Mississippi Sex Ed Class Compares Women to Dirty Pieces of Chocolate

[DonViejo]

By Amanda Hess

In Mississippi, 76 percent of teenagers will have sex before they leave high school. But until this year—when the state finally implemented a policy requiring schools to teach sexual education in class—many teachers refused to discuss the topic with students. Now, some parents are worried that Mississippi’s new sex ed curriculum is more damaging than just not saying anything at all.

According to the Los Angeles Times, teachers in Oxford, Miss., are asking “students to unwrap a piece of chocolate, pass it around class and observe how dirty it became.” Says Marie Barnard, a public health worker and parent: “They're using the Peppermint Pattie to show that a girl is no longer clean or valuable after she's had sex—that she's been used. … That shouldn't be the lesson we send kids about sex.”

Comparing women to disposable foods or personal hygiene items is an old abstinence-only scare tactic that’s still occasionally passed off as education in schools around the country. Last year, a school district in Texas instructed teachers to compare people who have had sex to dirty toothbrushes and sticks of gum. “People want to marry a virgin, just like they want a virgin toothbrush or stick of gum,” the guide read. Kidnapping victim turned advocate Elizabeth Smart spoke out against this damaging analogy last year, saying:

I remember in school one time, I had a teacher who was talking about abstinence. And she said, ‘Imagine you’re a stick of gum. When you engage in sex, that’s like getting chewed. And if you do that lots of times, you’re going to become an old piece of gum, and who is going to want you after that?’ Well, that’s terrible. No one should ever say that. But for me, I thought, ‘I’m that chewed-up piece of gum.’ Nobody re-chews a piece of gum. You throw it away. And that’s how easy it is to feel you no longer have worth. Your life no longer has value.

more
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/04/03/mississippi_sex_ed_class_compares_women_to_dirty_peppermint_patties.html?

[joeybee12]

1. So, a guy doesn't get dirty when he's been passed around?

I doubt the tiny little minds of those teachers in Oxford realize how phucking sexist this is.

[msanthrope]

10. No...penises wipe off because they are exterior. Vaginas, those deep, dark mysterious

things with crevices and folds retain the manly essence poured into them. Forever.

This is how these people approach sexuality.....

[joeybee12]

28. I love Joan Rivers' comment about the double standard...A guy can sleep around and

sleep around and no one says anything, but a woman, 19 or 20 mistakes and right away she's a tramp!

That said, these people are idiots.

[LuvNewcastle]

24. Funny, I've never heard a comparison between experienced guys

and spoiled wieners.

[RainDog]

52. They have internalized the sexism

women as much as men have held this standard, esp. in regard to religion.

As a woman, I wasn't interested in marrying someone until I knew we were sexually compatible. I had sons, not daughters, but if I had had daughters I would've taught them to wait to have sex until they are older, just as I taught my sons, would've made sure she had access to EFFECTIVE birth control and knew she was expected to use it - just as I taught my sons - and I would've told her sexual happiness is a good and important part of life, so she shouldn't be in any relationship that wasn't sexually fulfilling to her as part of a relationship (obviously things can change, ppl can have health probs, etc, but I mean to say I don't support the idea of waiting until after marriage to know if you're sexually happy with someone.

I would've also talked to my daughter about the value of masturbation so that she could learn about her own body first.

Obviously no religious right wingers will be asking me to teach sex ed... lol.

Funny thing, tho, I did teach sex ed as a student. I was the youngest in the class, a virgin, and got visual aids for free from Planned Parenthood. I got stuck with the topic b/c no one else wanted to do it (we all had to teach a section in biology for different systems.)

[mike_c]

2. WTF do they get this crap...?

Seriously. "People want to marry a virgin." Really?

DUers, a show of hands please. How many of you gave a rat's buttocks whether your partner was a virgin or not before you partnered with them? How many asked? That's some of the craziest nonsense I've ever heard. Is there a single person who said "Whoa-- I mean, I love you and all, but damn! Not a virgin? I'm outa' here!" Anyone want to own up to that? For real?

[Vogon_Glory]

6. My concern about marrying a virgin

My concern about marrying a virgin would be my serious concern that my partner-to-be would have ZERO interest in sex. Marriages where one partner has a libido and the other doesn't can either be severely strained or lead to adultery, neither of which outcomes uphold an ideal of 'the sanctity of marriage.'

