Penguins: Not So Black and White
In a modern age where communication through publication plays such a significant role, censorship challenges on some forms of media are not all that uncommon. A particular area of concern is how certain messages are being relayed to young children, and whether this information is necessarily age-appropriate. One ongoing debate is whether the children’s book, And Tango Makes Three, co-written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, should have its place in libraries of elementary schools. The main source of conflict arising from this book is the implications of homosexuality. The book focuses on two penguins, Roy and Silo, who very clearly shows feelings of affection towards each other, and are determined to
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While some parents fighting for the banning of the book, or at least, the restriction of it, are not explicitly declaring that the topic of homosexuality is wrong, their use of words implicitly states otherwise. The god term for this terministic screen would be ‘offense’, in which advocates for censorship would argue that homosexuality, in less extreme cases, is inappropriate, and in more extreme cases, criminal. To support these beliefs, the book has been referred to both as an “agenda”, and ”homosexual primer” (DeMar), and children described as “pawns of propaganda” (Magnuson 12). Although these terms are not necessarily incorrect in describing the nature and motive in the publication of And Tango Makes Three, they are evident in insinuating that the book was written to manipulate children to favour, rather than to inform, on the theme of homosexuality. In a case of extreme opposition, a mother of a 17-month-old verbalized great disdain towards this book’s content, saying she would “feel the same way if the penguins were murderers or rapists” (Magnuson 12). The comparison of homosexuality to be on par with such heinous criminal offenses represents Burke’s principle of discontinuity in this terministic screen, disconnecting this particular sexual orientation from the norm of moral human …show more content…
Whether a parent in question is for or against the censorship of And Tango Makes Two, they have the best interest of their child in mind, and are encompassing what they believe to be their “parental rights” (Magnuson 12). In The Courier’s article, Bengu Tekinalp, a Drake University professor and parent fighting to keep the book on the shelves argues that the message given out with censorship is that, “it's not OK to be different, it's not OK to be unique”. Although Tekinalp is not explicitly advocating the normality of homosexuality, she is emphasizing on promoting acceptance of differences and diversity to her 3-year-old daughter, rather than preaching discrimination. However, the main concern for those adamant on censorship is that parents wish to be able to decide when it is appropriate for their children to be introduced to controversial material and content, such as homosexuality. Whether a parent believes that homosexuality is too mature of a topic, or if they simply consider any non-heterosexual relationship to be wrong due to religious beliefs, it is still in their best interests to protect their children from being what they believe to be ‘wrongfully
Penguins ( family Spheniscidae, order Sphenisciformes) are a group of flightless, aquatic birds living exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere, particularly in Antarctica. Well-adapted for life in the water, these birds have countershaded white and black plumage, and their wings have evolved into flat, paddle-like flippers. They feed on squid, fish, krill and other forms of sealife. Penguins spend half of their lives in the oceans and half on land. This list contains 10 unusual facts about penguins you may not know.
Books are said to be the foundation of our knowledge, the fruit of our innovation and the life of our values. Today, we can read Fifty-Shades of Grey publicly without a sanction and is viewed as normal. Although among children’s books it has not always been that way. In China, Green Eggs and Ham written by Dr. Seuss was banned by the Chinese Government from 1965-1991 due to its supposed display of early Marxism and in California due to its assume sexual nature. The world of tolerance pertaining to books has expanded from sneaking in to reading online to now also the difference within education systems like China and among the state of California. In California, Green Eggs and Ham was banned by officials at a California School in the early 1990’s due to the assumption that the book gave homosexual seduction in which they thought the eggs and ham tempted Sam in a sexual nature while in China, the book was ban because the Chinese
The children’s book, And Tango Makes Three, should not be banned from public libraries. This book displays an important message that is hard for kids to come across. This controversial scenario is hard for children to grasp, especially if they are part of a homosexual family. Based on a true story, this book is a nice analogy that helps kids develop an understanding of this matter. The use of penguins is gentle instead of using human characters. This exposes children at an early age to accept people for who they are, and understand the challenges that these types of family’s face.
The portrayal of lesbian parents akin to the heterosexual mainstream, uninfluenced by their sexual orientation operates as a queer market strategy. hooks astutely articulates: “the commodification of difference promotes paradigms of consumption wherein whatever differences the Other inhabits is eradicated, via exchange, by a consumer cannibalism that not only displaces the Other but denies the significance of that Other’s history through a process of decontextualization (hooks 1992, 31). The displacement of queerness sustains a homonormative discourse. For instance, the prevalence of gender conforming subjects in The Kids Are All Right and The
A troubling issue for schools now is how to deal with the issue of homosexuality. The struggle for gay rights often causes heated opposition, particularly on moral grounds from members of religious groups. (Essex, 2005, p. 43) Schools have an obligation to maintain a peaceful environment free of significant disruption, while supporting students' rights of free speech. Schools should ". . . create an environment that is characterized by respect for individual views and divergent forms of expression within reasonable limits. The challenge seems to involve achieving a reasonable balance between an orderly educational environment and respect for the free speech rights of students. Precisely, where do they draw the line?" (Essex, 2005, p. 44)
Across the globe, the classic story, Of Mice and Men is banned in public schools because of conflicting opinions on the book. The banning of Of Mice and Men is very common because of the dark and depressing tone and irrelevant word choice. Parents call school districts complaining about the unbefitting context that their teens are reading, and schools have no choice but to ban them. Although the language used in Of Mice and Men, can be considered inappropriate and vulgar to some, censoring books in schools, is a violation of the first amendment, as well as hides teens from the hardships of life, and disconnects teens from meeting inspiring characters.
