I am the dad of two daughters in GHAPS. I recently learned there was a book related to a discussion of “queer theory” that had pictures of two women in sadomasochistic scenarios, including whips, handcuffs and submissive postures. I saw the pictures and couldn't believe they were in the school.
(photo from Queer: A Graphic History)
As I listened and learned more about the back-and-forth dialogue regarding the “picture book” and the defense of it by curriculum directors to parents, a few things came to mind. First, it used to be people knew pornography when they saw it.
Second, if the pictures had been of men treating women in the manner depicted (dominant over her, she on her knees, with her hands tied), there is no way it would be considered acceptable. Yet now, when a woman is lording over another woman holding a whip, this is suddenly an acceptable posture/picture to “educate” minors? Again, as the dad of two daughters, I would never want them to see themselves or others in a position of being dominated in a sexual act (or otherwise) by anyone.
The point: When I was a kid, these types of pictures appeared on the top shelf of the dime-store behind a screen. Why? Because adults knew what it was: obscene content, pornography (only appropriate for the dime-store top shelf, not a school).
It now appears “anything goes” by defining it as an educational “theory.”
It shouldn’t require parents to raise such issues, because this is what we pay our administrators for, and why we elect Board members. It’s their job to protect minors.
Such pictures are WRONG, and the adults in the room know it. It’s time for change.