they banned the "I <3 Boobies" bracelets

[FriendZoneMayor]

http://www.wiscnews.com/saukprairiee...cc4c03286.html

basically, the principal of our local middle school banned the "I <3 Boobies" bracelets (which donate to research and raise awareness to breast cancer) because he thought they were inappropriate. For all the details... LINK!!!!

Thoughts?

[dr2005]

Given how the teenage male mind works I'm not entirely convinced that they would have been wearing the bracelets to raise breast cancer awareness per se, but that's another matter altogether. I suppose if people believe it is trivialising what is at the end of the day a very serious illness then I can understand criticising it on those grounds, but a ban seems a bit over the top. On the plus side, it's a nice distraction from the other story in Wisconsin at the moment...

[FriendZoneMayor]

haha RIGHT???

[Boobies]

Wait, are you questioning that a bracelet saying 'I <3 boobies' is inappropriate? O.o I think it's perfectly fine to ban them at the school, even if it is a charity. The important thing is that they give to the charity, not that they get a bracelet out of it, unless you think it should be a fashion statement? O.o

[FriendZoneMayor]

These are what the bracelets look like. not distracting at all unless someone (aka the prinipal) draws attention to them

[bitesize]

That's so silly, they're just a bit of fun. I wish people weren't so uptight about fun things.

[lola jonson]

they banned them at my school too. i think its dumb. theyre not offensive.

[Loki Silvertongue]

They aren't offensive. They aren't distracting. Yeah some people may not be displaying them for the right reason but hey, it's a charity. A charity that targets a growing problem.
There shouldn't be a problem with them and they shouldn't be banned.

[Strife]

to be honest, i'm sick of all these products for raising breast cancer awareness. there are tons of other diseases that are just as bad but don't get a lot of press, yet i can't go a day without seeing a commercial or product for breast cancer awareness.
anyway, i think the school has every right to ban something like this. if someone was wearing a shirt that said "boobies" they'd probably get in just as much trouble. if you want to help the charity, that's all well and good but you can always wear your bracelet other places.

[Lizzie]

I think the school has every right to enforce their dress code. If it’s against dress code, then they should be banned. The school is in no way being anti breast cancer awareness; they are just enforcing the school setting they already had in place. And quite frankly, just because it is for a charity doesn’t deem it automatically school appropriate. You could start a charity for anything and have anything as its motto. I don’t think this was an inappropriate choice.

[TheWhiteTornado]

I think they're really just making a big deal out of nothing. It is just a charity and, while it doesn't change what is said on the bracelet, it changes the motive behind it. Most people (and I know there are some who do) are doing it just for the sake of supporting the charity in a funny way. I think the school is going overboard by banning them altogether when they're just for that. To me it seems like the instances where schools ban a book because it uses offensive language rather than understanding it in terms of why the language is used.

[✖Ice✖]

Next they ban hot dogs cause they look like a penis wtf...

[Loki Silvertongue]

Originally Posted by Strife

to be honest, i'm sick of all these products for raising breast cancer awareness. there are tons of other diseases that are just as bad but don't get a lot of press, yet i can't go a day without seeing a commercial or product for breast cancer awareness.
anyway, i think the school has every right to ban something like this. if someone was wearing a shirt that said "boobies" they'd probably get in just as much trouble. if you want to help the charity, that's all well and good but you can always wear your bracelet other places.

This is because it's a serious thing. Yes there are other diseases, yes they might not get as much coverage and yes they are equally as bad and yes they equally devastate the families of sufferers.

Yet Breast Cancer is becoming more common. A lot more families are being touched by it so naturally it's getting more media coverage. I have experienced a close family member being diagnosed for the second time with Breast Cancer. It's devestating.

So any campaign that raises awareness of this I will fully support. It does not deserve to be banned in any school.

[Strife]

Originally Posted by Loki Lyon

This is because it's a serious thing. Yes there are other diseases, yes they might not get as much coverage and yes they are equally as bad and yes they equally devastate the families of sufferers.

Yet Breast Cancer is becoming more common. A lot more families are being touched by it so naturally it's getting more media coverage. I have experienced a close family member being diagnosed for the second time with Breast Cancer. It's devestating.

So any campaign that raises awareness of this I will fully support. It does not deserve to be banned in any school.

I'm sorry if I sounded like i'm not in support of campaigns for breast cancer awareness/research. I am-I just wish there were more campaigns for other things as well. It's a very serious thing, but so are heart disease, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, HPV, mental illnesses, etc. I just wish the support was more...even, I guess?

It's not being banned for supporting breast cancer awareness, I'm sure the school supports that wholeheartedly. but the fact that it's a good cause doesn't negate the fact that certain words are against the dress code in many schools. (for instance, at my school, no profanity was allowed. If i had come to school wearing a shirt that said "F*** (without asterisks) breast cancer," I'd probably get sent home for having the F-word on my shirt. That in no way means my school would have been against the cause.

[Anthropomorphic]

This is my middle school, so I know most of the kids (or, at least, the older siblings of the kids) involved.

