Film on gender inequality too hot for some parents in Wisconsin town
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A teacher in Mount Horeb, Wis., near Madison, is back in the classroom today after being removed for showing her students a film that some people claim showed "nude and graphic images."
All of the images in the film, "Miss Representation", came from prime-time television shows and music videos, the Wisconsin State Journal says.
The 2011 film details how mainstream media contributes to the under-representation of women in influential positions by portraying them in demeaning and disparaging ways.
Steve Salerno, the school superintendent, told parents in a letter that the goal of the video in Beth Maglio's "social problems" class is appropriate, but he says the district will move ahead with a greater sensitivity to those who might object.
He said students who object to portion of the class on gender inequalities would be given alternative assignments without retaliation.
“The images in the documentary are all from public sources and none of the images are from pornography sites,” the teacher's lawyer said. “That’s the whole point of students seeing these images and hearing these prominent women (interviewed in the film) talking about the issues raised by those kinds of images. It’s very powerful.”
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