Our club was founded in 2002 by Ken Sisco, our current District Governor, who recognized the need for such a club when he gave a speech on atheism some years back and received an evaluator’s comment that he “ . . . should know better than to choose a topic from among the Toastmasters ‘taboos’ of religion, politics, and sex.” Ken was challenged by this traditional prohibition. Why should Toastmasters consciously avoid giving talks on three very interesting and controversial subjects? The rest is history. When Ken decided to form a new club, his choice was obvious, he would form a club with the specific intent to encourage members to speak on the very topics traditional Toastmasters avoided at all costs!
The popularity (and notoriety) of our club attests to Ken’s prophetic insight; this is exactly what Toastmasters International needs. We members have to rethink the guidelines and traditions we have inherited from senior Toastmasters. Must we maintain core concepts of “acceptability” even though such standards have become obsolete in TV and movie ratings and in cultural standards of morality and decency? There are those who may feel that we should attempt to maintain these traditional standards, especially since many Toastmasters are trained professionals and leaders in our communities, businesses, religions, and neighborhoods. A strong counterargument, however, is that, as leaders and trained professionals, shouldn’t we be the very vanguard of innovation, of new trends, of the bold redefinition of classical attitudes and mores? We are not just trained public speakers; we are trained leaders, and leaders should lead!
Politics, religion, and sex are three major cultural universals; that is, they are topics that all people, in all places, throughout time have considered key features of human society. Yes, they are all controversial, and yes, they are “delicate” subjects that many people consciously avoid in public discourse. Have you ever wondered why these topics are “taboo”? Politics and religion are both “faith-based” belief systems. Most of us didn’t arrive at our political or religious affiliations through careful research of the range of options. No, most of us inherited our affiliations through familial lines and upbringing. Therefore, we cannot debate, defend, or rationalize our politics or religion without experiencing more “heat” than “light” in the process—these are passionate, not intellectual, features of our lives. Sex, on the other hand, has become so private, so secret a topic, that outside of professional therapy or occasional men’s or women’s groups, we don’t talk about our sexual beliefs or behaviors at all! Why should this custom be condoned? Are we interested in sex? It sure seems to sell movies, books, TV shows—even toothpaste. People’s positive reactions to speeches on sex also attest to the popularity of the topic.
So how about it other Toastmasters clubs? Is it time for you to come out of the closet on these subjects? How about suspending Toastmasters traditional taboos regarding speeches on politics, religion, and sex for a meeting or two to see if Ken Sisco is truly the prophet he (humbly) claims to be?
The Taboos Club, #5803, in Area E1, meets every 1st and 3rd Monday in Los
Alamitos. For more information, call (562) 234-2237 or e-mail info@taboos.freetoasthost.org.