Vagina! Vagina! Vagina! The Phenomenon of the Vagina Monologues
Ross was recently engaged in a conversation with a group of young men. As the group was discussing why they thought some women flash their breasts at men during Mardi Gras, they became stumped as to why women would have different experiences with (and relation to) their bodies than men. Some of the men declared that they wouldn’t have any qualms with getting naked anytime, regardless of reason. So why wouldn’t women view their bodies the same way? For these men, it was difficult to imagine how women may think about their own bodies and sexuality in the world.
Our society is a pretty interesting one, when you think about it. Women’s bodies are frequently the pretty objects used to sell everything from beer to cars to social causes. (Check out some of the most recent breast cancer awareness ads for this!) So we are surrounded by images of female sexuality, yet many of us cannot say … you know … the v-word. The hoo hoo. Down there. Vagina. As much as we like to think that we are open and honest about sexuality, we lack some of the basics. The Vagina Monologues has helped change that.
Saying It
The Vagina Monologues was first performed by Eve Ensler in 1996 as a way to open up the discussion of women’s sexuality. Interviewing over 200 women about the ways that they viewed their sexuality, their bodies, and of course their vaginas, The Vagina Monologues weaves together stories of both sexual pleasure and sexual pain - and everything in between. Some of the monologues tell touching stories about women discovering their vaginas, others recall painful messages women were told about their vaginas, while others talk about what a woman’s vagina might wear.
What began as a way to empower women’s sexuality has grown into nationwide phenomenon, raising awareness (and money) about issues of women’s sexuality. Women and men alike are interested in hearing about - or hearing from - women’s vaginas.
Changing the Script
Why would women and men want to hear these stories? They aren’t the normal stories that we hear about women’s sexuality. Rather than simple narratives, we hear about the difficulties and joys of some women’s experiences. We hear about how difficult it may be to connect all the parts of our bodies together, especially in the face of a culture that wants to split women up into parts (breasts, ass, legs, etc.) for other people to consume and use for their pleasure and profit.
Women and men have a sense that those stories are out there, but we don’t usually have a chance to hear them. We may not speak with women in our lives about them, and we probably haven’t asked our mothers what they think about their vaginas. But hearing these questions and stories discussed changes the way we think about women’s sexuality & experiences.
Penis Monologues & the V-Day Backlash
Since 1998, the Vagina Monologues have been part of a national campaign called V-Day, particularly focused on sexual violence against women. As Ensler began touring the play, women would stay afterwards to tell her story upon story of sexual violence. The sexual violence they experienced intimately shaped their relationship to their bodies and their vaginas. So Ensler developed the V-Day campaign to raise awareness of national and international violence against women, while also raising money for local, national, and international efforts. Since then, V-Day events have focused attention on both women’s sexuality and the violence directed at them.
Not everyone has been particularly happy about this. Christina Hoff-Summers, anti-feminist author, calls the Vagina Monologues “poisonously anti-male.” In changing the ways we discuss women’s sexuality, a backlash has risen up against the messages about women’s experiences. In 2005, a group of college students sponsored The Penis Monologues on their campus and created P-Day, delivering “Penis Warrior” awards to men across campus.
As Ensler herself once said about the concept, “It would be redundant, wouldn’t it? We kind of live the penis monologues as far as I can tell.” In a culture with such widespread violence against women, we may want to be more thoughtful about how this violence hurts women and men alike. The problem is not that there shouldn’t be space for men to talk honestly about their penises and their sexuality, but those stories would be alongside, not in opposition to, the stories of women.
Buy Local, Think Global
For the past several years, The Vagina Monologues have been performed in Champaign-Urbana. This year, the Vagina Monologues will be performed on February 22nd and 23rd. Proceeds will support the national V-Day Campaign and local efforts to eliminate violence against women.
Stay tuned next week as we look at porn!
Sex 411: When & Where
Vagina Monologues performances
Friday, February 22nd at 7pm
Saturday, February 23rd at 2pm & 7pm
All performances will be held at Lincoln Hall Theatre (702 S. Wright St., Urbana)
Kim Rice and Ross Wantland are experts in the fields of sexuality and sexual violence prevention. Send them questions, comments, or ideas at buzzdoinitwell@yahoo.com
