Surprised by censorship
Jeff Eyerman
O'Neill Hall
Censorship is an ugly word. Vagina, apparently, is an even uglier one. Saint Mary's has decided to ban this year's performance of "The Vagina Monologues." Such a clear act of censorship should by no means be surprising, but it should also not go unquestioned.
The decision to ban by itself would not be wholly shocking. After all, we are talking about a Catholic campus. The problem here lies in the fact that the play was performed last year on the same campus.
Banning the play based on a handful of worried parents and an angry letter in the South Bend Tribune is an open admission to the students and the community that College officials are more worried about appeasing a prattling but vocal minority than maintaining any semblance of authority.
The surprising thing is that the College would even consider banning such a significant piece of writing. The play is not soft-porn, but rather a frank series of monologues about various aspects of female sexuality.
Last year's presentation generated an immense amount of discussion about sex on both campuses. Notre Dame's campus has been labeled "rape-prone" by more than one lecturer, and one of the main factors in that label is the repression of any open talk about sexuality.
There are many girls who actually blush when the word "vagina" is even mentioned. The real tragedy is that aspects of their sexuality still disgust many people on our campus. The vagina should be no less natural to a woman than her hand, or foot, or arm, or face, or any other part belonging to her. If this play convinces even one woman to change her outlook on her sexuality, it is extraordinarily beneficial.
I hope some sort of agreement can be reached by discussing this and I hope people participate in this discussion. Nothing sends a more powerful message about us than apathy, after all.
Jeff Eyerman
O'Neill Hall
January 24, 2001
All Viewpoint Stories for Thursday, January 25, 2001
