Scrotumgate!

Heh. Heh. They’re saying “scrotum.”

Have you heard about this story ? Basically, this year’s winner of the most prestigious children’s literature award, the Newbery Medal, is being banned by school libraries all across the country. Because it contains the word “scrotum.” According to the article, “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.” The author (who’s a LIBRARIAN, hello) Susan Patron, “said she was stunned by the objections. The story of the rattlesnake bite, she said, was based on a true incident involving a friend’s dog. And one of the themes of the book is that Lucky is preparing herself to be a grown-up, Ms. Patron said. Learning about language and body parts, then, is very important to her. ‘The word is just so delicious,’ Ms. Patron said. ‘The sound of the word to Lucky is so evocative. It’s one of those words that’s so interesting because of the sound of the word.’"

Sounds pretty interesting to me, and pretty darn innocent. The book is written for 9-12 year olds, who, sorry, but this day and age, know what scrotums are, I’m guessing.

Here’s what iVillagers on the Current Debates board are saying:

“Rolling my eyes right into the back of my head. The things that get people's knickers in a twist!”

“I'm sorry to say that this doesn't surprise me. It's perfectly fine for ‘quality literature’ to mention breasts and other female parts, but once you start messing with men's ‘jewels,’ well, people get touchy. This is both sexism and censorship. And as a Christian, I get really annoyed when people call something that God made ‘dirty.’ He certainly did not call it so.”

“So glad this got posted somewhere. I have to say, in defense of many friends, relatives and colleagues, I don't know *ANY* librarian who buys into censorship or book banning. Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact. It annoys me that they interviewed those who play into the usual stereotype. WRT the book and the word: what a ridiculous to-do over nothing.”

Well, seems pretty unanimous. These moms see no problem with the use of the word in the book. I just know that any time a book starts getting censored, it really raises my hackles. Why is this even an issue?