With One Word, Children’s Book Sets Off Uproar (NYT)

[Sabriel]

<<snip>>

The word “scrotum” does not often appear in polite conversation. Or children’s literature, for that matter.

Yet there it is on the first page of “The Higher Power of Lucky,” by Susan Patron, this year’s winner of the Newbery Medal, the most prestigious award in children’s literature. The book’s heroine, a scrappy 10-year-old orphan named Lucky Trimble, hears the word through a hole in a wall when another character says he saw a rattlesnake bite his dog, Roy, on the scrotum.

<<snip>>

So, it's OK to bomb other people's kids, but it's not OK to let our own read the word "scrotum"?

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/18/books/18newb.html?ex=1172379600&en=d2aecc89e2c748de&ei=5070&emc=eta1

[WCGreen]

1. Maybe if it appeared in a book by Blazac....

Perhaps it would be better understood, no?

[Dhalgren]

40. You typoed. Balzac and you are funny

:rofl:

[Sabriel]

41. I think WCGreen meant "BallSack" n/t

[Dhalgren]

46. Yeah, that's why I corrected the spelling. And it was funny...

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. I would rather kids knew the correct name for parts of the anatomy

of any creature than to be snickering about some "dirty word". But of course to the 'cons, murder is fine-but scrotum will destroy the world. Sheesh.

[sharp_stick]

3. Fundies have real issues with anatomy

I've never been able to figure it out but anatomy scares them as much as Satan himself. Maybe it's because it's part of science and therefore a threat to all that is "faith based"

[Sabriel]

True, but some of the objections are coming from library people

What happened to the free exchange of books? I thought that was one of the basic tenets of libraries.

[MountainLaurel]

7. Absolutely, yes

But just as some people become teachers as a tool for proselytizing, unfortunately some people become librarians so that they can control people's access to information.

[murielm99]

30. That is contrary to my experience

with librarians.

Librarians hate censorship. If anyone tries to ban a book, they band together to see that it does not happen. The American Library Association is very big on free speech. They give a free speech medal every year. One year, Frank Zappa won the medal.

[POAS]

31. As a generalization I would agree but

one cannot discount the possibility of individuals with a religious agenda becoming librarians.

I recently saw an interview with a high school age fundy girl who wanted to study biology in college so she could become a "creation biologist" and disprove evolution. I could see the same happening librarians.

[MountainLaurel]

38. That's it, exactly

And let me tell you, they're a scary bunch.

[cami715]

56. You are exactly right.

Professional librarians, in most cases, have a detailed procedure to follow when a book is criticized or challenged. They want the entire book evaluated, and not judged on the basis of a few words or phrases. Usually there is a standing committee that reads the book in its entirety and evaluates it. And librarians do hate censorship because they of all people are respectful of diversity.

[goforit]

6. Yep, and they are the first to abuse it!

[MountainLaurel]

4. Ah, so that's the issue

A question about this was posted on one of the public library listservs yesterday, asking about the context in which the word was used.

[Olney Blue]

5. For crying out loud. Why are Americans so uptight?

[TahitiNut]

8. Well, it sounds like time to have "The Scrotum Dialogues"

:evilgrin:

[Sabriel]

9. That's seems appropriate

Unless they're not speaking.

[TahitiNut]

18. Well, of course they speak.

They live for intercourse. :evilgrin: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Sabriel]

22. I sentence you to the punitentiary! n/t

[knight_of_the_star]

42. ::groan::

Here is your restraining order separating you from all attempts at humor.

[TahitiNut]

43. Shouldn't that be "::groin::"??

:rofl:

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

10. Ghod forbid...

That kids should learn the anatomically correct words for parts of their bodies.

"Shut the fuck up!" is a phrase that just needs to be used a lot more.

[BattyDem]

24. You're absolutely right.

Why the hell do we even bother talking to the wingnuts or reasoning with them or offering logic and common sense in an effort to find a "middle ground" for our society? When they carry on about shit like this, rational people should simply say, "Shut the fuck up!" No discussion ... no polite conversation ... no effort to "understand" their point of view ... just say it loud and clear: "SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!"

:evilgrin:

[JohnnyLib2]

11. This old farm boy and 4-H member is just shaking his head.

You take your 2 year old to the zoo or the farm or the pound. He/she points and says "what's that." Or giggles at the big peepees. And life goes on. Surely, surely, children's librarians can absorb this big bad word!

[Hekate]

19. My 2 year old grandson knows the word penis, and I thought testicles should be what he calls...

...the other part of his anatomy he grabs when I change his diaper. :rofl: But if scrotum is more correct.... :rofl:

Eventually we will get to the Zoo and I am sure the elephant will receive appropriate scrutiny from this observant little boy.

F'gods'sake. What is it with some people? If this book just got a Newbury Award, I must go find it in our library.

Hekate

[undeterred]

48. They think Michelangelo is porn, too.

[LizW]

33. No kidding!

Farm kids and parents are laughing themselves silly over this. These adults did not want to have to explain the word????? Good grief, I hope none of these people have sons. Little boys ask what that part of their body is as soon as they can talk!

