Do you know what twerking is? Yeah, I didn't, either. But it was enough to get a bunch of high school kids in San Diego suspended and banned from prom. Who knew a dance could be so controversial?
Well, the highly suggestive moves are the latest craze following Gangham. But for a group of 33 students—mainly girls—(including a couple who filmed the incident) from Scripps Ranch High School, a video of them 'twerking' might be enough to see them excluded from prom and commencement ceremony walk.
It's not clear whether the offense stemmed from the fact that the video was filmed on school property, using school equipment, or simply from the highly sexual nature of the dance, which appears to violate the school's policy prohibiting "verbal, visual or physical conduct of a sexual nature."
In an article on U-T San Diego, Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, senior policy advocate for the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties, claims the school's response to the video is "reflective of a national trend towards unreasonable, overly harsh, and counterproductive disciplinary measures."
Were the kids 'just dancing' or engaging in inappropriate behaviour?
Everyone loves a quirky baby name! But are some names just plain wrong? The New Zealand government thinks so. Henceforth it has taken it upon itself to impose a ban on 77 baby names. That's one awfully long list...
According to an article in Today Moms, the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages deemed it necessary to list certain names that babies just should not have, since the discretion of parents is obviously not always to be trusted.
And perhaps rightly so, since 18 of the names on New Zealand's banned list were actually found on the US database of Social Security Administration 2011. They are, in no particular order of inappropriateness:
But it seems even those wacky Americans know better than to employ some of the banned names, like Anal, Mafia, No Fear, and 4Real. Yet they have come up with some real humdingers instead: Moxie CrimeFighter, Kal-El, and Pilot Inspektor
New Zealand isn't the only nanny state when it comes to names. Sweden has also apparently restricted the use of Superman and Metallica. Shame. Of course celebs are the worst offenders when it comes to baby naming. Cue Donald Trump's son Barron; Ziggy Marley's daughter Justice; Giuliana and Bill Rancic's child Duke, also a firm favourite with Diane Keaton and makeup giant Bobbi Brown.
“The right to choose a name that reflects your individual and cultural beliefs and values is rooted in the very foundation of America—I can’t imagine the U.S. ever legislating name choice, nor do I think that would be desirable,” said Pamela Redmond Satran, who runs the baby name trend website, Nameberry.
We now know about the very real phenomenon of 'name regret.' Do you think NZ is right to impose the ban, or should parents always have free will when it comes to naming their beloved babes?
If you're a parent, this is a public service announcement you won't want to miss. The short film created by Michael Solomon and Josh Franer, based on the children’s book of the same name by Jill Starishevsky, was made with the 'sole intent' of educating children about sexual abuse.
The stats are staggering. According to the press release, one in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused by their 18th birthday, and 93 per cent of the perpetrators are known to the child.
“The numbers were so shocking, we felt that we had to do something,”says Solomon, who knew more had to be done after he heard Starishevsky, a NYC prosecutor of child sex crimes, speak at his children's elementary school. “We wanted to create a tool for adults who ... may not have the fortitude to talk about [abuse] but understand the importance. Beyond starting this dialogue, we believe it’s equally important for children to understand that reporting abuse is both empowering and smart.”
That's why the boy in the story is depicted as a superhero in the end. The beauty of this project is the simplicity and accessibility in which a difficult subject matter is presented.
The clip is just four minutes' long, and suitable for kids as young as three. Aren't you glad someone did the dirty work for you? All you have to do is sit your child down, and press PLAY...
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