With
a pre-teen daughter, Angela Williams has quite enough to worry about,
in my opinion. But the Alabama mother was given something else to fret
over in March when her 12-year-old handed her a sex education pamphlet
from school. According to the pamphlet, Angela Williams, a lesbian, is
as unnatural as Cheez Whiz.
Williams, an Associated Press story noted, had approved of what she read
in “The Top 10 Questions Teenagers Ask About Sex,” including
its promotion of abstinence. Then she hit a wall. “I got to question
eight and my jaw dropped,” she said.
What was question number eight? I’m going to make you guess. Kidding.
It read: “What can I do if I am attracted to someone of the same
sex?”
The answer included, “Too often, homosexuality is shown as a legitimate
lifestyle equal to a heterosexual lifestyle.” It also stated homosexuality
is “contrary to the laws of nature.”
What’s a self-respecting Sapphic mom to do? Object, that’s
what. And bless her, she’s getting results, as officials are saying
they plan to review the program of which the pamphlet is a part.
I know you’ll be shocked, shocked to learn that “The Top 10
Questions” was written by folks affiliated with a group called Generation
Life, which opposes abortion, pushes chastity, and promotes that bastion
of silliness, the ex-gay movement.
The school Williams’ daughter attends in Dothan is called Honeysuckle
Middle School. The minute I read that, I knew I’d be facing an internal
struggle over whether to play with that name. Would I take the potentially
undignified route?
Yup. Honeysuckle Middle School. The name shouts, “We train budding
lesbians here! At Honeysuckle, our girls learn that sucking honey is an
option for their future. We teach them to respect and care for their own
honey pots. We encourage them to give thought to whether they want birds
or bees hovering around them. When the program is done, we give those who
identify as future homosexuals a bumper sticker for their future cars: “Dip
me in honey and throw me to the lesbians!”
There. It’s out of my system.
The fuss in Dothan puts me in mind of my own sex education experience.
My sixth-grade science teacher had the job of spelling things out for us.
Somewhere along the way I realized I had a crush on her. But I distinctly
remember her saying that, as we pinballed our way through adolescence,
we might experience same-sex crushes.
Oh, I thought, thank God. I don’t have to worry about this. It’s
normal. And so began my inglorious years of keeping the truth and myself
separated.
But back to question number eight. At this point you’ve probably
forgotten what it was. My but you’re getting old. Here you go: “What
can I do if I am attracted to someone of the same sex?” The pamphlet’s
answer was a condemnation of homosexuality.
Honeysuckle students and all middle school students across the nation deserve
a more accurate and helpful answer. It’s my civic duty to take a
crack at it:
“What a good question! We suggest that you spend time with that person,
get to know them better on a friendly basis. This will help you figure
out if your feelings are real and whether or not they’re receptive
to a same-sex relationship. If the answer to both seems to be yes, ask
them out on a date. And since you’re the one asking, you’re
the one paying! Good luck, and for more information, ask your teacher for
the pamphlet called ‘10 Tips for Happy and Healthy Same-Sex Dating.’”
info: LesRobinsn@aol.com . http://www.GeneralGayety.com |
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