‘The Bluest Eye’ brings graphic depictions of rape, pedophilia to Common Core

◼ Is it just a coincidence that, on the very same day that the Washington Post tweeted a link to its (now retitled) piece, “Sex between students and teachers should not be a crime,” liberal blog Think Progress would tweet this? - Twitchy

The most disturbing argument in the attempt to ban ‘The Bluest Eye’ from Alabama high schools http://t.co/Ktcdh0prLF #icymi

— ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) August 30, 2013

What are those crazy conservatives up to now? The Atlantic Wire is reporting that pressure from Tea Party wacko birds has inspired Alabama State Senator Bill Holtzclaw to call for a ban of Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison’s 1970 novel, “The Bluest Eye” … sort of. If you follow the story from Think Progress back through the Atlantic and the Huffington Post to its origin on AL.com, it turns out that Holtzclaw’s stated goal is to ”ensure that it’s not on any reading list in the state of Alabama.” Is it? Though the book isn’t required reading, “The Bluest Eye” does appear on the Common Core Standard’s recommended reading list for 11th graders, and 40 states have signed on to those Common Core standards....

For Think Progress, the most disturbing factor in the effort to have the book taken off the recommended reading list is its characterization by some as “child pornography.” Blogger Macey France of Politichicks presents a lengthy and compelling case against assigning the book to minors, backed up with graphic excerpts from the novel.

Obviously the reason behind some parents calls for removing the book are the graphic depictions of incest, rape and pedophilia. And not just that, the book actually lets the reader see the depictions from the perpetrator’s point of view.

In fact, the author of the book, Morrison, says that she wanted the reader to feel as though they are a “co-conspirator” with the rapist. She took pains to make sure she never portrayed the actions as wrong in order to show how everyone has their own problems. She even goes as far as to describe the pedophilia, rape and incest [as] “friendly,” “innocent,” and “tender.” It’s no wonder that this book is in the top 10 list of most contested books in the country.

Think Progress’ Alyssa Rosenberg argues that “suggesting that scenes of rape are pornography erases the distinction between sexual assault and consensual sex in a way that’s all too common in our larger culture.” In fact, that suggestion is just gross.

◼ A Monstrous Story for a Monstrous Curriculum: The Ugly Heart of Common Core - Dana R. Casey/DC Clothesline

PEDOPHILIA, INCEST, AND GRAPHIC SEX: EXCERPTS FROM A COMMON CORE READING LIST BOOK FOR 11TH-GRADERS THAT WILL MAKE YOU BLUSH

◼ Common Core, the controversial set of education standards being pushed by many state governors and education leaders, is coming under fire for its selection of a book that’s on the suggested reading list for 11th graders (i.e. 16- and 17-year-olds). The book — a past selection of Oprah’s Book Club — has graphic sex scenes and descriptions... - The Blaze

Editor’s note: The following story contains graphic language. Discretion is advised.

The work in question comes from Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison. Listed on a Common Core reading list linked on the website, “The Bluest Eye” carries this description from the curriculum’s preferred bookseller: An Eleven-Year-Old African-American Girl In Ohio, In The Early 1940s, Prays For Her Eyes To Turn Blue So That She Will Be Beautiful.

That description sounds tame and appears to be a solid lesson about the problems of desiring beauty over anything else....

(Excerpts you won't find on Common Core's site:)

Pages 162-163: “A bolt of desire ran down his genitals…and softening the lips of his anus. . . . He wanted to f*** her—tenderly. But the tenderness would not hold. The tightness of her vagina was more than he could bear. His soul seemed to slip down his guts and fly out into her, and the gigantic thrust he made into her then provoked the only sound she made. Removing himself from her was so painful to him he cut it short and snatched his genitals out of the dry harbor of her vagina. She appeared to have fainted.”

Page 174: “He further limited his interests to little girls. They were usually manageable . . . His sexuality was anything but lewd; his patronage of little girls smacked of innocence and was associated in his mind with cleanliness.” And later, this same pedophile notes, “I work only through the Lord. He sometimes uses me to help people.”

Page 181: “The little girls are the only things I’ll miss. Do you know that when I touched their sturdy little t*** and bit them—just a little—I felt I was being friendly?—If I’d been hurting them, would they have come back? . . . they’d eat ice cream with their legs open while I played with them. It was like a party.”

...graphic excerpts cover incest, rape and pedophilia. In her research on the book in question, Macey France also exposes some pretty shocking support for those topics, from the author herself:

In fact, the author of the book, Morrison, says that she wanted the reader to feel as though they are a “co-conspirator” with the rapist. She took pains to make sure she never portrayed the actions as wrong in order to show how everyone has their own problems. She even goes as far as to describe the pedophilia, rape and incest “friendly,” “innocent,” and “tender.” It’s no wonder that this book is in the top 10 list of most contested books in the country.

The presence of the book on Common Core’s list, combined with Morrison’s descriptions of incest, rape, and pedophilia as “friendly,” “innocent,” and “tender” have sparked outrage in some communities. Parents in one Colorado school district are petitioning for the removal of “developmentally inappropriate and graphical content from the instructional reading list.” They are not asking for the book to be banned or even removed from the library, just taken off the suggested reading list.