The Vagina Monologues

When I first heard that we would be reading the Vagina Monologues for class this week, I was extremely unsure and skeptical about the topic. I have had friends growing up who were products of feminists, and they would talk about vaginas so casually it made me uncomfortable. It’s not like I’m a prude, or ashamed of it. I guess it was just something that was better left unsaid; we all know its there, but it is – in my opinion – the most personal and private part of the human body, and some things should be kept to oneself. It is because of this mindset that reading the Vagina Monologues was almost painful. I felt guilty reading it in public, and would be constantly checking over my shoulder to make sure a friend wasn’t reading it behind my back. But as I got more and more into the script, I found that the play took me by surprise. I had expected a bunch of outrageous and inappropriate details about vaginas that were aimed to shock audiences. And although there was plenty of shocking material, I found that the real message behind this vagina obsession is a good one.

Eve Ensler uses her outrageous dialogue about vaginas to draw in the audience, but then inserts a few touching stories about working with women that were victims of sexual abuse. She recounted a story about how a young girl, through various scarring events, came to hate and be ashamed of her own vagina. Ensler went on to describe how the girl was eventually able to recover and regain her love for her body and herself.  The story was touching and showed how this seemingly humorous obsession with vaginas is actually helping to make a difference in women’s lives.

Another way in which Ensler enhanced the effectiveness of her argument was her use of statistics. According to Ensler, over 700,000 women are raped in the United States per year. She then goes on to say “and in theory, we are not at war”, to show that stopping rape in the United States should be treated and funded as equally as fighting a war. Ideas like this one are why the Vagina Monologues push the envelope and really make the audience rethink their views on women and sexuality.