free speech or offensive?

Two Winona WI public school students are in the middle of a controversy. They attended a performance of the 'Vagina Monologues' and came back to school wearing 'I [heart] my vagina' buttons.

Administration says its offensive and has threatened the girls (who btw have NEVER been in the principals office in the 4 years theyve attended school) with suspension and now expulsion. The expulsion comes on the heels of the girls getting support from more than 100 students who have now bought both 'I [heart] my vagina' and I [heart] your vagina' (for boys) tee shirts.

Questions is - do you think they should be allowed to wear the buttons or shirts or since it is offensive/uncomfortable to some, they shoudl be banned

i think it is inappropriate for school

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Posted by RedHead

i think it is inappropriate for school

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I agree-
It would be a distraction and could cause someone to be offended... for a school environment it is inappropriate

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Posted by JPC1125

Two Winona WI public school students are in the middle of a controversy. They attended a performance of the 'Vagina Monologues' and came back to school wearing 'I [heart] my vagina' buttons.

Administration says its offensive and has threatened the girls (who btw have NEVER been in the principals office in the 4 years theyve attended school) with suspension and now expulsion. The expulsion comes on the heels of the girls getting support from more than 100 students who have now bought both 'I [heart] my vagina' and I [heart] your vagina' (for boys) tee shirts.

Questions is - do you think they should be allowed to wear the buttons or shirts or since it is offensive/uncomfortable to some, they shoudl be banned

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I agree with Red, I think it's inappropriate for school.

...I also think it's a rotten marketing ploy by the folks at the Vagina Monologues and it's exploiting the spirit of the show in favor of sexual innuendo and shock value...but that's just me

I am all for free speech, but when it comes to school, even that has to be limited, and I think the buttons and tees are inappropriate fomr school.

I remember reading an article a LONG time ago about a jr high where the boys would wear hooters shirts and they had nor consequences and it was all fine. So a bunch of girls got together and made a similar shirt that said 'Cocks', and the girls were all suspended and stuff. I think in the end they won thier fight,

i heart my vagina....
what the hell is the problem with that?!?!?!!?
freedom of speech. and if people are 'offended' thats their problem..

Also, something tells me it was TEACHERS who were 'offended' rather than other students.

it says 'i heart MY vagina.' nothing offensive about that at all!
inappropriate? not to me

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Posted by usuk2004

...I also think it's a rotten marketing ploy by the folks at the Vagina Monologues and it's exploiting the spirit of the show in favor of sexual innuendo and shock value...but that's just me

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I don't think it's appropriate for school, although the woman who wrote the show was my teacher in college. Although I agree that the girls should heart their vaginas, high school is just not the place to flaunt it.

However, I don't agree with this statement either. The buttons are totally in the spirit of the show. It's all about bringing the word 'vagina' to the forefront and making it not so dirty. Unless they told the girls to wear these buttons at school. I went to a Vagina Monolouges benefit and I got a banner that said 'Rape Free Zone.' It's the way the show works.

i dont see a sexual innuendo?!

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Posted by lolita4life

i heart my vagina....
what the hell is the problem with that?!?!?!!?
freedom of speech. and if people are 'offended' thats their problem..

Also, something tells me it was TEACHERS who were 'offended' rather than other students.

it says 'i heart MY vagina.' nothing offensive about that at all!
inappropriate? not to me

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So the boys should wear pins that say 'I heart my penis' in school?

I agree, I do not think it is appropriate for school ... maybe I'm just old and decrepid.

I don't think its appropiate to wear to school either.

I love that show - and I fully support it, but that is not appropriate for a high school.

i would wear it in HS. i am sorry, i just can't see anythign wrong with it. i think HS students (some) are mature enough to wear a pin like that. UNLESS they were wearing it as a joke and stuff i really don't see the problem.

i have seen MUCH worse stuff in HS than that.
i think that people (teachers, parents, principal, etc) need to focus on bigger problems.....


you cant wear a pin that says 'i heart my vagina' but you can have your thong hanging out of your pants and wear belly shirts in HS and make out in the halls. ?!?!?!?

Boys definetely heart their penises.

First off, if you haven't seen the show you may not understand what the message of the buttons are and think these girls only mean it in a sexual way. And, HS is a place for teenagers, not adults. It's a place of rules and standards. Parents are still in control of what their teenagers learn. If a conservative parent doesn't want their kid to see that button, I can disagree with them, but the administrators have a line to draw. The buttons are meant to be eye-catching and distracting, and that's not what you want in schools. I feel the same way about too tight/short clothes.

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Posted by lolita4life

i would wear it in HS. i am sorry, i just can't see anythign wrong with it. i think HS students (some) are mature enough to wear a pin like that. UNLESS they were wearing it as a joke and stuff i really don't see the problem.

i have seen MUCH worse stuff in HS than that.
i think that people (teachers, parents, principal, etc) need to focus on bigger problems.....


you cant wear a pin that says 'i heart my vagina' but you can have your thong hanging out of your pants and wear belly shirts in HS and make out in the halls. ?!?!?!?

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You make a very valid point....some of the skirts that my sisters friend wear to school are so low cut you can practically SEE their vagina, lol...

As for wearing a pin that has that phrase....this is a tough tough call. The thing is, is that while the symbolism behind the show and meaning of the pin is awesome...and nothing wrong with being comfortable with your body...a school is the type of place that houses children of all ages/all walks of life...and i can see a lot of immaturity arising out of the phrase. Can you imagine your classmates walking around with those pins? Parents would have had a problem with it i'm sure and the meaning of it would become totally misconstrued...

Ok i'm rambling. I really don't know!!

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Posted by lolita4life

i heart my vagina....
what the hell is the problem with that?!?!?!!?
freedom of speech. and if people are 'offended' thats their problem..

Also, something tells me it was TEACHERS who were 'offended' rather than other students.

it says 'i heart MY vagina.' nothing offensive about that at all!
inappropriate? not to me

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As a former teacher, my problem with it is not that it is offensive so much as it is a distraction. If you have ever been in a classroom alone with 30 teenagers, when you are supposed to be teaching algebra, it doesn't take much to get them riled up and off topic. This is the same reason that schools have dress codes and such. I don't think it is appropriate in a classroom.

Somewhat related - offices often have dress codes and standards. Would your job allow you to wear this button to work? Anyone?