The bracelets are, on a basic plain, a freedom of expression, opinion, and belief through the promotion of a cause. Although I disagree with the school's decision to ban them, it must be noted that the school has every right to do so, because they're allowed to censure anything that they deem sexually inappropriate. However, I'm quite sure that a teenage girl is far more distracting to most teenage boys than the bracelet she's wearing. The distraction argument does little to prove a point here.

The girl, her parents, and a few other people have contacted the ACLU about this, and although I agree with their cause, I find the subject to be too petty, and I don't think the ACLU should take the time and legal efforts to pursue this.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

To be honest, when I first read the title of "I [heart] boobies", the first thing that came to my mind wasn't breast cancer and I have a feeling the same goes for some other students wearing it. The school isn't opposed to supporting breast cancer, it's opposed to the language used but that brings a problem for this because the word "breast" does have sexual connotations, so I think even if it didn't use the word "boobies", the bracelet would still get some people bickering over it. Those saying it doesn't fully represent breast cancer and makes it too light-hearted is silly because it's a bracelet, it's not going to contain many words or images on it. I think it's too much of a petty issue to get the ACLU involved because breast cancer is supported through numerous charities in various ways already and there are other ways students could emphasize their support. However, given the fact it is a school environment, students are to obey the school policies even if they seem silly and trivial.

[MegaMadness]

It's not really appropriate for school honestly. I can see why it was banned. Why don't the kids just wear it when they don't have school or buy another product to support breast cancer to wear, instead of carrying on over something so petty?

[Maloo]

I think the school was entirely right to ban them. It's not appropriate for school at all.

[Dez]

My high school banned these as well, and now you either get sent to the office or have them taken away if you are caught wearing them. I get that the word 'boobies' may be found offensive, but unless you draw attention to yourself, nobody will constantly be paying attention to what is on your wrist. It is for a good cause and they shouldn't have been banned.

[Pelios]

All kids in middle school should wear uniforms and ban the jewerly, nose rings, etc. then there is nothing to argue over. You want to wear that bracelet you can wear it outside school hours.

[Lorelei]

Doesn't the principal have anything better to do with his position? Seems like kind of a trivial rule to me, and I might think a little less of the principal for instating a rule so pointless, but that's his prerogative.

[Marguerite]

I don't see the issue. Clearly the whole 'boobies' things is supposed to be attention grabbing to raise awareness to the issue. A pretty good idea when you think about it. I doubt many of the people wearing them actually care about raising money or awareness for breast cancer, yet we're all talking about it, so I guess it's doing its job. I understand banning them because the school has a scrict uniform, but otherwise I don't see the problem.

Honestly, so much fuss over the word 'boobies'? That's ridiculous. I could tell this was a story out of America straight away because I can't think of another country where people would actually get so worked up over a word.

All these terrible, violent stories seem to come out of America (compared to the rest of the Western world) but everyone seems to jump up and down if a politician swears or a teenager on tv smokes a joint without spontaneously combusting. Whatever you're doing, I guess it's not working.

Though I do agree that for some reason Breast Cancer gets an unusual (and maybe unfair) amount of attention. I'm not saying it should get less attention or less funds, but I wonder why it gets so so much more than Skin Cancer or Lung Cancer or Prostate Cancer.

[Boobies]

Originally Posted by Lorelei

Doesn't the principal have anything better to do with his position? Seems like kind of a trivial rule to me, and I might think a little less of the principal for instating a rule so pointless, but that's his prerogative.

So enforcing rules isn't what a principal should do? O.o

[FriendZoneMayor]

Originally Posted by Lorelei

Doesn't the principal have anything better to do with his position? Seems like kind of a trivial rule to me, and I might think a little less of the principal for instating a rule so pointless, but that's his prerogative.

I went to this school (obviously) and the new principal is like a tin-can on a string compared to the Blackberry that he replaced.

[emma01]

I have to agree with what WOW... said. When I first read the title, breast cancer certainly was NOT the first thing that came into mind. And to be honest I actually thought at first 'it's good they banned them!'
I think maybe because 'I <3 Boobies' has nothing what-so-ever to do with prevention, or cure of breast cancer, apart from the body part mentioned. There's penis cancer, but if I were to go around school with a bracelet saying "I <3 penises" even guys that may have had the cancer would not read it like that.

If the bracelet just said "Breast Cancer Awareness" then fair enough, however if the school has a dress code preventing wearing bracelets, jewellery etc...then they should be banned. Supporting a cause should be about donating the money, not showing off that you have. You don't really need anything in return, and certainly wearing it around school is unnecessary. You should get enough satisfaction that you actually helped the cause!

[her_beautiful_mistake]

All the charity bands that were around a few years ago got banned from my school for 'health and safety' (what else).

Agree with this ban though.

[losing touch.]

if the students want to wear them they can when they're not at school. making a huge deal of it is pointless. rules are rules, these kids need to just get over it.

