After arriving in the Red Room, I saw a group of women dressed in red and black file into the room, scripts in hand. At that point I hoped that "The Vagina Monologues" were going to be something I could really get into-something about the real core of gender relations, respect and understanding of each other. What I witnessed instead was a constant recitation of monologues and dialogues that varied from sexist to hateful to simply lowbrow appeals to the lowest common denominator of the audience.
One scene, "If Men Could Menstruate," was perhaps one of the most well-received parts of the Monologues. The speakers described a hypothetical situation in which men menstruated instead of women and went on to describe how the men would brag and degrade those who didn't menstruate. Of course, hidden within this humorous piece was the implied message that this is a trait inherent to men-an inherent desire to subjugate and control.
Not all of the anti-male messages were so well-hidden. In particular, I remember one line in which men were described as "half-wits." But that's fine. I mean, hey-it's all in the spirit of legitimate theater, right? Especially when it's sponsored by the Peer Advocates of Sexual Respect and the Student Health Educators. Anyone notice a problem here?
Then there was a scene titled "My Vagina is Angry," or something to that effect. In it, we were treated to a recounting of all the things that "piss off" the vagina, from tampons to gynecologists. Amid hooting and laughter from the audience, I felt I'd left Amherst and arrived somewhere else. Perhaps the set of the Jerry Springer show.
Another scene that remains in my mind consisted of descriptions of a situation in which a 16-year old girl had oral sex with a 24-year old woman ("The Little Coochie Snorcher"). At the time I simply sat there, not applauding or cheering like most members of the audience. In retrospect, I am shocked and feel quite offended that the College used funds to support a production that contained something like this. I anticipate that people would respond to this comment by saying that it was just fine to include a scene like that because it was a positive experience for the teenage girl. Ridiculous! Imagine if the scene described the "positive experience" of a sexual relationship between a 24-year old man and a 13-year old girl. Such a scene would certainly be denounced as inappropriate, or deemed rape, instead of being hailed as proof of the "tenderness of love." In fact, simply switching gender and genitalia to create "Penis Monologues" that discussed the "plight of men" and the "positive experiences" of man-boy love would yield a work that would be sexist, hateful and offensive to nearly everyone who saw it. "The Vagina Monologues" is exactly that-a work of hatred and sexism masquerading as a bona fide piece of theatre.
A lot of people devoted a lot of time and effort to the production and performance of this piece and I feel guilty that I am criticizing it because I saw how happy people were to be part of the annual project. But frankly, pieces of theater like "The Vagina Monologues" have hijacked the feminist movement. The feminist movement is not, and should not be, a divisive effort to achieve benefits for "womyn" alone-it is a movement that seeks to create an environment of equality and mutual respect between the genders. What we are seeing now is the rise of a new movement-a movement that does not embrace understanding, but attempts to denigrate men and promote inequality under the guise of the promotion of "female empowerment." I am truly sad that so many great and intelligent people seemed to have been duped into subscribing to the fantasy that is "V-Day" and "The Vagina Monologues."