In one particular instance, a bill was passed in Tennessee stating that teachers cannot encourage “gateway sexual activity” (Nazaryan). This bill resulted in Sumner County officials banning Looking for Alaska from the curriculums of all schools due to the book’s single, brief oral sex scene. The Tennessean covered the news of the ban in their newspaper and quoted parents who agreed with the ban, stating that the school board was right in banning the book from the young and impressionable minds of children, who could possibly be so influenced by this blip of a scene in a book, that they might go and immediately engage in the same, or worse, sexual behavior. The newspaper, did however point out that there were alternate ways to address concerns regarding the book, such as offering alternate books to students whose parents were against it. John Green’s YouTube channel, “vlogbrothers”, features a video, “I Am Not A Pornographer”. In it, Green, referring to the ban, states that “there is one frank sex scene. It is awkward, unfun, and wholly unerotic.” (Green). Green goes on to say that the only reason for the existence of that scene is show a contrast between a very physical scene that contains no emotional intimacy and a very non-physical scene that is full of emotion. In another video, “On the Banning of Looking for Alaska”, Green says “text is meaningless without context” (Green) . Green is speaking to his opinion that books are banned most of the time because a parent decides to show a school principal or administrator a single excerpt or page of a book. Without proper context, that excerpt or page can appear to represent a very inappropriate book. Alternatively, if a reader were to assess a book in its entirety, while keeping an opening mind, they could glean important and valuable lessons from
James Baldwin once said, “Everybody 's journey is individual. If you fall in love with a boy, you fall in love with a boy. The fact that many Americans consider it a disease says more about them than it does about homosexuality. ” From the moment babies are born, most parents treat boys and girls differently. One study says that parents have different expectations for boys and girls as early as 24 hours from birth, according to Susan D. Witt of the University of Akron. According to healthychildren.org, infants become aware of their sex within in the first year of life. Between ages 1 and 2, children begin to notice the physical differences between males and females, and typically by their third birthday they are able to easily identify themselves as a boy or a girl. People are faced with many obstacles that alter their life. Just like the many controversies in society, “Giovanni’s Room” by James Baldwin discusses a young man being gay in a society and a family who are simply not ready to accept his sexual orientation and neither does he. This fiction also emphasizes the battle that he faces with self-acceptance. Gender identity and American norms in society is widely discussed almost every day. Americans are becoming more open and accepting of the LGBT community, as well as against the LGBT community.
Jacob Price Informative Speech Outline Topic: Overweight and Obesity in the United States Opening with Impact: “ I want everybody to put up ten fingers. This represents the United States population ages twenty and up. Now everybody put down 3 fingers. That leaves you with seven fingers.
The essay, “Evan’s Two Moms”, was written by Anna Quindlin and published in the 2004 edition of Good Reasons with Comtemporary Arguments. This essay takes a liberal point of view concerning gay marriage and the ability to raise a child in a gay family. Throughout Quindlen’s essay, her structure introduces ethos, pathos and logos through a variety of court cases to gain the readers trust; she appeals to both emotion and logic in her reader through passion and unwavering intensity, which disapproves of those who take a radical point of view about gay marriage.
The College of Charleston had assigned Fun Home to the incoming students. The House lawmakers were not pleased with Fun Home’s theme of homosexuality and the text’s depiction of sexual imagery. Some students, in retaliation had organized protests convincing the governor to stop the House from cutting down the funds (McCammon, 2014). On the other hand, some students down in North Carolina, one being Brain Grasso, agreed to the fact that the story contains obscenity. They refused to read the book as its content goes against their religious and moral beliefs (Grasso, 2015).
Censoring books is perceived as a way of parents protecting their children from scandalous subjects, however, by banning books they deprive them essential lessons they can use in society. An example that Lee Burress offers in Battle of the Books, is how a book can give a modern perspective on a subject, children are unfamiliar with, but may encounter. “Foster Child by Marion Bauer is a banned book that gives a modern perspective of how modern foster children are treated” (Burress). It touches the subject of sexual abuse and although parents try to protect their children from these subjects: it is better for children to know what sexual abuse is rather than remaining ignorant. In this case ignorance is not bliss and it can lead to children being unable to identity when they are being molested. It can also teach children empathy and lead them
Fairy tales are under attack in the United States from both right- and left-oriented pressure groups. (Ravitch, 62-96) From the left, the charges include sexism, stereotyping, distortion, and anti-humanism. (Ravitch, 84) From the right, the charges include immorality and objections to the portrayal of violence, death, and the supernatural. In addition, some critics claim that the tales terrify their children. (Ravitch, 76). In The Language Police, Diane Ravitch claims that both groups understand the importance of putting pressure on state textbook adoption committees, and that, as a result of such pressure, most major publishers are simply dropping the tales from the textbooks they sell to
Same-sex parenting is taken both in positive and negative sense but even then it is regarded more as a family issue. There is a concept that where lives a same-sex couples, there must be children raised by them. Then it comes to mind that which sort of children? Such children may be divided into three groups: (Kurtz, 2004)
There are many factor’s that contributed to the great rise of what we know today as the biggest empires of the Axial Age. Among them we find three empires, Rome, Persia, and the Mongolians that have contributed to who we are today. They stamped their position in history in ways that we still use today. Some factor’s that contributed to the rise of these soaring empires include, their military techniques and growing technology, their advance on trade alongside trade tactics and the ability to produce syncretism.