Vagina and the Pornography of Anne Frank

Apparently a mother has decided that she is going to fight the school district to ban the original and unedited version of Anne Frank’s journal…which does describe in detail, Anne’s own exploration of her anatomy.

WHAT!?!

She says that her seventh grade daughter was uncomfortable with the pornographic style of Anne’s description of her explorations. She said that it is too graphic for that age group. So since I too am a parent, I thought that I’d mention that this sort of child-rearing, this ignorance is detrimental to raising a well-rounded, educated and self-aware adult.

What is this mother thinking of? Does she not talk about anatomy with the child? Is she going to pull a Carrie’s mother type of thing when the child starts her menses? I can see it now, lock the girl in the closet, scream that now the girl is a full blown sinner, and pray.

The woman could not even say the word Vagina on camera while speaking to the reporter about her anguish.

The fact is that Anne, while suffering from the crises of her young life, was still a normal child, curious and questioning about her own budding womanhood. She noted this curiosity in her own journal, I’m sure unaware that her words would some day become published. Like any child learning about absolutely anything, she was blunt and unaware that there was anything wrong with that exploration. Why? Because learning is never wrong.

It scares me that the future of the world is in the hands of children who have been raised to believe that if they are uncomfortable with something, they can edit it, change it, adapt it, or even ignore it completely. Is that really what we want to raise our children to believe?

Do we want our children to be uncomfortable with their own bodies? Do we want them to grow up to be unaware of their own sexuality and the nature of things?

Yes, that’s right, we should just teach them that storks brought the babies, that adults who marry only kiss and hold hands, and that their bodies are taboo, that their private parts are dirty and that shame is the greatest emotion that one can live with.

That sounds delightful, doesn’t it!?! Those are the people that I want deciding things in the future. Repressed, ignorant, foolish and psychologically blinded folks.

So yes, the mom will probably win against the school board, the version of the book will probably go back to being the edited version. Yes, the students will be taught…even if it’s not consciously, that their discomfort with anatomy, biology and sexuality is GOOD! They will be taught that Anne’s curiosity, like their own, is nothing to be proud of, and that ignorance is far more powerful than wisdom and awareness.

Woohoo!