The Political Whore

By Catherine Durkin Robinson
PoHo contributor
Catherine Durkin Robinson is a “feminist mother of twins” and a political blogger, working under the title Out in Left Field.

Another Sickles’ goof or goof-up?

When I first heard about the bare vagina on display in the pages of Sickles High School’s 2009 yearbook, I laughed out loud.

One of those deep belly laughs that last for five minutes. My tongue hangs out. I grab my sides. The works. I could just picture the yearbook advisor catching shit. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Oh yes. Another grand example of a Tampa teacher’s piss-poor judgment.

Funny stuff.

Suddenly, I stopped laughing.

A 16-year-old had posed for a club picture without underwear and her hoo-ha was on display for the world to see. That’s what I’d been told. Who in their right mind would greenlight such a spread? Why would someone in the district support distributing the yearbook and suggest the Sickles junior “laugh it off?”

A few years ago, someone spotted a kid with the word “Fuck” on his shirt in a Sickles yearbook. Administrators went apeshit and demanded final say over all future yearbook editions.

Well, I thought, this changes things. What was going on at my old school?

See the photo in question after the jump.

A few friends offered to e-mail me a scanned picture of the aforementioned crotch shot.

I declined because, you know, child porn is gross. And illegal.

Like any good blogger, I drove over to Sickles High School today to see the picture for myself.

I hadn’t been back to Sickles since leaving Tampa for Colorado almost two years ago. I swore I’d never go back, but, what can I say? Nothing piques the public interest like pussy and I wanted to check it out.

I opened the yearbook to page 219 and found the Pottery Club photo. I stared. I squinted. I held the book at arm’s length and then brought it to a few inches from my eyes. I made sure all the lights were on.

Then I looked around.

“That’s it?” I asked.

I hadn’t been that let down since John took a bullet for Yoko.

So I started laughing again. Tampa Bay’s 10 latched on to a story that wasn’t even really a story. Talk about a news organization desperate for viewers. Looking at the picture online, you will probably say to yourself, “Self, this isn’t a good scan because I can’t see a thing.”

Oh no, the scan is fine. You really can’t see a thing.

Why didn’t the girl tell everyone she *was* wearing underwear and let it go at that? Why didn’t she and her mom ignore the hype or handle it? Suddenly, I stopped laughing.

This picture isn’t a big deal. But the girl’s mother is making it a big deal. She’s exploiting the issue and her little girl, by demanding attention and suggesting that Sickles recall all yearbooks and re-distribute them without the picture.

This woman, whose daughter went to school in a short skirt without underwear because she didn’t want to be photographed with panty lines, is demanding a solution from the school system that could cost thousands of dollars. Taxpayer dollars. Your dollars. My dollars.

All Mom really had to do is this – tell her embarrassed teenager that our actions have consequences. Encourage personal responsibility. And maybe teach this little Britney Spears-wanna-be how to sit with her legs *closed.*

Instead, she’s hiring an attorney.

Oh yes. Another grand example of a bad parent’s piss-poor judgment.

Only this time, it ain’t so funny.

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