Rep. Lisa Brown's 'Vagina' Remark Goes Viral
Comment that gets West Bloomfield State Rep. banned from House floor spawns Twitter trending topic and more.
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State House Rep. Lisa Brown said she was not told why she was prohibited from speaking on the floor Thursday about an education bill, but she's getting all the time she needs to speak now.
Brown (D-West Bloomfield), a Jewish mother of three, was barred from speaking after she claimed House Bill 5711 forces contradictory religious beliefs upon her and others, referencing her own vagina at the end of her speech.
The remark went viral Thursday night amid concerns that the House GOP majority went too far in banning Brown for using what she referred to as the "medically correct term."
London-based morning newspaper The Independent points out that the remark spawned a Twitter trending topic: #Vaginamovielines, in which key phrases from famous quotes in films are replaced with "vagina."
The comment is also getting national media attention, with coverage and commentaries on ABC, NPR, Rachel Maddow's blog, Politico, Jezebel, and New York Mag among others.
"The quote doesn't seem wildly out of line. It's reasoning we've come to expect from pro-choice lawmakers and advocates, but in Michigan it shocks and offends," writes Connor Simpson of The Atlantic.
The Detroit News reported that Brown's comments, with the use of the word "vagina", violated decorum of the House, according to spokesperson for the Republican majority.
House GOP spokesperson Ari Adler tweeted, "2 Reps. aren't being recognized to speak today because of their actions. Has nothing to w/gender, religion or topic."
Brown is expected to interview on WDIV-TV Detroit on Friday morning.
Alan Stamm
11:47 am on Friday, June 15, 2012
"Silencing women is an ancient tool to shut down defiance, even in 2012," Detroit News columnist Laura Berman writes today. [http://bit.ly/KrIkrB]
And on last night's Rachel Maddow Show last night, Rep. Brown told guest host Ezra Klein: "“We’ve heard from people from California to Chicago, all across the country, cheering me on and thanking me for being a voice for women."
Debbi
9:07 am on Monday, June 18, 2012
Well I'm a woman and you don't speak for me Rep. Brown! Our society no longer seems to care about being polite or modest. Furthermore, if the House has rules about decorum and you instead choose to behave in an undignified manner then you shouldn't be surprised that the House leadership chooses to respond appropriately to your crude remarks. Our society seems to moving towards an "Anything Goes" mentality and those of us who long for the days when we didn't have to be ready with the TV remote whenever our kids are in earshot, are the ones being chastised for being offended at other people's bad behavior. I wonder if there were school kids visiting in the gallery of the House the day Rep. Brown chose to make her crude remarks? I am thankful that our leadership still cares about dignity and manners.
Charles Gaba
4:37 pm on Monday, June 18, 2012
Um...Debbi, I'm pretty sure that any "school kids" who might have been in the gallery would have been a LOT more disturbed by the fact that the GOP was pushing through a bill that forces women into birthing machines against their will even if doing so could kill or permanently maim them.
Plus, "vagina" is a medically correct term for a female reproductive body part. When my son was being potty trained, we told him to make sure that his penis points into the toilet, because that's what it's called. What other word was I supposed to use? Schlong? Johnson? Some other, more crude terminology?
The topic of the legislation being discussed was about women's reproductive medical rights. What on earth was she supposed to use to describe it? Granted, I suppose she technically should have said "vulva" or "uterus" instead of "vagina", so I guess she loses some points for using a slightly incorrect part of the body, but that's debatable, and since the whole point of floor speeches is to debate legislation, it seems appropriate to me.
D Jenkins
12:32 pm on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Yes I agree 100% with you. People do not want to have any rules or morales or respect for anyone or anything. Its very sad.
Thank you for posting the Truth very refreshing
D O
Jordan Genso
3:08 pm on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Debbi,
Will you quote the "crude" or "undignified" remarks that she said? I'm not sure what you are referencing. Was it because she said she was "flattered" by it, and that's what led you to feel she wasn't being "modest"?
But even if I agree with your position on what she said, are you going to hold that standard consistently? So that whenever any legislator says something you wouldn't want your kids to hear, you think they should then lose their ability to speak. Or whenever a legislator says something that someone else wouldn't want their kids to hear, would you still support the legislator losing their right to speak?
Neal Charness
12:06 pm on Monday, June 18, 2012
The crudeness is the behavior of the Republican "leadership." Their idea of decorum is to muzzle anyone that disagrees with their takeover of peoples' individual freedoms. The way they handled it was undignified and crude. If you believe teaching that those behaviors are proper you should not be near children. Children need to be taught the correct names for body parts and that they are body parts. By attempting to stigmatize those who use those words they are teaching crude, vulgar and inappropriate behaviors. The "leadership" wouldn't know dignity and manners they were bit by them.
mike smith
7:04 pm on Wednesday, June 27, 2012
let ask Clinton about morals