[truthisfreedom]

12. “The word is just so delicious,” Ms. Patron said.

Ms. Patron is a hoot!

[GreenPartyVoter]

13. I have never heard a kid that age call it that. Usually it's "bag" around here.

[Sabriel]

14. That's part of the main character's persona

He's concerned with getting things right and using adult words, seeing as how he's on his way to becoming an adult.

[pocoloco]

15. My God! What is happening here???

Where is the sympathy for poor Roy???

[Cobalt-60]

58. get the anti venom!

we'll worry about the forbidden terms later.

[davsand]

16. "911 says you are gonna die." was my first reaction to this one.

Sorry, it is the punchline to a really bad joke about two hunters and one gets bitten by a snake...

Kid's lit ALWAYS catches a lot of crap from people. I used to rep for a kids' publisher and I can't count the number of times I had somebody climbing up my leg about content.

Usually it was the "godly" folk worried about stuff like witchcraft or swear words, but sometimes it was the other end of the spectrum with folks who objected to the use of the N word or something racist. similarly, I had unexpected times when adults commented favorably on something that I never expected to hear anything positive at all.

I had one account over in Southern Indiana where I literally almost had woman swing a me over a book that she thought was not "Christian." I had a nun one time congratulate me for selling a book about divorce because she felt the kids she worked with needed to see that it happened in families beyond their own.

There is a weirdness about how adults deal with kids' books and i think a lot of it is rooted in the fact that parents like to "protect" kids from "stuff" as long as possible. No matter what "stuff" you think you should be worried about, you are gonna take care of your kid when they read.. Be it religion, language or bigotry, I'll guarantee you that SOMEBODY will dislike any given kids' book at some point or another.


Regards!


Laura

[Occulus]

28. Nicely said.

My parents were on the totally opposite spectrum (and this is one of the few unmitigated good things about my childhood): they read to me when I was young. A LOT. Nightly, if possible. As a result, by second grade I was reading the paper when I came home from school, and by third grade I had a high school senior's reading comprehension (this was tested).

I was reading material far beyond my "maturity level" very, very early in life. My first adult novel was read when I was thirteen. I chose Les Miserables- the unabridged, first English translation from the original French.

I enjoy all kinds of books as a result, and fully understand the need to place oneself in the world of the main character, to feel them as they would feel themselves, to get the full enjoyment from this or that book.

This spills over to my understanding of television as well. It's fiction. I've understood that from the time I was very small, and I credit that understanding in part to my understanding of books, my experience of understanding and being part of someone else's imagination.

We, as a nation, need to rediscover the joy of reading.

[davsand]

55. If you can convince a kid reading is fun you've won the war.

I have ALWAYS felt that way even before I was a parent. If a kid looks at a book and views it as a "fun" thing that kid will grow up to be a reader. Even IF they are reading stuff with a complete lack of literary merit they are still reading for pleasure and THAT will ultimately lead to reading for education and enlightenment.

I used to sell those stupid R L Stine books--you know the ones I'm talking about, I'm sure. I had parents who couldn't buy enough of them to keep up with the kids demands for more. It was SO cool to see! I also had people telling me that the books were everything from the works of Satan to literary crap. (Frankly, I didn't agree with the Satan part but they really are not high art--I'll concede that willingly.)

My point in bringing this up is the reality that people--no matter the age--will read for a variety of reasons. Some look for content that expands their knowledge or understanding, some look for escape. I can't honestly criticize either view because I read different things for different reasons depending on my mood at the time.

Kids are NO different.

If you give a kid a book they do not find of interest you are gonna have a battle to get them to read it. (Come on--TELL me you've never picked up something and read a few pages and put it back on the shelf because you JUST didn't find it terribly captivating!)

If you give a kid a book that has something just a bit tantalizing it is gonna get read. Maybe it is a story with a main character that is just a bit like them or maybe it is a story with some words in it that are new and fun--but it WILL spark a kid's interest a bit more if they think MAYBE it will provoke a response from an adult. The trick is to lure the kids in without really giving them more than they can deal with.

My 9 year old is probably able to read some pretty adult stuff. Her reading level and comprehension would probably allow for it, however, I doubt that she's ready emotionally. Is she actually READY for something like To Kill a Mockingbird--probably not. Could she read it--sure. I think a lot of precocious readers (and their parents) end up in that situation sooner or later. HOW we deal with that can impact on a kid's reading too...

You were lucky--your family was involved with you and they gifted you with a love of the written word. Not all families are that way, and it is THOSE kids that need to see the word "scrotum" or need to read books about people they can identify with in order to be drawn into the story.

Regards!


Laura

[Lisa]

61. I know what you mean -- with an English teacher and a public health nurse for parents ...

... I grew up thinking that snickering at particular words was silly and immature. My dad in particular taught me that you can get a lot more punch out of a double-entendre if you deliver it straight-faced -- and I use his technique all the time as a college instructor. A lot of first years are just stunned if the lecturer comes out with something way more sophisticated (and, once they get through the technical terms, more provocative) than they were thinking. It shuts them up for the rest of the term.

