Silverdale school bans 'boobies' bracelet (proceeds go to breast cancer awareness)

[The Straight Story]

Silverdale school bans 'boobies' bracelet


SILVERDALE, Wash. -- They're hip, they're stylish and they're for a good cause.

But the latest fashion trend is no stretch of the imagination at Klahowya Secondary School in Silverdale.

"They're just basically bracelets," said Tyler Shaw. "I mean, everybody wears them. And if you buy one, it goes to breast cancer awareness."

School officials support the idea of breast cancer awareness, but it's the message on these bracelets that causing quite a stir inside the classroom. The bracelets read, "I love boobies! Keep a breast."

Students can buy them at a local mall in Kitsap, but school officials said teachers have reported problems in the classroom stemming from the bracelets' breast reference.

http://www.kval.com/news/offbeat/93338384.html

[FSogol]

1. Bobbies? Why the uproar over British police?

:shrug:

[YOY]

2. Breasts are scary!

n/t

[FSogol]

3. Ken Cuccinelli, Is that you?

:rofl:

[seabeyond]

6. because that makes a condusive environment, comfortable environment for our daughters

to learn in.

it is sexual harrassment the boys are using on the girls. they dont give a shit about breast cancer. it is a fuckin game. at the expense of our daughters and a comfortable environment for them to be educated without guys making it clear it is about boobies.

[DefenseLawyer]

4. I'm a small man in some ways, Bart. A small, petty man.

[comrade snarky]

22. I know you can hear what I'm thinking boy

meow meow meow meow

meow meow meow meow

meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow

[marylanddem]

5. "Boobs" and "Boobies" are degrading terms.

I agree with the school on this one.

[Quantess]

7. I agree with the school, but not for your reason.

"Boobs" is slang, and mildly inappropriate, but hardly degrading.

Having had the misfortune of briefly teaching high school, I am aware that some things are too distracting for too many students. If these bracelets were a big distraction to the more immature students, then I understand why the high school chose to ban them.

[darkstar3]

15. I'm gonna have to ask for explanation on that one.

I'd be right behind you if you said that just about any euphamism for genitalia was degrading, but I'm just not seeing how boobs is degrading.

(boobIES I get. It's the infantilization of the word that makes it degrading.)

[seabeyond]

16. i mean, i listen to the supposed men on du yelling bewbies and i see these

old men jumping up and down clapping hands.... bewbies, bewbies.

geeez

not a pretty picture.

[darkstar3]

17. Like I said,

boobIES I get.

Boobs, on the other hand, I don't.

[Contrary1]

29. I don't care what they call them...

if lives can be saved, I'm all for it. Degrading? I don't think so.

And, if anyone should be offended, it would be me.

Cordially yours,
Breastless in the Midwest

[Rebubula]

115. BOOBS

BOOBIES, BOOBIES


Mmmmmmm....


Sorry...as a baby human I was dependent on boobs and as an adult man...well, you know how that goes. Words can have different meanings and not all 'bad' words are bad in all situations.

Now...as for the 'Save the Tatas' campaign...

[iris27]

8. Good. I'm tired of a disease that KILLS WOMEN being treated as another chance

for guys to be titillated and some fucking opportunity for personal growth on the part of the patient.

There are no flippant "Save the Nuts" campaigns for testicular cancer like the all-too-real "Save the Boobies" and "Save the Ta-Tas" groups.

[athenasatanjesus]

9. It is shameful when they try and sell sex under the breast cancer awareness tag.nt

[seabeyond]

10. exactly. per this thread, i found out the biggest ass in sons high school gave out tons of pink

bracelets.... to the guys. it is a guy thing. like they give a fuck about breast cancer. didnt even fuckin dawn on me what the fuck was going on. the asshole that wears hooters shirts to school

booyah.... lets fuckin make it hard on our girls at the expense of death of our women so boys can be fuckin boys.....

[depakid]

24. Please tell me that response was sarcasm... or parody

[seabeyond]

27. please, tell me how we have now given breast cancer to a bunch of immature boys to shout

out boobies....

