Success of `Monologues' is in the issues they raise
Glenn Hendler
associate professor of English
The student participants in the upcoming production of "The Vagina Monologues" have already accomplished something important by sparking a lively and intelligent discussion on the value and limits of free speech here at a national Catholic research university and in the culture as a whole. The Viewpoint page in The Observer has been the most public forum in which that debate has taken place, but it is also going on in dorms, classrooms and in the homes of parents, alumni and others across the country.
Those in favor of the "Monologues," those who dislike them but support free speech and intellectual and cultural debate, and those who want the performance stopped — all have participated in the debate, and I'd venture to say that in the long run all have benefitted from it. This kind of discussion is what being at a university — and, for that matter, living in a democracy — is all about.
I do want to clarify one point made in the wonderfully supportive editorial in Friday's Observer. The editorial said that "Notre Dame will host an official production" of the play. As far as I know, the University isn't in the business of hosting "official" productions of any theatrical performances, films or other works of art, nor does the University as a whole "officially host" most of the speakers on various topics that departments and student groups bring to campus.
"The Vagina Monologues" is a student-initiated performance co-sponsored by the Department of Film, Television and Theater and the program in Gender Studies because the play is a serious theatrical examination of important gender issues. The V-Day observance as a whole includes a service project at a domestic violence shelter, a poetry reading, an art exhibit and a "talkback" on Wednesday night after the two performances. It is thus precisely the kind of thoughtful and practical engagement with social concerns — violence against women, gender identity, etc.— that a Gender Studies Program at a Catholic university should be encouraging.
But again, the University does not and should not be asked to lend its "official" endorsement to every event that takes place on campus. To put it in political terms: Notre Dame is by no means a pure democracy, but it's also not a totalitarian state. For any kind of academic freedom to exist, there has to be a "public sphere" or "civil society" in which discussions and cultural events take place, an area where speech and other acts take place without "official" approval or disapproval from the University as a whole. Thus, there's nothing "official" about this production — nor should there be.
All that said, we should turn to the important issues that the play itself raises. I hope that those who actually see the performances on Monday and Tuesday nights go back to their friends at their dorms and apartments, call their parents and whatever alumni they know and have discussions about the political meanings of violence against women, the cultural construction of women' s bodies and sexuality and the other major questions addressed by "The Vagina Monologues."
Even the hostile letters we have received about the play agree that these are important issues. I hope that those who don't believe this play is the best way to approach those issues are willing to put aside their differences with those of us who see great value in the performance, and will join in the efforts of Kerry Walsh and the other sincere, dedicated and talented students who have put so much time and energy into organizing this week's V-Day activities. They deserve praise and commendation for their hard work, and the causes they are working for deserve support from all of us.
Glenn Hendler
associate professor of English
acting director of the program in gender studies
Feb. 22, 2002
All Viewpoint Stories for Monday, February 25, 2002
