The Mary Sue: Last week women’s college Mount Holyoke was the subject of intense scrutiny over a campus theater group’s decision to effectively “retire” the Vagina Monologues in favor of creating an original and more inclusive play in a similar style. An email from a Project Theatre representative to the rest of the student body addressed concerns over the landmark text’s portrayal of race, gender, and class, explaining that the play offers a problematic and “extremely narrow perspective on what it means to be a woman.” So what does Eve Ensler think?
4 comments:
I've been an Eve Ensler fan for a few years now. I love the work she has created and the impact she has had. This movement she's created with her plays has reached many hearts in this world, no matter how direct or obscure her plays are. Yes, feminism does hit you in the face through her pieces, but I also feel like there is a lot of deep meaning that is not in our every-day lives. These issues that she focuses on helps her feminine audience feel more and empowered and understood. This also goes for her performers. As time passes, it seems that the performers aren't even actresses, but actual women who have had to actually deal with these situation and want to speak up. And this article has definitely shown that Ensler's Vagina Monologues is making a huge impact. The controversy of her work could be concerning, but her work is sending a message. And just like she said, "its a play" it's not going to hit every single kind of problem women have. But there are many plays to choose from for V-Day performances. I for one don't think Ensler is a failure.
There are a lot of really good points on both sides of the story. Yes, I can get behind the fact that The Vagina Monologues isn’t representative of all women. Was this necessarily an attack on Holyoke’s part against Ensler? Probably not. However, if the idea of the tradition was to, once a year, put on a play that was representative of the female experience, then I could understand their problem with the play that was chosen. However, at the same time, the whole tradition overall is outdated, because they’re going to have a very hard time attempting to find a piece that is representative of the modern female experience in its entirety. There just simply isn’t a work that could cover every race, gender identity, and sexual identity in the form of a theatrical experience unless it was multi part and the audience had to come back every night for weeks to see a new part.
I read the other article related to the Vagina Monologues last week and Ensler has completely changed my perspective on the performance as a whole. Unknowingly, while trying to support the shutting down of the Vagina Monologues for gender inequality purposes, I agreed to label something related to vaginas strictly to women, even if my main point was that not all women have vaginas and that should be recognized. Ensler makes a brilliant point about transgender performances of the Vagina Monologues and the newer additions to the play each year. She says “It was never meant to speak for all women and it was never a play about what it means to be a woman. It was a play about what it means to have a vagina” which is a brilliant and enlightened perspective that I couldn’t have with my limited knowledge of the play itself. I am very happy this article was added to the blog in addition to the original article about the Vagina Monologues because it really throws another perspective at it.
I think what Ensler has to say is 100% valid. Really, I think the decision should not come down to "either or" I think it should be a "yes, and..." The Vagina Monologues continue to affect people and provoke thought and discussion, thus the play is still immensely relevant. I admire Ensler's clear articulation that vagina does not equate woman; this is still a fuzzy concept for many and a reality that needs to become more cemented in our cultural psyche. That this discussion of gender identity vs sex take place is vital, however, juxtaposing this conversation with the discussion of vaginas might prove even more productive and fruitful for both dialogues. Additionally, these conversations should be a spring board for more conversations, for example, dissecting the gender binary and it's universal ramifications. Intersectionality is the future of this movement.
Post a Comment