[Marguerite]

Originally Posted by emma01

I have to agree with what WOW... said. When I first read the title, breast cancer certainly was NOT the first thing that came into mind. And to be honest I actually thought at first 'it's good they banned them!'
I think maybe because 'I <3 Boobies' has nothing what-so-ever to do with prevention, or cure of breast cancer, apart from the body part mentioned. There's penis cancer, but if I were to go around school with a bracelet saying "I <3 penises" even guys that may have had the cancer would not read it like that.

If the bracelet just said "Breast Cancer Awareness" then fair enough, however if the school has a dress code preventing wearing bracelets, jewellery etc...then they should be banned. Supporting a cause should be about donating the money, not showing off that you have. You don't really need anything in return, and certainly wearing it around school is unnecessary. You should get enough satisfaction that you actually helped the cause!

But that's the point. How many of these kids do you think would have bought one of the bracelets if they had said 'Breast Cancer Awareness'? I'm sure this has raised a hell of a lot more money and clearly more awareness.

Honestly I still don't understand what the hell is the big deal with the word 'boobies'.

[Guile]

I'm split here, you see in the United States you can't censor/ban 'speech' for content, only time place or manner, but I guess the schools are still getting an obscene amount of power here. meh :/

[emma01]

Originally Posted by Marguerite

But that's the point. How many of these kids do you think would have bought one of the bracelets if they had said 'Breast Cancer Awareness'? I'm sure this has raised a hell of a lot more money and clearly more awareness.

Honestly I still don't understand what the hell is the big deal with the word 'boobies'.

Well then they should be banned as the children certainly aren't wearing them to support the cause...no I personally don't see anything wrong with the word boobies...but "I <3 boobies" just has sexual connotations to it and at a school it's not such a good look.
If I am going to donate to a cause because I really do care, I will donate no matter what I get in return

[Marguerite]

Originally Posted by emma01

Well then they should be banned as the children certainly aren't wearing them to support the cause...no I personally don't see anything wrong with the word boobies...but "I <3 boobies" just has sexual connotations to it and at a school it's not such a good look.
If I am going to donate to a cause because I really do care, I will donate no matter what I get in return

I'm not trying to say they were wearing them because they really wanted to raise awareness of the issue and the principle banned them because he's evil and wants people to die of breast cancer.

Yes, it's clearly sexual, but it's not graphic or explicit. It's done it's job (we're talking about it now, and we're bringing attention to the cause). And like you've pointed out, they've already paid for them so banning them isn't going to hurt the foundation.

If jewellery is banned full stop, I understand the objections. I just think though that it's a clever campaign and everyone is a bit tightly wound over the whole thing. 'Boobies'. Maybe I'd understand If it said 'I love tits' or something, but boobies is such a harmless word. It's pretty much a kids word anyway.

You'd see worse by turning on TV. I just don't see any harm it causes. If people are really getting offended over the word 'boobies' they're going to get a shock when someone pops their bubble one day and they're exposed to the real world.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

Originally Posted by Marguerite

If jewellery is banned full stop, I understand the objections. I just think though that it's a clever campaign and everyone is a bit tightly wound over the whole thing. 'Boobies'. Maybe I'd understand If it said 'I love tits' or something, but boobies is such a harmless word. It's pretty much a kids word anyway.

You'd see worse by turning on TV. I just don't see any harm it causes. If people are really getting offended over the word 'boobies' they're going to get a shock when someone pops their bubble one day and they're exposed to the real world.

I agree with this and I find it funny how for even the words that are seemingly harmless, when used at schools, some parents and teachers complain.

[Guile]

Originally Posted by WOW!USaidSomethingSmart!

I agree with this and I find it funny how for even the words that are seemingly harmless, when used at schools, some parents and teachers complain.

American culture is a lot more concerned with sexual things, it's hard to explain, but in the United States "Boobies" is considered rather crude.

I never use the word in conversation, I use "breasts/chests", but I hardly ever swear, and when I do it's almost only "damn". It's an American thing...

[i_like_black]

Honestly?

I think your principal was totally right to ban these bracelets.
They're not appropriate for a school environment - and if your school has a uniform, even less so.
Perhaps you guys should wear a PINK RIBBON - like we do here. In New Zealand, if you donate to any breast cancer funds, you get a pink ribbon, and sometimes something else as well. A ribbon isn't offensive in any way, doesn't go against any uniform regulations, and your principal would have nothing against them.

Clearly you just want to be able to say "boobies". Does it matter? You're at SCHOOL - who gives a fig what is or is not allowed to be on your wrist? The point of school is to learn.
You donated to charity and got a bracelet. Whoopdefriggingdoo, good on you. Thank you for supporting the charity.

Please accept that your school has rules for a reason. You may disagree with these rules, but you still have to follow them. Or you can move schools. But it's probably not worth doing that over something that is, at the end of the day, non-uniform regulation jewellery.

P.S., there are uniforms in the working world too. Your employer will have regulations. If I wore an "I <3 boobies" bracelet to work, one of my supervisors is highly likely to tell me to take it off, so best start dealing with it now. Wear it in your own time, in your own clothes. School is not the place for it.