Abigail Gaugert, 2008.04.09

http://www.cblpi.org/resources/article.cfm?ID=186

I rarely like to admit I’m wrong, but sometimes I’m wrong enough that it warrants admission. Last month I wrote an article singing the praises of V-Day and its bold efforts to stop violence against women. But now that V-Day has hit our campus, I urge everyone not to go.

The reason for my change of mind is the recent realization that V-Day’s main money-maker is “The Vagina Monologues,” a play in which various women tell stories about their vaginas. Besides being the ultimate example of TMI (Too Much Information), this can’t possibly be encouraging respect for women. It’s just another form of objectification.

A play that reduces women to their anatomy is counterproductive in ending violence. V-Day supporters have defended it, saying “The vagina is the essence of femininity.” Wrong. Women are more than their sexuality, and their sexuality is more than a body part.

An event that draws attention away from sex and toward women’s intelligence, character, strength and all of the other ways women can embody femininity would leave a much more positive impression on viewers than this tasteless piece of verbal pornography.

Interestingly, the movement didn’t begin as a way to stop violence; it began as a way to “celebrate vaginas.” Eve Ensler, writer of the monologues and founder of V-Day, merged the two because she felt that “Women’s empowerment is deeply connected to their sexuality.” Maybe so, but the empowerment doesn’t come from grossly parading and devaluing it.

Critics have pounced on the play, and some colleges have even adopted counter-campaigns like “V-Day Unveiled,” whose Web site describes problems with the play, particularly the depiction of a statutory rape as a positive experience. In the original monologue “The Little Coochie Snorcher that Could,” a thirteen-year-old girl describes a rape by an older woman as “a good rape.” Another monologue tells of a lesbian dominatrix prostitute who used whips and ropes “to make vaginas happy.”

In addition, “men are only mentioned in a negative way throughout the play as adulterers, abusers, weirdos, and rapists,” according to the Web site of the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute. The play is generating fear more than it is helping to foster positive relationships.

“The Vagina Monologues” appears to be defeating its own purpose. Campus organizers of the production have said that “the goal at NDSU is to let students know that there is absolutely no tolerance for violence on campus.” I agree. Then there should also be no tolerance for “The Vagina Monologues.”

Although I’m advising people against attending “The Vagina Monologues,” I’m not recommending that anyone deny sexuality or ignore tough issues. I just think there’s a less demeaning way to achieve the goal that V-Day purports to be working toward.

V-Day has gained a lot of momentum, but it needs to change its message. Instead of capitalizing on our society’s obsession with sex, it should focus on practical ways to inform women and eradicate abuse, like teaching self-defense or cracking down on criminals.

Ending violence toward women is an excellent cause, but save your dollar and give it to a credible organization that wasn’t founded by a psychotic feminist and that doesn’t rely on shock value and graphic perversion to bring in an audience.