[depakid]

35. Wow- so you think public health matters like breast cancer awareness are off limits

or taboo for boys?

How else are you supposed to reach men on that issue? Wait until sometime "later?"

[seabeyond]

39. right.... objectifying women, harrassing girls in class is the ONLY way to reach men

boys.

my bad

go at it. once again, at the womens expense cause we can have no greater expectation from a man... boy.

[depakid]

42. How is this "objectifying?"

As I said, wow.

Then again, having worked in womens and family health, the hardest people to reach on certain matters aren't necessarily the men. One such instance (besides the nuttiness re: breastfeeding) I recall was when the folic acid supplement advisories were issued.

We expected some reaction formation from the feminist perspective, but the volume and vehemency of the feedback surprised even the most jaded among us.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

44. Realistically, the word "boobies" is a form of rape.

Personally, I hope any man who uses the word "boobies" gets arrested and sent to prison where he has to hear the word "boobies" in the prison shower.

[darkstar3]

47. Hyperbole will get you nowhere. n/t

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

48. And yet you think it gets you somewhere.

[darkstar3]

52. Right...

I'd ask you where you got that one, but I suspect it came from the same place as your "rape" argument.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

61. See, now you get it.

My hyperbole is a silly, yet logical extension and satire of your hyperbole.

[darkstar3]

62. Actually,

the location I was talking about was your ass. I have employed no hyperbole, which you would see if you'd go back and read the thread.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

66. Oh my god! Scatology! That is, like, so sophomoric! I'm being objectified!

Help, help! I'm being harassed!

[darkstar3]

69. Speaking of sophomoric...

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

73. Pointing out hypocrisy is at least 11th grade material.

You're getting outclassed every step of the way.

[darkstar3]

76. Uh, oh,

now you're pulling the pigeon approach.

You've knocked over the board, crapped on the pieces, and now you're cooing about how you've won.

I'll leave it to the other readers of this thread to determine whether, as I suspect, you have been thoroughly owned here or not.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

80. Excellent.

Well let other readers decide if banning a bracelet because it says the word "boobies" is a good idea or not.

:D

[darkstar3]

81. (Psst.

Read the other contributions to the thread. So far, "don't ban it" is the minority opinion.)

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

84. Psst, I'm looking at them.

There are about a half dozen truly epic prudes on this board, and most of them have already posted in this thread.

double psst, they ain't representative of anything.

[darkstar3]

46. Here's an example:

"Now that's a cause I can "get behind"! Heyooooooo!"

If you can't see how it's objectification, it will be difficult for anyone to show you.

[depakid]

51. It's a juvenile comment!

So every comment by some adolescent or erstwhile comedian now "objectifies" women.

Oh, please. Some women can be their own worst enemies when it comes to public health.

[darkstar3]

58. You're telling me

you don't see how that juvenile comment is objectification?

[depakid]

72. We deal with juvenile comments ALL THE TIME on public health matters

So we shouldn't discuss various mental illnesses?

Obesity?

Nope- there's just something about breasts that brings out bizarre emotions, attitudes and beliefs among Americans- and a large portion of it comes from women.

Want to see another matter where this weird stuff comes up?

Check out the Baby Talk cover "controversy."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14065706/

[darkstar3]

77. You didn't answer the question. n/t

[depakid]

83. There wasn't any question to answer- you simply don't want breasts discussed

for some reason, it unnerves you, and you'd prefer that there be no public health awareness efforts with people of certain ages groups (or perhaps, anyone at all, because you fear someone's going to giggle or crack a joke).

Oops- I was just insensitive about prostate and colo-rectal cancer.

[darkstar3]

87. I believe #58 was clearly a question,

and everything else you've said here is wild speculation.

[seabeyond]

78. you deal with juvenile comments but do you create the juvenile comments

so your cause is heard and make money, or do you address the cause, disease, death in a mature and respectful manner? and only because they are breast, only because it is woman you resort to juvenile.