[sendero]

31. I actively..

... wouldn't want a virgin. First, I don't want to have to teach her everything. Second, every woman I have spoken to on this subject said that her first time was horrible and why would I want to be that guy?

These folks with these sexually repressed attitudes are merely a reminder of the validity of the adage "chastity is its own punishment". I doubt that their lame attempts to scare people away from sexual expression are having much of an impact. Last I heard the "abstinence only" crowd had the highest teen pregnancy rate. Go figure.

[MrScorpio]

35. Not me… Didn't want one.

I never dated a virgin when I was younger either.

I never got the fixation over virgins. They seemed like too much trouble to deal with.

[Vogon_Glory]

3. If Bible-Belt Red States Were Such Citadels Of Piety

If Bible-Belt red states were such citadels of righteousness, g*dliness, and chastity, surely these teachings would show up as places with the lowest teen pregnancy and lowest STD rates in the country.

But Mississippi, Texas, and Arkansas rate among the states having the HIGHEST, not the lowest rates of teen pregnancy and STD rates in the country. A rational person would say that evidence of Blue-State sin is covered up by accessible abortion is rather lacking, but logic and rationality among Bible-Belt Republicans is sorely lacking.

[Ken Burch]

22. You could have just said

"If Bible-Belt Red States Were Such Citadels of Piety, Tennessee Williams, Carson McCullers, William Faulkner, and Flanner O'Connor wouldn't had anything to write about".

[Vogon_Glory]

25. That Might Not Have Worked

That might not have worked. You and I might be culturally-aware enough to know who those writers are and what content their novels, plays, and short stories might have, but I doubt the boneheads who developed and implemented such "traditional values" sex ed curricula have enough awareness to know much more than McCullers, Williams, and Faulkner were writers, and would probably conflate McCullers with Lillian Hellman.

A curricula based on wishful thinking and ignoring unpleasant and inconvenient truths, inflicted on the hapless schoolchildren of Mississipi with ghastly consequences.

[ck4829]

4. It's time to call it what they really want... the Augusta Gein style of sex education

You're foul, you're dirty, you're a prostitute, and you're an object that is 'passed around' when you have sex.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Gein#Early_life

At this rate, they'll soon be pushing for equal time for 'It rubs the lotion on it's skin or else it gets the hose again.'

[Jefferson23]

5. I have to start bookmarking OP's that I am certain are going to originate from The Onion

when I open the thread...and then they're not. Happens more and more.

This is sickening.

[Tsiyu]

8. "We've come a long way, Baby!"

or not......



Edit to add



Well, I'm a good ol' girl an' I would like to please you every way I can
I've loved you an' I've always let you have the upper hand
How come you think you're so smart an' I'm the weaker sex?
There ain't a man alive can match a woman, trick for trick

We've come a long way, baby
All the way to Hollywood from Arkansas
We've come a long way, baby
Second class don't turn me on at all

Well, I don't wanna wear the pants, but I'm a-gonna have my say
From now on, lover-boy it's fifty-fifty, all the way
Up to now I've been an object made for pleasin' you
Times have changed and I'm demanding satisfaction too

We've come a long way, baby
All the way to Hollywood from Arkansas
We've come a long way, baby
Second class don't turn me on at all

We've come a long way, baby
All the way to Hollywood from Arkansas
We've come a long way, baby
Second class don't turn me on at all









Songwriters
L.E. WHITE, SHIRL MILETE

Published by
Lyrics © COPYRIGHT RECAPTURE, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

7. Peppermint Pattie - bet there were some Snickers from the students.

[notadmblnd]

11. If it wern't for the Butterfingers that dropped it on the floor,

it wouldn't have gotten dirty.

[Art_from_Ark]

16. Maybe some Kisses, too

[Ken Burch]

23. She still can't marry Marcie in most states, though. n/t.

[Skeeter Barnes]

26. Probably just a few Nerds.

[whopis01]

43. Just because a peppermint party hangs out with some Ding Dongs doesn't make it a Ho Ho n/t

[awoke_in_2003]

46. DUzy. nt

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

49. There's a Veronica Mars joke somewhere in here, but I'm too nice to make it.

[Threedifferentones]

9. And this is the NEW material!

The double standard in regards to promiscuity is REALLY FUCKING OLD. A male who sleeps around is a "player" while a female is a "slut."

In the civilized world we have accepted that sex between consenting adults is generally a great thing for both people, but then there is Mississippi...

