The power of words

Books are amazing things. They have the unusual quality of being banned because of a single, barely offensive word. In the case of The Higher Power of Lucky, that word is “scrotum.” Yes, scrotum. That single, non-derogatory word has gotten the book banned from a number of schools, despite the fact that the book won a Newberry Medal, no doubt for the largish part of the book that doesn’t contain the word scrotum.

While this book is indeed aimed at a younger age group (9 through 12, according to the author), I find it odd how anyone would be disgusted by the use of the word scrotum, especially since it’s used in a very non-sexual context. I mean, come on. What’s going to happen to your kids if they hear the word scrotum? They’re going to wonder what it is for a bit, come to the conclusion that it’s probably something you cough up when you have a cold, and resume life no worse off than they were before. Or, perhaps they’ll ask their parents or look in a dictionary and (heaven forbid) actually learn what it means. Is this so horrible? Seriously, at what point does it become all right for kids to learn the proper names of body parts? It’s not a “pee-pee,” it’s a penis. And if you find that word (or others, such as scrotum) offensive, there is something very, very wrong with you. It’s not a word with an explicitly sexual meaning. It’s not derogatory in any way. It’s a medically accurate term for a body part, and kids are going to learn about it soon enough.

Now, I can kind of understand how parents might be at least a little iffy about the word scrotum. It’s not the kind of word you’d usually find in a children’s book, and it’s definitely not the kind of word you’d hear kids that age say (as is the case in the book). However, it is, above all, just a word, and it plays a very minor part in the book. Censors and parents are picking out this single word and ignoring the rest of the book, the content of which gained it the highest honor a children’s book can receive. Clearly the folks on the Newberry Award committee were able to look past one word to take in the book as a whole. Unlike Dana Nilsson, a teacher and librarian in Durango, Colorado, who apparently stated that the book used a “Howard Stern-type shock treatment” in its use of scrotum. Howard Stern? Lady, have you even heard the man? Scrotum is far, far too mild for dear old Mr. Stern.

Anyways, this basically all boils down to censorship-happy librarians and squeamish parents (and more of the former than the latter, judging from who’s making the most noise about it). I really must wonder what harm they think will come to kids who read the word “scrotum” in a book. Are they going to yell that at schoolmates on the bus? Are they going to drop out of high school and hang with their “scrotum-buddies” smoking pot? If this was any type of offensive word, I’d understand the uproar. But scrotum? Most kids won’t even give it a second glance. And the ones who do won’t suffer from it.