Women's empowerment not expressed in `Monologues'
Letter to the Editor
The last time I checked, rape and child molestation were not women's empowerment issues. They were considered violence against women issues. Apparently, all those who wrote to The Observer in defending "The Vagina Monologues" believe otherwise.
I consider myself a feminist. I worked at a feminist organization over the summer, Feminists for Life of America. None of the women I have ever met, around town or on the job, would willingly support the publication of "The Vagina Monologues" as great women'sempowerment literature.
Here are a few little-known facts that I wonder if any of you who are protesting the cancellation of the show are aware of:
One of the central messages of the show is that "great sex is possible between people who have absolutely no emotional commitment to each other."
One of the inspirational high points in the show is a monologue from a 13-year old girl who is seduced and raped by a 25-year old woman. The 13-year old's reaction? "I say, if it was a rape, it was a good rape, a rape that turned my vagina into a kind of heaven."
The show's final result is that it has condoned and glorified rape, child molestation, pornography and prostitution.
In a world where feminists and all those who fight for women'sjustice have worked so hard over the years to gain respect and admiration for the way we manage our lives, I find it hard to see how this show could further that cause at all, other than giving someone untold opportunities to say the word "vagina."
Rape is rape, no matter how someone spins it and the unlawful rape of a child is particularly heinous. One of our great opportunities at this University, as I understand it, is to educate, not pidalate. However, in dealing with these sensitive issues, i.e., women's rights and equal opportunity, this play validates the very things which we have fought so hard to overcome; namely, the subjugation and objectivity of women.
In terms of the play helping people come to terms with their sexuality, dealing with these matters in shock-jock language doesn't resolve or mitigate them; it simply produces giggles and crude slams at the play and the actors performing it.
This play, in its language and its subject matter, is not women's empowerment, it is a cheap way of getting attention and an excuse to act immature. Thank you, Saint Mary's, for not giving in!
Katherine Hoppe
sophomore
Lyons Hall
January 31, 2001
All Viewpoint Stories for Thursday, February 1, 2001