[walkingman]

12. Another clear example

of the well-known issue of Republicans not being comfortable with their sexuality. These folks are pushing this phobia down to their kids. We see this on a regular basis here in Texas.

[Logical]

13. Terrible. n-t

[AverageJoe90]

14. I'm not surprised, sadly. The South never was a particularly libertine place to begin with, though..

.....and many of the roots of *that* problem go all the way back to slavery & all the other bad stuff that came with it, either directly or indirectly.

[StevieM]

15. Very true. That's a good--and often unrecognized--observation (eom)

[AverageJoe90]

17. True, but unfortunately, some people seem to think the opposite.

I'm an allohistorical writer(amateur, not professional, though) and one of the worst ignorance-based cliches that I've come across in my field is that the idea of a totally decadent/libertine slaver society(particularly one that is centered in the South of America, or an equivalent), in which said libertinism is held up by the very elite of said nation, is any sort of plausible; and it seems that lot of this is actually based on a certain type of terribly skewed view of U.S. history that seems to come largely from a right-libertarian point of view(i.e. Progressives = controlling killjoys).

[RainDog]

51. bull. It was okay for a man to fuck

to rape slaves, to have affairs, etc. but not (white) women. Black men were a threat because of sexual politics between males.

The south is a very hypocritical and VERY class conscience place - anyone from the south knows that money is the divider there and how that money was made also matters for a few generations.

[AverageJoe90]

53. Not bullshit at all, actually.

And, by the way, what I pointed out doesn't discount the hypocrisy that was *quite* prevalent in Southern society back then(and still is today), including the blind eye that was so often turned to rape of slave women. But *genuine* libertinism was hardly approved of in the South, especially not in those days; on the contrary, many of the elite, particularly during the 1840-65 period were reactionary authoritarians(men like Robert Rhett & William Miles above all), and so were the Dixiecrats that succeeded them. Why else do you think that "anti-miscegenation" laws were created for example? Or the various black codes? The Dixiecrats were merely taking after their spiritual(and in some cases, literal) ancestors.

[RainDog]

54. But the law wasn't meant to apply to rich white males

however, yes, allow me to say - that's more of a matter of class hypocrisy and racism than libertinism.

I just have soooooooo many examples of this hypocrisy - including pastors who thought they had to preach about others' sins of the flesh while making sexual passes at women -- or at least more than one I know of, including a female relative in marriage counseling - so even the "not libertine" doesn't apply to white males who think women are sluts and, hey, let me have some of that...

the entire mindset makes me wretch.

[sakabatou]

18. Because women aren't human, right?

[Ken Burch]

20. They are minty inside, though...

...at least the ones in Mississippi...from what I've heard...

[sakabatou]

21. Mmmm, canibalism

[Spitfire of ATJ]

48. Uh huh....

[Ken Burch]

19. Then again, in Misssissippi, the woman doesn't get dirty...

...if she's your sister-cousin...

[Dorian Gray]

27. Ugh

Leave it to mississippi to educate kids to be ashamed of themselves.

I'm surprised this happened in Oxford, though. Isn't it a college town (hence, more liberal)?

[yellowcanine]

29. It is hysterical that they used a Peppermint Pattie given the rumors regarding Marcie

and Peppermint Pattie being a lesbian couple in the Peanuts comic strip.

[surrealAmerican]

30. Do they also pass around one that's wrapped to show the difference?

Maybe they could make it less subtle, and just wrap the candy in a condom.

[blkmusclmachine]

32. Stupid Hickissippi

[cer7711]

33. Mis-education, Slut-Shaming & Absurdity

All rolled into one class: a trifecta of idiotic, offensive and just plain wrong teaching on human sexuality.

Is our children learning? (Clearly not, in this class!)

[LittleGirl]

34. WTF? n/t

[IronLionZion]

36. So the takeaway is that women are delicious?

yum!

[Glassunion]

37. Dirty Piece of Chocolate

That's a nickname my wife gave me...

Just sayin'

[LynneSin]

38. Why must we slut shame women and reward men just for having sex

[lark]

39. I hate even driving thru that state.

Got in a big hassle there in my younger "hippie" days that we were lucky to survive. Feel sorry for any sane person that lives there.

[RKP5637]

55. Definitely on my list of states never to be near, I've got a few of those. I had a

coworker that once had to work there for awhile. It was like going on a tour of combat duty. They did a contractual agreement on how long they would have to work in Mississippi, and that a job would definitely be waiting for them ASAP when they completed that assignment. They found it to be an absolutely dreadful place.

