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Margaret Pilarski

editorial assistant

i'm a feminist, and if you're reading this then you are too, you just might not know it yet. i like to eat cheese and travel, but i'm usually broke and/or spending my money on shoes and cocktail rings. i love dogs, rain, and driving offensively (and putting the last comma in a listed series). i'm se...

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hoohah strikes back

margaret

last night i grabbed a copy of the city paper on my way out of santi’s. on the way to the gas station, something caught my eye... alliance for full acceptance ads had been pulled?! i read the article in the light of the gas station and fumed (pun seriously not intended, but isn’t that funny?).

story is, a mother didn’t want to explain what “gay” meant to her daughter. now the (very tasteful and thought-provoking!) ads have been pulled.

this reeks of the hoohah monologues – when, last year, a theatre pulled ‘vagina’ out of the ‘vagina monologues’ marquee and replaced it with HOOHAH.

YES. HOOHAH.

anyway, aren’t there just some simple facts of life? you know, like vaginas? pretty simple concept there folks... if your daughter asks, “what’s a vagina?” shouldn’t you tell her? i mean, in case you didn’t know, she has one. she might want a word for it some day... just a thought.

and if she asks what “gay” is, how hard is it to give a simple explanation of different types of families? it’s not like she asked you to recite the constitution word for word -- it’s a simple request to learn about a simple fact of life. one day she may need the word to describe herself.

parents don’t seem to object much to unicorns, impossible princess fairy tales, or talking cartoon animals. why so much objection to reality, things that your children will actually run into one day?!

you’ve had 9 months while your offspring has been in utero, not even forming thoughts of its own, for YOU to think of ways to explain “vagina” or “gay.” you’ve had that time to read countless baby books and shop at kids r us on a weekly basis... can’t you take an hour and consider how you will explain a few vital things to your kid?

even once they’ve popped out, you have approximately one year before the child starts saying “mama” or “ball” or “more” (heaven forbid they jump the gun at this point and surprise you with “gay”!!) and even more time before they start stringing together complex thoughts and complete sentences. this seems like more than enough time to think of a kid-friendly way to explain GAY!?

if you can’t bear to explain “vagina” (she came out of one, by the way) or “gay” to your own child, then methinks you should not even be popping those suckers out.