I am not afraid of vaginas, but apparently some people are.The vagina is an anatomical part. It's a biological fact, and ignoring it doesn't make it go away. Sure, it's something you probably don't discuss much when eating dinner at Latitude 39 with your grandparents, but its existence cannot reasonably be denied.
With this in mind, I went to see The Vagina Monologues.
When I think of the literal word vagina
I don't automatically connect it with middle school sex ed. I actually think of an episode of Will and Grace. In the episode, Karen's husband is in the hospital, and the doctor tells her that he had a little angina. Karen mishears, and it becomes a cute one-liner for which I cannot even remember the punch line. For some reason, it sticks with me anyway. Yes, my mind associates things with other things in unique and wonderful ways.
With this in mind, I went to see The Vagina Monologues.
I had never seen the monologues performed until last Friday, but I have friends who have read the play. Admittedly, some of these friends said that reading it made them feel rather uncomfortable, but these were mostly teenage boys. They were going out on a limb anyway to pick up a book with the word vagina in big bold letters on the cover. Although they have many female friends, these boys probably were not used to hearing such candid discussion of the female anatomy. So it was to be expected they might be a little uneasy. Then again, I also have male friends who loudly profess to love both the monologues and vaginas in general. (I must admit that makes me a little uneasy.)
With this in mind, I went to see The Vagina Monologues.
I enjoyed the show. It was interesting, thought-provoking, sad and funny. It seems strange to me that some people oppose its performance. I didn't think it was all that explicit; I've seen worse on late-night cable television. I suppose some might complain about the emphasis on the woman's body part instead of the woman's mind, but I think those people are missing the point. Never during the performance did I feel it was implied that the sum of a woman is her vagina. In fact, I think the opposite is more closely the case. The play discusses the vagina as a physical body part, as a place, and as a metaphor for being. To look at it so narrowly is a disservice to the work and to thought in general. You don't have to like, approve of or even go see The Vagina Monologues, but take the play for what it is. Don't let a word ' that some, for one reason or another, consider taboo ' make the judgment for you.
Vagina is not a dirty word. Neither are menstruation or uterus or testicles or scrotum for that matter. I'm not advocating yelling these words at the top of your lungs while riding the Baker University Center escalator, but don't hesitate to say them if they are the correct words to use in a situation. Don't laugh when someone says them in an appropriate context. That's just silly.
I leave you with this week's advice: Keep an open mind before you make up your mind about something. And don't be afraid of vaginas.
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Natalie DeBruin