[Major Nikon]

40. At least they aren't still teaching sisters can get preg by sharing bathwater with their brothers

[NickB79]

41. I happen to like my women dark and dirty

Also, fuck you, sex ed teachers in Oxford, Miss.

[redqueen]

42. I wonder if any schools use the key / lock analogy if challenged about the double standard.

That one seems very popular with certain types of people.

[CFLDem]

56. Dear god

thank you for the strength to not snark.

Amen.

[redqueen]

61. If you have something to say, say it. If you don't, why post? nt

[CFLDem]

63. The answer you seek lies with the Hoff.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[redqueen]

64. I mentioned the lock/key analogy which idiotically attempts to defend this double standard

and your response is to giggle and further obsess about a group on DU.

Yes, of course it is.

[CFLDem]

65. And yet the truth still remains.

Hallelujah Praise The Lord!!!!

[Tsiyu]

66. Nothing to offer, that one

but really wants you to notice it.

"I'm here! look at me! Look at me!"

It's amusing in a sad, pathetic sort of way. It must be so lonely.....

[Ohio Joe]

67. The purpose here is to try and goad you into getting angry...

So you will possibly post something that will get hidden. You are being stalked and trolled by an MRA, it's obvious.... This non-sense of trying to bring up HoF like this is pretty transparent. Don't let it succeed.

[redqueen]

68. Yes you're probably right.

I was thinking maybe he agreed with the lock/key analogy, and didn't want to just come out and say so.

If anyone here does agree with it, I'd like them to say so so we can know who they are. There are some of those MRA types who are careful about what they say here, because they know they will likely be PPRd if they just come out and say what they think about some issues (too bad that's not a big enough clue for them that the shit they believe is fucked up as all hell).

[ehrnst]

45. Elizabeth Smart pointed out that this sort of thinking

makes young rape victims reluctant to report rape.

[Solly Mack]

47. Damn

[greymattermom]

50. so how about this?

Only married couples who can produce a marriage license can rent apartments, hotel rooms, buy houses, etc. All other occupancy must be single. No same sex roommates either. Now, let's look at how businesses likes those states.

[Burf-_-]

57. Ironic Mississipp i.....Many Muslim Men also think this way

THey use a similar analogy about virgin women, or women who do not wear a hijab or burqa. Next time they deny being the American Taliban...just remind them of this them this. All of it is about objectifying a woman to a piece of candy , and dehumanizing her.


http://mahavalous.com/2014/03/02/why-the-wrapped-vs-unwrapped-candy-analogy-is-wrong-when-it-comes-to-hijab/

[VA_Jill]

58. They should compare

promiscuous boys to hot dogs that have been dropped and rolled around in the dirt.

[LiberalFighter]

59. There are two things wrong with their application.

If as they say a woman becomes dirty (meaning not being a virgin) and not worth marrying then wouldn't that also mean the woman becomes dirty after the marriage and becomes deflowered? Would they then by that logic divorce the wife?


How the hell do they know a woman is or is not a virgin? The hymen is not an indicator of that factor. Women don't all have the same type of hymen. Few totally obstruct the opening and when it does it requires surgery to open it up so the menstruation flow has a way to get out.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

60. "....sex is the most awful, filthy thing on earth and you should save it for someone you love."

"Life in Lubbock, Texas, taught me two things: One is that God loves you and you're going to burn in hell. The other is that sex is the most awful, filthy thing on earth and you should save it for someone you love." - Butch Hancock

[backscatter712]

62. You beat me to it! n/t

[Liberal_in_LA]

69. backwards crap

[Bigmack]

70. Don't like the chocolate comparison...

How about this one. It still objectifies women, but at least it's more realistic....

A fine piece of wood just gets more beautiful if you handle it and smooth it.

or....

The (apocryphal) story about the Inuit man who lent out his wife. He said "If I loan out my harpoon, it comes back dull, if I loan out my kayak, it comes back leaking, but if I loan out my wife, she comes back smiling."

As long as we're comparing sex to something, let's make it a little more realistic.

[DeSwiss]

71. Mississippi Goddam

(1963) Nina Simone

The name of this tune is Mississippi Goddam
And I mean every word of it

Alabama's gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam

Alabama's gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam

Can't you see it
Can't you feel it
It's all in the air
I can't stand the pressure much longer
Somebody say a prayer.......

K&R