explaining the word itself to a younger one. But then older children are always asking all kinds of questions about things they heard on the news, saw on TV, read about in a novel or whatever ("Mommy, what's rape?" etc.). It happens; you just start with the most basic and straightforward honest answer you can think of (which is usually all they'll care to know before losing interest, anyway) and go from there.

 

[indra]

Doesn't that woman know you are supposed to blindfold children before taking them out in public? Geez, people these days don't even know these basic rules. What is the world coming to?


Seriously though, isn't part of raising children answering those tricky questions when they come up? If you don't want to have to answer them, don't have children. As far as the aunt here "having" to answer the question -- bull! All she had to do is say "ask your mum or dad." Any aunt worth her salt knows this!

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I'm just thinking about this and the whole Gardisil vaccine issue. Maybe if you are afraid to even use the word vagina in front of your kids and to have them use it in a healthy way, you're less inclined and/or able to discuss sex with them when they get older. I would think there might be a connection there. Of course it should all be age appropriate, but the word vagina can always be that. After all, if you are that embarrassed by the word vagina where the heck do you go from there? And if they get a message of shame about their bodies from an early age, how well equipped will they be to deal with sex and sexuality in a mature and responsible way?

Of course it doesn't mean that you don't also teach kids modesty- I definitely believe in teaching them to be appropriately modest about, and respectful of, their bodies. But there's just something about this whole vagina sign thing that reeks of the message that women should feel shame about a body part. It's disappointing that a women would send that message to a girl.

 

[Judah]

Last fall, i was watching a Canadian Football League game on tv with my four year old and my seven year old. The announcer said "Welcome to the home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Taylor Field in Regina!" [Yes, Regina is pronouced "that way."] And i said to my sons "That's where daddy played junior football...in Regina." And my four-year-old said "Hey, mommy has a Regina!"

Despite that little confusion, my kids know what a vagina and penis are. They only bring up the words when they need to, for whatever reason, reference them. But i bet they would bring them up way more for the wrong reasons, and probably not around their parents, if we told them they're "unmentionables."

 

[CTU2fan]

^ 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.

Seriously though, my daughter knows the words (penis & vagina), she's 5...and she doesn't go around saying it. If she did I'd be a little concerned, but then again, if she went around saying "hoohah" or "poochie-poochie" or whatever silly name you want to put on it I'd be concerned too. Honestly I think the silly names make it worse...penis is just a word, but ding-dong or johnny-whacker are kinda funny. Wouldn't giving it a funny name make kids MORE likely to say it/talk about it?

 

[blueeyedgirl]

Do you want your 4 year old going around saying the word all over the place?

Did you?

 

[verte76]

Do you want your 4 year old going around saying the word all over the place?

No. Just tell them what it is, and tell them it's not appropriate to say it all over the place. They can learn that much.

 

[Golightly Grrl]

I would probably laugh myself silly if I had a four year old who ran around screaming "Vagina!" Then again, I'm an evil bitch.

Guess what? Vagina is a clinical term for a part of a woman's anatomy, and sooner or later children should learn these terms. You can't foam pad the world.