"The paranoid style of American politics is at work again—this time in Riverside County, California, which recently banned Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th edition, from its districts' school libraries because of the entry 'oral sex' and its accompanying definition.
Menifee Union School District's spokeswoman, Betti Cadmus, called it 'sexually graphic,' and said that while 'it's hard to sit and read the dictionary, but we'll be looking to find other things of a graphic nature.'
The definition at issue: Main Entry: oral sex Function: noun Date: 1973 : oral stimulation of the genital. It should be noted that in the online version of things, genitals are plural.
Already, the response has gotten pretty heated, both at�Witness LA and at the Los Angeles Times blog, which features�reader feedback. Even The Guardian has weighed in."
Menifee Union School District's spokeswoman, Betti Cadmus, called it 'sexually graphic,' and said that while 'it's hard to sit and read the dictionary, but we'll be looking to find other things of a graphic nature.'
The definition at issue: Main Entry: oral sex Function: noun Date: 1973 : oral stimulation of the genital. It should be noted that in the online version of things, genitals are plural.
Already, the response has gotten pretty heated, both at�Witness LA and at the Los Angeles Times blog, which features�reader feedback. Even The Guardian has weighed in."