April 12, 2006
Anatomically Correct
by jhyde
I'm flipping through my Anatomy and Physiology book while I'm at the coffee shop waiting for the line to slow down a little bit. It's Palm Sunday and there's an entire youth group of palm-bearing christians getting their coffee fix. I'm reading the first few chapters about molecular levels and chemistry and what not, and I turn the page to reveal a highly detailed drawing of a nude male, palms up. I don't have to look at the torso to decide the masculinity of the subject. As often as I see it, you'd think it wouldn't disturb me in the least. You'd think, "Look hon, it's an ANATOMY book. There's bound to be something like that in there." While I fully realize the validity of that argument, it gets my brain thinking that I'm conditioned to censored drawings of nude people. How, I wonder to myself, did I get so habituated to the censorship? Meanwhile, I still have the dilemma of others in the coffee shop possibly seeing the images portrayed in my book, and wondering if I really care if they see them or not. Do I continue the legacy in our society of glazing over the sexual organs, do I cover it up? I finally decided that while I didn't care who saw what, I did care that I didn't know how to respond to the dilemma. I think I'll study at home now.
Published: April 12, 2006
Editor: stacy