Censorious Apes!

[elfs]

I also had a terrible desire to kiss Jacqui and that I did. I go into ecstasies every time I see the naked figure of a woman, such as Venus in the Springer History of Art, for example. It strikes me sometimes as so wonderful and exquisite that I have difficulty not letting the tears roll down my cheeks. If only I had a girl friend!

This passage, written by a young girl, has now gotten the book in which it appears, a book read by millions of middle schoolers worldwide, banned from at least one school district.

To be fair, the version of the book in which it appears is an updated version, not so expurgated as the one you probably read in your childhood.

School system in Va. won't teach version of The Diary of Anne Frank.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_candide_/]

Well, I seem to recall reading that she also had a crush or two on some boy or other. So, I'd say that she could've been Bi.

But it's not like that matters. It could very well be a linguistic & cultural mistranslation. We Americans have a nasty tendency to think that every other human being on the planet is Just Like Us. I'm constantly surprised and refreshingly relieved to learn that there are many other human ways thinking out there.