[depakid]

86. Actually, sometimes in public health campaigns you do use humor

and sometimes you use fear appeals- though some people don't like those much either.

For different reasons.

[seabeyond]

93. no, not humor. promoting juvenile comments. call it what it is. dont soft pedal

now that you are in it.

we are well aware, that this juvenile behavior is used, at the expense of women because some bright person thought it might get them more attention. nothing like taking the high road.

[seabeyond]

50. the objectifying was reaching men and the breast cancer ad of buxom women

in a bikini, walking around a pool, slow motion boob bounce.... to reach the "young" men so they would be a part of the drive too.

i understand you didnt know what i was talking about but when you added young men, i thought of that ad.

just because breast cancer is a womans issue that TOO does not need to be sexualized to get the men.... boys to particpate, surely. there is more to men.... boys than that.

i dont know anything about the folic acid issue.

breatfeeding.... i am all for it anywhere any time. we grew up with it. not a big deal at all. it was until there was this breast is only for male sexuality and doesnt belong to women anyway, that breast feeding in public became an issue.

[X_Digger]

13. See..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rtx4flfxB8k (okay, not what you mentioned, but I recently ran across this.)

[darkstar3]

14. You did not.

You did not just use the word "titillated" in a thread about breast obsession. I thought I was the king of bad puns!

It is about breast obsession, BTW, and also about breast possession. They're not yours. That's why women who choose to have breast augmentation, breast reduction, or other surgeries involving their breasts are always encouraged to find out what a man thinks. "Have you discussed this with your spouse/SO?" "Are you certain you will be comfortable with your body image afterward"?

As if any man was ever asked about his self-body-image...

They're not yours, and they never were. Not according to the "considered normal" male. Oh, and neither is your uterus, but you already knew that. Just keep house-sitting and someday "the right man" will come along and lay claim to what was really his all along.

Oh no...I said lay...

[Sebastian Doyle]

20. Uhh... you said "tit" huh huh huh huh

[darkstar3]

21. And now I wish I hadn't.

[iris27]

26. There is a certain irony in these orgs naming themselves "Save the Jugs" or whatever,

and yet mastectomy is still one of the more common and effective treatment options for BC. When our boobs start trying to kill us, we will kill them right back!

[TwilightGardener]

117. Thank you.

[ohheckyeah]

11. I'm sorry but I find it sickening....

I love boobies? For breast cancer awareness?

[TommyO]

12. I'm venturing a guess that the "reported problems" are the teacher's reactions

nothing more.

[darkstar3]

18. And the titters running constantly through the classroom

as adolescent boys point to their wrists and express their incredible obsession.

oh look at that, I did it again...

[spoony]

19. What next? Banning lap dances for domestic violence awareness?

Fucking puritans!

If the students give a shit, they can support the cause without the tit jokes.

[depakid]

23. America's fear of/obsession with breast would be fertile ground for sociological research

It would also make for a very interesting book.

[seabeyond]

25. basically where we are seeing this obsession is our boys wanting to make a joke out of a disease

that kills women. while making hte girls in these classes uncomfortable.

yes

fertile ground for sociological research

[depakid]

38. Sounds to me like you're a case in point

Not exactly sure what your issues are, but I am sure that you've got some sort of gender based chip on your shoulder about the matter.

[seabeyond]

40. my issue is we make an uncomfortable environment for the girls and men dont get it.

such as you.

be it in the classroom or in the work force. you. dont. get. it.

[depakid]

45. My guess is that your issues here go well beyond what "men" may or may not "get."

[darkstar3]

49. What about your issues?

You know, the one where you assume something must be wrong with a person if they disagree with you?

Or how about your selective blindness?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

54. He doesn't seem to have any issues to me.

He's not a total freak.

He's not arguing anything absurd.

He's not haunted by the fear that somebody, somewhere, is having fun.

[seabeyond]

53. no it doesnt. but obviously, you chose to not get it. too many make that choice

at our expience and our daughters.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

57. I think we all get it.

It's just that you're both ridiculous and wrong.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

28. Well thank God some sense is brought back to the classroom.

I'd rather a million women die of breast cancer then some high school boys giggling over anatomy.

