In early February, I went to see the University of Oklahoma's production of The Vagina Monologues. The monologues were written in 1995 by Eve Ensler, who interviewed 200 women about topics such as sex, reproduction, and the female body. They have since been adapted for TV and even performed by college groups. Each monologue covers a different subject, most of which are considered sensitive or controversial. This was my first time seeing the monologues, which were performed in the Meacham Auditorium of the Oklahoma Memorial Union. They were put on for two days in early February, in honor of V-Day, an organization focused on ending violence against women.
I was a bit weary at first to see the show since my views are generally quite conservative. When I arrived, I saw mostly women, some with their boyfriends. There were booths set up for the sponsors of the event, including one for the Women's Resource Center in Norman, who received 90% of the show's profits. One booth was handing out stickers of cartoons resembling genitalia.
Before the show started, I noticed a man in the audience with two young children, which concerned me. It was upsetting to think that such innocent, naive children would leave there knowing the intimate details of the female body-details that I am glad I didn't know at such a tender, young age. After seeing the show, I would recommend that viewers be at least 16-years-old.
The monologues were not memorized. Since the speakers mainly just stood there, it didn’t feel awkward for them to be reading from cards. It gave them something to look at so they weren’t resigned to scanning the audience.
The first monologue was about body hair, and how a woman who refused to shave got cheated on by her husband. I think it's a reflection of societal pressure on women to shave or wax every hair on their body for the pleasure of men. That's an unfair expectation, and certainly not an excuse to cheat. This monologue was the least disturbing to me since I could relate to it and I think it's a topic that should be given more attention.
Other common themes in the monologues were sex and what the vagina would say if it could talk. Some of the monologues had a lighter tone, such as sexual pleasure and female empowerment. Other monologues dealt with heavier topics such as rape, genital mutilation, and prostitution.
I must say, I didn't like how rape and prostitution were portrayed. In some of the monologues, rape was definitely shown in a negative light. In one, however, about a young girl who experimented with an older woman, the young girl said she enjoyed being with the woman, even if the age difference technically made it rape. I don't like the idea of an older woman taking advantage of an innocent young girl like that.
The monologue about prostitution featured a sex worker surrounded by other women. The prostitute talked about her gradual change from sleeping with men to sleeping with women. Her main focus was on the moans women make during sex. It made me especially uncomfortable when the women around her demonstrated various moans. My biggest problem with this monologue, though, was that it didn't show prostitution as a bad thing at all, even though it is illegal and often results in abuse, which is something these monologues are supposed to speak out against.
The show ended with a transgender woman talking about her issues coming out as transgender, and how she faced bullying. This part was an addition specific to OU since the play has been criticized for misrepresenting transgender people.
Overall, the monologues made me uncomfortable and did not instill in me a sense of pride in being a woman. Although many people believe these monologues advocate for feminism, I didn't see it that way. I feel like the things that were discussed in the monologues are the kind of things that should be kept in the bedroom.