The O-town Scene

A Single Dad |by Raul O'Toole Boobies! As he was getting out of the bathtub re- cently, Little Raul sang a little song. "Head, shoulders, knees and butt – knees and butt!" he sang, over and over again. It was cute. At nearly 6, he's pretty comfort- able with his own body, and all of its various "parts," as we call them. So I wasn't too taken aback that he'd hum a jokey tune. Heck, I even sang along a bit. It's catchy, try it at home. I suspect, though, that he was testing the boundaries, because his "butt" reference was just the begin- ning. When that failed to provoke a stern response, he escalated things. With his back to me, I heard Little Raul mumble "something, something, something BOOBIES!" That's right, boobies. Boobies. I was taken aback. "Boobies" probably doesn't rise to the level of a "bad word" in our house, but I was nonetheless surprised that he'd blurted it out. Kindergarten has taught him all sorts of lessons so far, and apparently an expanded vocabulary of slang terms for body parts is among them. I sup- pose I should have been more prepared. "Excuse me?" I said. "Nevermind," he replied, undoubtedly grin- ning as he faced away from me. If the mission was to get my attention, the mission was accomplished. "No, I'd like to know what you just said, because I know what I think you said." "Nevermind, Daddy," he replied sheepishly. "I just said a naughty word for a girl's private parts." Now, don't get me wrong. I'm proud he copped to it. I was then (just as I am now) not entirely sure how to respond. "Boobies," as I asked him how he would like it if some- one were talking about his private parts as though the rest of him didn't exist. mentioned, isn't exactly akin to cussing in our house, but I'm also not sure I want to encour- age him to discuss breasts before age 6. It's tough to enforce a standard like that when he's probably a couple of weeks away from being able to read perfectly reasonable bumper stickers that say "I Love Boobies" in support of breast cancer screening. And, let's be honest, I love boobies, too, and it's a fun word to say! Yet we live in a world that can seem at times centered around the objectification of these very same "boobies." It's a world that knows full well, and cynically, how they are to be displayed to sell products, from chicken wings to cars. It's a world that turns breasts into boobies, and boobies into something they probably won't print here. I'm no prude _ far, far from it _ but I'm not thrilled when I see these things, and I'm disappointed by the possibility that my son is already on this seemingly inevitable man-track. So I took the opportunity to discuss this with him in the briefest sense. I explained that "boobies" is not a word he'll be using in school. I asked him how he would like it if someone were talking about his private parts as though the rest of him didn't exist. No doubt we'll have lots of other opportuni- ties to discuss "boobies," and plenty of other "parts" too. I'm sure this is just the beginning of his education on the topic, to say nothing of the inevitable experience. It does turn my stomach a bit, but the entire, wonderful pro- cess of watching him become a young man does, too. I'm just lucky to be able to ride this roller coaster with him, and glad to see him turning into a responsible young citizen of the world. Boobies! Raul O'Toole is a single dad raising a son in the Oneonta area. CONCERT, PLAY, CD, FILM REVIEWS Submit your own at otownscene.com Feb. 9, 2012 O-Town Scene 11

• Cover