A London library has apologised for holding an event to encourage children to read during which an actor dressed in a bare-bottomed monkey costume with a fake penis.
www.standard.co.uk
So... how does this even happen?
Well, it's not well thought out. The library just booked some performers without thinking they'd turn up with penises hanging off their monkey costumes, and the performing troupe clearly didn't stop to consider the sensibilities of parents by wearing costumes with penises.
On the other hand, whilst I think it's better not done given social mores, I also think it's unnecessarily prudish to get
that upset about a monkey costume with a penis. It's not exactly like someone exposing their own real human penis to children, and it's not like children will never see penises (e.g. on pet dogs). Children can handle that sort of thing without mental scarring or being turned into some sort of sex pest.
Arguably, some children need more exposure to the realities of human plumbing. I mean, we have international students who arrive at med school with literally no knowledge of the male and female genitourinary system, because their countries refuse to show any of it even in a biology curriculum. And I am pretty sure that neglect of issues surrounding that anatomy - good sexual hygeine, sexual conduct and even romantic and sexual relationships - is considerably more damaging to children's development.
