PJ Tatler warns about offensive material--and in some circles, this blatant heterosexism is pretty offensive. From April 6, 2012 WPRO radio in Rhode Island:
Warwick School Superintendent Peter Horoschak is stepping in after a student mural at Pilgrim High School was deemed inappropriate and painted over because it depicted a man holding the hand of a woman and child.
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The mural was meant to depict the life of a man and it ended with the scene with the man, woman and a child. The student artist, 17-year-old Liz Bierendy, said that she depicted the man and woman has married with wedding rings. According to Horoshack’s press release the scene was painted over because “some of the members of the Pilgrim High School community suggested that the depiction of a young man’s development from boyhood through adulthood as displayed may not represent the life experiences of many of the students at Pilgrim High School.”No one ever directly says that the objectionable part is the blatant heterosexism of showing a man married to a woman, but it is pretty clear what "may not represent the life experiences" means.
Freedom, homosexuality: pick one.
I think you're being slightly paranoid here.
ReplyDeleteThe "alternate lifestyle" which the objectors saw as being 'disrespected' is homosexuality, but 'shacking up' and consequent bastardy and single motherhood.
Warwick seems to be an upperish-middle-class white community, and thus not overrun by this pattern, but good liberals like most school administrators would balk at even the implication of judgment against it.
I think left out "not" before "homosexuality." Perhaps you are correct, and they are really objecting to the notion of getting married. But bastardy is now so mainstream that it is hard to imagine school administrators getting defensive about it.
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