:crazy:

[seabeyond]

30. because our only options are women dying or our girls harrassed. nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

33. The only people doing the harassing are the ones who'd ban the word "boob."

They should mind their own fucking prude business.

[darkstar3]

36. It has no place in the classroom,

as it disturbs the fragile peace. It is therefore very well within the business of the teachers.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

37. Bullshit.

It's prudery.

[darkstar3]

41. What an effective argument!

Would you prefer that we allow students to have Maxim and SI Swimsuit magazines in class as well? If banning such sexualized items is simple prudery and has nothing to do with preventing classroom disruption, why not?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

43. If class room disruption were really the issue...

why cause a bigger disruption than the bracelet ever could have caused?

[darkstar3]

55. This disruption is outside the classroom.

Teachers will sacrifice almost anything to keep order between bells.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

63. Alright, so you moved the goal posts.

Now there's an even bigger distraction outside the classroom.

What now?

[darkstar3]

65. Teachers don't care.

Neither do principals. THE CLASSROOM is the learning environment. What the kids do outside the classroom is between them and their parents.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

68. Good teachers don't care about bracelets that say "boobies."

Only the bad ones who shouldn't be involved in any child's education at any level.

[darkstar3]

70. Good teachers care when children are paying more attention to their wrists than the class content.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

75. Good teachers teach their students not to be prudes.

[darkstar3]

79. Still a failed argument.

Prudishness is not the issue here, but you can keep harping on it if you want to look foolish.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

82. No, prudishness has been the issue here the whole time.

Frankly, I haven't been so amused since people got so upset over the children's book "Everybody Poops."

[darkstar3]

85. That is your false assertion.

The school, the teacher, and others have stated that classroom order was the issue, which fits exactly with what we know would happen if you confront adolescents constantly with the word "boobies". Now, unless you have compelling evidence to support your case, you're flailing in the deep end.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

88. Well it's not like prudes are going to come out and admit it.

They always say, "well I'm not prude, but.."

It's always about protecting the children. Ban bracelets? Protecting the children. Ban Harry Potter? Protecting the children. Ban Salinger, Twain, Angelou, Vonnegut? Because it's got bad words in their that makes teenagers giggle? Protecting the children.

[darkstar3]

89. So you've gone from false assertion to slippery slope?

My, you are just brimming with fallacies tonight.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

91. Slippery slope?

No.

All of the above are rock bottom.

[darkstar3]

95. If that's true, then prove your point.

Show me proof that this action was taken because of prudishness and not because of the need for classroom order.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

99. The ban has created a bigger disruption than the bracelet ever could.

They're not really worried about disruptions.

[darkstar3]

101. Now you're just chasing your tail. n/t

[seabeyond]

60. why dont we allow sexual harrassment to continue so we dont rock the boat.

then our girls will be well conditioned to accept it as they become adults and our boys will be well practiced in the art of it.

good point.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

64. There's no sexual harassment involved.

Just prudes being prudes.

[darkstar3]

67. you can keep repeating that argument,

but it won't make it hold any more water.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

71. It's a fact. Not an argument.

Wearing a bracelet that says "boobies" is not harassment.

That is a fact.

The only people who think it is are prudes.

Also fact.

If you look up "prude" in the dictionary there's a link back to this thread.

One cannot get more prudish than this.

Cotton Mather would slap the shit out of prudes this prudey.

[darkstar3]

74. I personally never claimed that it was harassment,

but it is disruptive and the teacher(s) were entirely correct in putting a stop to it.

And frankly, anyone who would take the power over classroom discipline out of the hands of the teacher is part of the problem facing public schools today.

[iris27]

32. Yes, because surely more women will die if we stop this juvenile sexist nonsense.

:crazy:

Funny how the lives of men with testicular cancer aren't dependent on giggling middle school girls with nutsack bracelets.

