Hello Gentle Reader
In Michigan there is a lot of hype and controversy over, what one mother has called “pornographic passages,” from one of the most read and well known books in the world today, which deal with the tragedies of World War II and the eventual discovery of the Holocaust – the one and only Anne Frank Diary. In the recently updated and uncensored edition of the diary, there are passages in which Anne Frank begins to remark on the eventual changes of her body. Going so far as to make anatomical observations of her female organs; in a sense this gives Anne more character. She is not just some Jewish girl hiding away. She’s a girl heading into adolescents; and with no one to discuss these changes about, she turns to the diary. These personal moments of self-discovery of one’s own body, set on the backdrop of the horrors of the world around her, make the moments all that more sympathetic and empathetic, for the young readers who have been assigned the book. It is in these cases that one can understand that Anne Frank is not just some martyr or victim but truly a human being. The following in Anne recorded her observations of her body, have been called “pornographic,” by one student’s mother:
“Until I was 11 or 12, I didn't realise there was a second set of labia on the inside, since you couldn't see them. What's even funnier is that I thought urine came out of the clitoris," wrote Frank. "When you're standing up, all you see from the front is hair. Between your legs there are two soft, cushiony things, also covered with hair, which press together when you're standing, so you can't see what's inside. They separate when you sit down and they're very red and quite fleshy on the inside. In the upper part, between the outer labia, there's a fold of skin that, on second thought, looks like a kind of blister. That's the clitoris.”
Pornographic writing is usually obscene and sometimes, embellished and saturated in the most sexually frank of details. Think of the Marquis de Sade. Eroticism is pleasurable or a little more, on the sly side in its suggestive symbolism. Though in today’s world of “sex sells,” and the complete bombardment of sexual imagery from all directions: from perfume commercials, to bill board advertising – airbrushed and picture perfect models stare blankly trying to intrigue one into buying the product. So to call the above observation “pornographic,” is wrong. The above observation is anything but an adolescent trying to comprehend and understand the changes that are happening to her body. There is nothing obscene or erotically charged about it. Anne simply discusses, like a scientist take inventory of the body; the anatomical construct of her own gender.
Now the mother has stated she is not for a witch hunt on this book; nor is she is an advocate of censorship; but she certainly is coddling her child a bit too much. The passage could be described as “uncomfortable,” but by all means some of the greatest work out there is uncomfortable. Uncomfortable in its frank descriptions of the horrors of war; or perhaps its uncomfortable when we discuss what, we are capable of doing as human beings. If it makes you squirm it means you’re facing some form of truth. For example women have labia. That is not up for debate. Adolescent’s is, going to hit us all when we are young. Our children are going to grow up. These are all hard truths. Is discussing labia and clitoris’s uncomfortable – perhaps it is uncomfortable to discuss the anatomical structures reproductive area; but this does not mean it does not exist. Though the concerned parent may find it a bit too early to discuss these topics, I don’t think it’s too early at all. In my day and age young ladies went to their doctors because when they had their first period, they thought there was some gynecological problem with them. When in reality there isn’t. Discussing it puts the feelings, of shame that we instill in our children to rest. It’s natural, and it is if anything a very difficult situation one should tackle sensitively; not shut in the closet and say it doesn’t happen. Anne Frank is more than just a person of history. She is more than just a victim. More than just a saint that preaches example of humanities inherited goodness. More than just a statistical number of the Holocaust. She was a young girl going into adolescents. She was human. This further exemplifies that fact. That poor Anne Frank was not just some person who tragically lost her life in World War II, among countless others. She was a young girl, who had problems much like the youth do today – and the youth of tomorrow will have.
Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader
Take Care
And As Always
Stay Well Read
*And Remember: Downloading Books Illegally is Thievery and Wrong.*
M. Mary
A link to the original “The Guardian,” article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/07/anne-frank-diary-us-schools-censorship