My folks still laugh about the time my pre-teen cousin was ogling a Playboy he'd found in someone's trash, and I disparaged it for being far less revealing than the pics in my mom's anatomy book!

[kestrel91316]

17. "Scrotum" is an anatomical and medical term. It is not

a cussword, perjorative, or obscenity, except in the minds of the clinically insane.

So saith kestrel.

[depakid]

20. OMG, What is wrong with Americans?

I am glad I won't be raising kids in this sick, conflicted country, that's for sure.

[berni_mccoy]

21. Repubs would have been happier with the word "Balls"... it's all their simple minds can handle

[Tyo]

29. They were just fine with scrotum until one of them looked it up

Once they found out that it meant "balls" they were all over it.

[BattyDem]

23. This reminds me of the uptight woman in Florida ...

who complained about "The Vagina Monologues" on a theater marquee because it caused her niece to ask what a vagina was. Apparently, teaching children the proper names for their body parts is dirty and shameful. :eyes:

[AlCzervik]

25. would they prefer the non medical term ball sack? My god this is ridiculous.

[Miss Chybil]

26. I'm wondering if Lucky got his higher powers from being bitten in the balls?

Or, oops, I should have said "scrotum." Oh, but that's not a good word either. How about "gonads?" Now, that's a children's book word!

[Straight Shooter]

27. Roy got bitten on the family jewels.

There you go. A very nice euphemism for those who shudder at the grotesque mental images conjured by anatomically precise verbiage.

What a bunch of penis-heads. :D

[Hekate]

49. My mom taught her kids the correct/medical terms. It was "family jewels" I had to have explained...

...when I read it in some book set in the Middle Ages. I believe the sentence went like this -- describing the fate of two men set upon by either brigands or the Baron's henchmen: "One was hamstrung and the other was hung by his family jewels." The explanation for that scene gave this little girl a LOT to think about.

What a world, what a world. <shakes head>

Hekate

[POAS]

32. I feel like I've just neen kicked in the...........nevermind!

[ohio2007]

34. Susan Patron couldn't spell "tail" or "leg" or

what was the real motive behind the proof reader and Susan's page one word?
oh, on edit
book promo !

[fleabert]

44. it was based on real life events

it mentions it in the story- I guess a friends dog was bitten on the scrotum and that's where the idea came from...

[SemperEadem]

35. I'm sure if you reminded the fundies

that their God put scrotums on males, their heads would explode.

I'd just say "isn't that what your God named them?"

[merh]

36. But Jack Bauer can continue to torture folks on the television

and be a hero for all the young to emulate (and the adults to applaud for his abuses). Most fundies I know allow the television to be the baby sitter and the entertainment for kids, they rarely encourage reading, so chances are this book won't taint their little ones minds.

[0rganism]

62. Welcome to Jesusland, where torture is wholesome and patriotic

and the word scrotum is never ever used, unless the context is where to clamp the battery cables.

[merh]

63. How true and how very sad.

:(


I hate what these people have done to my nation, my society.

[hedgehog]

37. Balls, bag, nuts, family jewels, nads.....

I know my kids know all those words!

[carly denise pt deux]

39. OMG that is soooo stupid

I have heard kids talking to each other.....scrotum is quite tame compared to what I have heard from the mouths of kids lately.

[AngryAmish]

45. Luckily it is not douchebag

Then it would be banned for sure.

[Danmel]

47. Don't they have anything better to worry about?

kids are exposed to far worse watching American Idol.


There is a town in the Poconos in Pennsylvania called "Scotrun". We were driving up to see my older kid at camp and the younger one said "Why would anyone name a town Scrotum, Mom?" We nearly drove off the road we were laughing so hard.

[6000eliot]

50. What kind of fucked-up kids are these people raising?

What do they tell their kids if the kids see a dog's balls and ask what they are?

[JohnnyLib2]

51. ummmm ... God's blessings?

Best I can do. :evilgrin:

[sarcasmo]

52. I wonder if Ball sac would have set off the same uproar.

[0rganism]

53. "You see, boys? There is no scrotum, your testicles just magically hover beneath your torso"

Anatomy classes must be hell for some folks.

[Cobalt-60]

59. Anti Gravitational Testicles

Careful, someone from NASA will stop by with the shears....

[Odin2005]

54. I never cease to find word taboos puzzling...

[Sabriel]

57. On further reflection...

I'm glad "Zombie Butts from Uranus" never won the Newbery. Talk about a potential shitstorm of protest!

(Or, "The Day My Butt Went Psycho")

[Cobalt-60]

60. Oh I don't know...

perhaps something like..
""..reneagde backside selected its victim, a pistripe banker with a fresh foreclosure document in his hand.
The muscular bum picked his moment and leaped, clamping a muscular gleut onto each side of the bankers face and, with a ripping sound, releasing its gaseous venom into the unfortunate parasite's lungs..."