My column is up over on TAP online, all about conservative groups' plea for a "return to chivalry" (AKA a return to traditional, restrictive gender roles) on college campuses.
What I felt weird about addressing in the column is some of my own ambivalence about the Vagina Monologues. Let me say that I wholeheartedly believe that V-Day -- both a celebration of female sexuality and a declaration that violence against it is unacceptable -- is a good thing. But it also bears mentioning that many feminists feel conflicted about the play, which is perhaps unavoidable given that it unites two such sensitive subjects: sex and violence.
Although the V-Day site says its initial letter stands for "Victory, valentine and vagina," the tagline, "Until the Violence Stops," throws another "V" into the picture. Feminist sex educator Betty Dodson, who is often quoted out of context by conservatives critics of the play, wrote in 2001, "Ending violence is a worthy cause and I'm all for it, but consistently equating sex with violence offers no real solution." Dodson argues that women have enough negative messages about their bodies, feminists should be hosting Valentine's Day events that present female sex in an unequivocally positive light. V-Day, she says, should be about women's bodies, pleasures, and experiences. In other words, rather than "Until the Violence Stops," we need a tagline of "Until the Orgasms Start." Something to think about. I found her entire sex-based critique pretty interesting.
For my part, I've never really felt like many of the monologues spoke to (for?) me. But really, given that women's experiences of their bodies and their sexuality vary so greatly, that's probably just as well. The format could be greatly improved, though, by encouraging women to submit monologues about themselves. (This is how the Queer Monologues operates. People can either read their submissions themselves, or they can be read anonymously by someone else. It makes for a much more intimate event, as you know these are the stories of people in your community.) For smaller productions, or ensure diversity, there could be a common pool of monologues, from all over the country, that groups could choose to perform in addition to the local submissions. I've always chafed at the idea that the Vagina Monologues are all filtered through Eve Ensler. The prose may be less than perfect if it's submitted by non-professional playwrights, but it could be infinitely more powerful.
Over at Campus Progress today, Ashwini Hardikar has another feminist critique of the play, making the very valid complaint that the monologues from the point of view of women of color all seem to be the ones about violence and victimization. She plugs the awesome-sounding Yoni Ki Baat, an annual performance by South Asian Sisters that "encourages women to speak out against violence and end the stigma around our bodies and our sexualities."
Also, watch Jess single-handedly maim and kill Cupid in this commentary video on AlterNet.
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OOOH! Wouldn't it be fun to have like a 'JOYFUL CONSENT' Monologues?
Fabulous column, Ann. I for one think that if there is anything more romantic than a fancy candlelit dinner with your significant other, it is going back to your place afterward for some shagging. I guess that means I hate men.
I've recently heard that Valerie Howard's "The Pussy Dialogues" are much better than the "Vagina Monologues," but they approach the subject matter from completely different points of view. I've been meaning to get the book and give it a read. I do not know know if there are any productions of the "Pussy Dialogues" or not though.
I like this entry. Teaching men to embrace women as sexual beings, partners with expectations instead of just conquests, could go a long way toward curbing violence.
"Dodson argues that women have enough negative messages about their bodies, feminists should be hosting Valentine's Day events that present female sex in an unequivocally positive light."
You know, my problem with this is that for many women, sex is not an unequivocally positive thing, and that I for one feel generally excluded and unheard when it is presented as such. I think it's important for works about female sexuality to acknowledge the trouble and trauma that is often evolved when women mature sexually under conditions of patriarchy. I think that not acknowledging that is just going to further marginalize some women's experiences.