A double standard is in place in the Kanawha County (WV) school district, where 10-year-olds are warned not to be sexual harassers - but are then encouraged to sell lingerie through catalogs:
If her son were caught at school with pictures of women wearing lingerie in suggestive poses, she’s certain he’d be in trouble. So why is he selling items from a catalog that includes racy women’s underwear and similar pictures for a school fund-raiser?
“It’s one thing for adults to give to their friends and sell,” said the Kanawha County parent, who is upset about the Avon catalogs her children at Mary Ingles Elementary came home with last week. “But to hand it to children to sell? What kind of messages are we sending our little girls and boys?”
The parent, who asked to remain anonymous, said neither she nor her husband understands why their 10-year-old son has been schooled on what constitutes sexual harassment but then was asked by school administrators to sell lingerie.
“My son is 10 years old,” she said. “He hasn’t had sex-education classes yet. We haven’t even had ‘that’ talk with him. He came home with a paper that told him how not to threaten girls, and telling him not to draw sexual pictures. But this? This is R-rated.”
By this, she means the Avon catalog, which some of you may not know has really branched out from lipsticks and perfumes. Avon ain't selling flannel nightgowns and granny panties, let's put it that way. In the past, 10-year-old boys would have neither been encouraged to sell such goods, nor exhorted to be sexually sensitive. It's not an improvement when they're asked to do both.
Update: This explanation (from "Anonymous") appeared in my comments section last night:
I am that mother who was upset about my children being asked to sell lingerie for their grade school. I want to set the record straight for the people who are wondering why I was upset. I don't have hang-ups about the human body and I own quite a bit of sexy lingerie. Also, I think Avon has wonderful products and have no problem with Avon selling lingerie to adults.
The fact that my children have to follow so many rules at school but the school seems to be exempt from the same rules is one thing that upsets me. My son brought home papers on sexual harassment the week before he was asked to sell the lingerie. The paper was about not talking about sex at school or make jokes about sex. It was about not drawing pictures of body parts or threatening a girl if she won't go out with you. My ten-year-old son doesn't even date yet.
Our children have to follow so many rules at school and there is a zero tolerance policy that the schools uphold. My daughter will get in trouble if she wears spaghetti straps on her shirt or if her shirt is too short and her belly shows. There are rules about how long their skirts and shorts are and about the jewelry they wear and any message they may have on their tee-shirt including any religious message or symbol. My son even has to worry about covering the crown of his shoulder at school or he will be disciplined.
The Kanawha County Schools handbook states that Examples of Sexual Harassing Behavior include the display of suggestive pictures, cartoons or objects. If my son had taken the book to school to look at with his friends he would have been punished by the principal. The handbook also states that Students found guilty of sexual harassment shall be subject to discipline in accordance with this policy. An employee found guilty of sexual harassment of students shall be subject to disciplinary action. The schools can make the rules and carry out the punishment yet they are immune to the same rules.
I want my son to respect women and not to see them as sex objects and I didn’t appreciate the school, after telling him how bad sexual harassment was, to hand him these pictures and ask him to sell lingerie. Being a parent is the toughest job a person can have in my opinion and I don't want my children to be given the wrong messages at school or anywhere else. Children are bombarded everyday with messages that are inappropriate for their young minds and as a parent I am offended that the school, to make a few bucks, would ignore the very message they so strongly gave my son.
This practice is common in the school where my children attend. The "no put downs" rule is violated by teachers and the principal as well as the behing honest and having integrety life skill they say our children must uphold. It seems as if our children are the only ones who have to follow any rules at school and that the principal and staff are immune. Other parents I have spoken with agree with me but are afraid to speak out for fear of what might happen to their child at this school.
My children have been hurt in the past because I stood up to the principal and I don't want them to be hurt again either but I had to speak out this time, although anonymously, because I feel that the school should follow the same rules they make our children follow.
Posted by kswygert at October 5, 2004 06:23 PM