[darkstar3]

34. We don't need more awareness,

and we certainly wouldn't need it in a school setting where children have things to worry about that pertain to their actual daily lives. As someone else (I think it might have been Jon Stewart) put it, "we've got awareness out the ass!" What we need is research.

[depakid]

56. And there it is in the black and white!

Thanks for putting that out there.

[comrade snarky]

31. Sure, it's immature

But offensive? Not to me.

If it was causing a problem in the classroom then the administrators were right to ban em. If it was an overzealous puritan then it's silly. No way to know really.

However, boobs is one of those inherently funny words. Like discombobulate.

[shedevil69taz]

59. Gotta be carefull where you buy stuff like this

there were reports of places that sold "cause" bracelets and exactly zero money ever went anywhere besides someone's pockets.

[depakid]

90. And for those instances, there's Charity Navigator & Charity Watch

Rating services- so you know where you're money's going and how it's spent

http://www.charitynavigator.org/

http://www.charitywatch.org/

[seabeyond]

92. they are buying it in the store. not charitable org. it is a game to the boys

not about awareness. it is an uncomfortable environment for the girls.

but that doesnt concern you at all.

as the two of you lecture women on our boobs. that is just rich. and you couldnt have partnered up with anyone better then hiwhatever.

[depakid]

94. I give up- you're just going to be one of those people that public health officials and foundations

in the states will have to work around.

[seabeyond]

96. because it is just so unreasonable for women to think that breast cancer might not be sexualized

that there might actually be something about the womans boob.... that doesnt have to do with male ownership

as you say, we cant breast feed in public anymore. god forbid it is anything else but to stimulate man.

and because women may want breast cancer to not be about turning men on.... i have a problem.

[darkstar3]

98. +1. n/t

[depakid]

102. You're fanatical in the EXACT same way that those who have issues with breastfeeding are!

As I said- public health groups will work around people like you, as they always have.

Sad that we have to- but between the fundies on one side, and deals like this on the other, that's the way it is.

[darkstar3]

103. Wow, that's old hat.

People say the same thing over and over again about anyone who feels strongly about an issue.

It's an ad hom dismissal. Will you call her a bitch, a feminazi, or a bra-burner next?

[depakid]

104. Just a simple observation, supported by multiple posts on this thread

not to mention personal experience with related issues in the field.

[darkstar3]

107. No,

it was an unsupported dismissal like so many seen in this debate elsewhere.

[depakid]

110. 'fraid so- and your posts on this thread support that comclusion, too

[darkstar3]

112. Will you

now go for the gusto and demand I hand over my man card?

[darkstar3]

97. Or, here's an idea,

maybe they could knock off the cutesy shit that makes them laugh behind their hands when they come up with it. That might be a step in the right direction. :shrug:

[darkstar3]

100. So there's something to take away from this thread.

Sexists will defend sexist bullshit. Of course we all knew that. But then there's the fact that sexists will appear even in the most progressive of places, and that they will assume that everyone who disagrees with them is a female with issues.

It never seems to occur to sexists that other men might disagree with them.

I guess what I'm saying is that this thread has opened my eyes to the amazing reality of my so-called progressive brethren.

Cue the "hand over your man card" comments from the peanut gallery.

:where the hell is my middle finger smiley:

[riderinthestorm]

105. Lance Armstrong's yellow bracelets are to fight testicular cancer

yet that's peachy.

Here we have pink bracelets for a women's cause and it's banned.

Sure, "boobies" maybe a trigger, for some. But if the teens can get over the yellowness and the association with testicular cancer, the teachers could surely help their students understand the import for females and their exposure to cancer for THEIR important parts.

Boobs is about as offensive as "nuts". If Lance Armstrong's bracelets had said, "Save the Nuts!", people would laugh and buy them in even greater quantities.

Sorry, I smell sexism here and it doesn't revolve around the word "boob".

[darkstar3]

106. If Armstrong's bracelets said "Save the Nuts", they also would be banned from many classrooms. n/t

[riderinthestorm]

109. We'll never know, will we?

Do most kids even know that Lance Armstrong's "Livestrong" campaign is about testicular cancer?

