September 26, 2008

Random Musing: Mean Girls


"Don't have sex, 'cause you will get pregnant and die. Don't have sex in the missionary position, don't have sex standing up... Just don't do it, promise!? Ok, everybody, take some rubbers!"

Today, I had lunch with my friends Courtney and Rancy, and at one point in the conversation, we began to discuss the now-universally known and lauded SNL skit with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton. As we joked about the dead-on spoofs of the candidates, I was also quoting the humorous one-liners by Fey as Palin ("And I think it's just God hugging us closer..."). Courtney then pointed out her arch-conservative views, and I quipped that her daughter is a prime example of why a stance on abstinence-only sex education in schools clearly is not doing her any good. I defended my stance that safe sex education is what we need in schools today, then tagged the aforementioned quote from "Mean Girls" to the end for a laugh. When I did that, I suddenly realized - that scene is a satirical criticism of abstinence-only education in schools! Why had I not perceived that before?!



So now that you have seen the scene again with me, you should also be able to notice the satire which permeates it. The Coach overstates the need for abstinence by humorously contending that if you have sex, "you will get pregnant - and die!" The sentence in itself is mocking the stance of supporters of abstinence-only sex education. Then it turns around toward irony and further mocks the coach for humorously brandishing a box full of condoms for the students he had previously been emphatically lecturing to not have sex. It is funny, no? I find it funnier that I had never before picked up on this sardonic social comment. (Even better, Courtney looked surprised that I was never aware of this! Ha!)

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