The word “scrotum” is a valid, acceptable medical term." Jim Long
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There is a debate raging about the Newberry Award winner--The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron--because of its use of the word "scrotum". Some librarians (fie on them) have vowed to ban the book from their shelves. I have been reading the comments on the blog, and it makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. I honestly have a hard time believing some of the people who comment are really sincere. I mean, do people honestly think if kids (age 9-12) read the word scrotum that they'll what? Become sexual perverts? And what should it be called?
Here's the scene. Lucky (the MC) overhears some adults talking about how the guy's dog got bit on the scrotum by a rattlesnake. She doesn't know the word, but finds it delicious and feels that it must be a very "adult" word.
So, the word is the correct anatomical word, used to describe the correct body part (of a dog, no less), and yet people are in an uproar. Go figure. If writers stopped to consider which words MIGHT bother people, nothing would ever get written.
There's my rant. What do you think?
2 comments:
IMO, this is more a credibility issue than a word choice. Most dogs bitten by rattlesnakes are bitten in the face, neck, or leg. In order for a dog to be bitten in the scrotum, it seems the dog would have to be standing over the snake, something that just doesn't seem logical. Not saying it couldn't happen, it's just unlikely. A snake would most likely strike before the dog got that far.
That's an interesting point! No one has mentioned that at all--and that does make sense. It's all been about whether or not the word itself should be used, not whether that is a logical place for a dog to get bit.
How's the writing going for you? I'm excited because I finally managed to finish a scene that for some reason, I couldn't seem to just sit down and write. I was scared of it or something.
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