I don't get the outrage over this pink bracelet campaign. "Boob" is such a mild slang term for breast. So is "bosom" or any number of other words. If the teens and tweeners are having issues with "boob" on a bracelet, you can sure as shit bet they'd have a problem with "breast". It's the connotation and association with a female campaign that makes this different imho. It's okay to denigrate women's issues in a broad way (hey! let's mock the "boob" part!) instead of anyone trying to educate people on the real message. Teachers and educators are lazy and don't want the hassle of trying to actually work through the issue. Instead it's far easier to ban the women's campaign and let the men's campaign continue (unchallenged).

This campaign is to raise awareness of the ACTUAL issue - breast cancer - not obscure it like Lance Armstrong has done.

[darkstar3]

111. This campaign, much like "save the boobies", is nothing more

than juvenile horseshit repackaged to sell to horny males and giddy adolescents. The ruse is that it's "raising awareness", but all any kid who buys that bracelet really cares about is that he gets to walk around sporting the word "boob" or "boobies" on his body in a heavily regimented environment.

This doesn't even get into the fact that there are no other cancers out there with this kind of support network. Ever wonder why? Why isn't there a uterine cancer campaign? Why not a prostate cancer campaign? What about colon cancer, leukemia, or pancreatic cancer like what killed at least two relatives that I know of? None of them, nor any others have massive ribbon campaigns behind them, nobody's claiming a color for them, nobody gives a flying fuck except the survivors, the researchers, and the generous benefactors. There may be many reasons but the chief among them are that it's hard to sex up these other cancers, and god forbid women get their completely unnecessary secondary sex organs lopped off when they become a threat to them because "what will she be without her breasts?!"
Yes, I am aware of testicular cancer and the yellow bracelets. It falls into the exact same sexed-up "what would I be without my balls" mentality.

Finally, awareness and campaign issues aside, you're still missing the point. This isn't about the fact that someone took issue with the word boob or that some teacher is lazy. It's about the fact that these bracelets were disruptive to the classroom environment. We ban all kinds of things from classrooms for the exact same reason. I've seen slap bracelets, oversized earrings, cell phones, voice recorders, controversial clothing and all manner of other things banned from classrooms for the exact same reason, and no one had a problem then because they knew that the teacher is the one who is forced to make this decision every damn day. The teacher is the one who, because the parents can't be bothered to actually instruct their children on appropriate public behavior, is forced to play disciplinarian and must take whatever means are available to maintain an effective learning environment. Direct intervention on the part of the teacher is impossible under current laws, and with various standards set by beauracrats instead of educators the teachers have no time to directly address social issues that might actually diffuse the situation and enhance the children's minds, so they do the only thing they can do and the thing they've been trained to do: they remove the disruptive influence from the classroom.

Now you come down on them for it by calling them lazy? You wouldn't last a week in the job of a middle school educator if that's your attitude. :rant:

Fuck I hate it when people blame the teachers for this moronic bullshit...

[leftstreet]

113. +1

[lumberjack_jeff]

108. That's where I went to Jr Hi. Standards sure have fallen.

We never, ever talked about boobies when I was in 8th grade.

[seabeyond]

114. jr high, not even high school. when the girls are just beginning puberty

i thought the girls older, but not. the most immature and toughest time, getting use to bodies.

and not a single man (my mistake, there is one man) that is open enough to see the abusive situation for our girls?

simply funny to men.

because i know you, lumber, want a gender non bias environment for both our boys and girls. it is important to you.

[HopeHoops]

116. I have two - one pink, one white - "I (heart) Boobies"

[Berry Cool]

118. I wish you loved women, and not just their disembodied parts.

I wish our whole society loved women more, and cared about saving them from dying of a disease, rather than just about "saving" a sexualized body part they had.

Funny, there are no "Save the Vajayjay" bracelets.

[HopeHoops]

119. Um, my wife (together since '84) was with me when I bought them to support breast cancer research.

And what the hell is a "vajayjay"?