If your vagina could talk, what would it say?
That’s the question playwright Eve Ensler asked every woman she interviewed while making The Vagina Monologues. It’s the driving force behind the show and has helped to lift stigma and raise awareness about issues women face that are often considered taboo.
It’s also pretty hard for someone without a vagina to relate to.
The play has become such a significant cultural force that its impact and usefulness can’t be denied. But if it’s going to make a greater impact on our campus than it already has, Vaginas Against Violence needs to do more to include everyone in the conversation the show started.
Sexuality extends beyond women’s issues, even if The Vagina Monologues doesn’t. New events or series could help the group explore how issues the Monologues touch on can be expanded to show how they affect other genders, too. For example, men masturbate. Men worry about pleasuring their partners. Men can be raped.
The Hijabi Monologues has been successful in creating a space for Muslim women to explore their experiences. If Vaginas Against Violence is going to extend its message further, it could use the same formula. The Masturbation Monologues, anyone? It’s important not to foget that there are issues relating to male sexuality, or that women’s issues can be looked at from other perspectives.
The Vagina Monologues is great, but it’s not an all-encompassing expression of all issues relating to sexuality and gender. θ
