Dear Vaginas,
Many readers liked my last column on basic feminism on the newspaper that I write for, so I decided that this issue I will write about something that everyone can go out and grab; The Vagina Monologues.
This extraordinary collection of interviews was thought about by play writer Eve Ensler in 2001. The V-Day edition, which is the new and improved version, has two additional monologues that have been added due to the growing awareness of violence against women and the undeniable problems of domestic violence.
In her introduction to “The Vagina Monologues,” Eve Ensler writes the word vagina more than 100 times. How comfortable do you feel saying that word?
Most of the girls I’ve interviewed for this story never once used the actual word of vagina, (understandable, it’s difficult to talk about it with a stranger) but the truth is, it is the correct medical term for the “down there” area. This embarrassment that most girls have are from the old era that words such as vagina are not “lady-like” and make you seem too open.
This is why The Vagina Monologues is needed, for the sheer comfort of any girl to correctly use the word and not feel ashamed or embarrassed. This is why I have recommended this book to every person I can (at the appropriate age) male or female.
Women my age need this eye opener in the dramatic life of high school. The fact is, women from Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, Croatia, as well as many other places, including the United States, are being raped and abused every four seconds. Awful ideas such as genital mutilation to young girls so they’ll never have pleasure is not uncommon is many cultures in Africa.
The Vagina Monologues is a book that stands up to Defend Women Rights and make this younger generation of girls not ashamed of their “down there”. The book goes beyond that, of course, and is truly about female empowerment.”
“Frank, humorous and moving . . . a compelling rhapsody of the female essence. Ultimately, Ensler achieves something extraordinary.” –Chicago Tribune
Would you be willing to have “a vagina interview?” This meaning to talk about the reality of menstruation, rape, avoiding sex at a young age, protected sex, self-esteem issues, clitoridectomy in the middle-east and much more. Would you be willing to say the truth?
*Also published in The Scene.
