a letter to congregants regarding the vagina monologues

(Names have been removed to protect confidentiality)

I got the mailing you stuck in the door, from the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute on The Vagina Monologues. Whew. Quite a letter, huh? No wonder your friend was worried. The language of this letter is intended to strike fear and panic in the minds and hearts of everyone who reads it. While I respect your ability to make your own assessments of The Vagina Monologues, and of the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute, I wanted to give you a bit of my take.

Especially since I am, after all, a former cast and crew member of multiple Vagina Monologues performances! :)

My seminary produced a performance of it my last year there, and it was incredible. I had been crew for another production in Iowa City, prior to the one in seminary. I am proud to say many faculty members and our dean at Pacific School of Religion were also in the show. The feedback was that it was one of the most powerful community events at the seminary in years. So, a bit more about The Vagina Monologues, and V-Day.

V-Day is a "global movement to end violence against women and girls that raised funds and awareness through benefit productions of Playwright/Found Eve Ensler's award winning play The Vagina Monologues and other artistic works." You can find more information at http://newsite.vday.org and http://www.randomhouse.com/features/ensler/vm/

V-Day is celebrated on Valentine's Day each year, making an effort to shift the emphasis from consumer spending and marketing of Love, to building a movement of love that will permeate our relationships and end violence, especially violence against women. Eve tells a story of a woman who had been in a terribly abusive relationship for decades. Along with many years of broken bones, emergency room visits, social alienation, and depression, this woman knew that each Valentine's Day would bring an enormous bouquet of flowers, a big box of chocolates, a fancy dinner downtown--all by the man who beat and raped her almost daily. Clearly not a celebration of love.

So. While I could go on and on about VDay and The Vagina Monologues, I'll try to keep it short and trust we'll have another conversation soon.

So. A "vile feminist play," "attack on decency and traditional values," "women openly discussing their sexuality and sexual experiences," "complete with perverse language and vivid examples of homosexual seduction," "glorifying lesbianism...while mocking men," "disgusting and depraved production"?

Yes, women openly discussing their sexuality terrifies many, especially those set on controlling and exploiting women's sexuality. The play does include "graphic" material. R rated, you might say. It is, after all, about sex. And bodies. And love. And child birth. And women exploring their own bodies for the first time. And discovering sex as a form of pleasure, rather than domination or control. And living in and leaving abusive relationships. And women living in war torn areas. And women raped by soldiers as a tactic of war. Some of it is very, very hard to watch. And, as long as 1 in 4 women in college are sexually assaulted, as long as 32 million women in this country experience domestic violence, as long as rape is used as a tactic of war to destroy and humiliate communities, as long as "lesbianism" is "perverse" and "feminism" is "vile," it SHOULD be hard to watch. Because it is attempting to portray truths about women's lives and love that do indeed run counter to conservative agendas.

And regarding tax payer money? As long as my tax dollars are used to fund, for example, wars I believe to be immoral, covert operations using tactics of terror and violence, and government policies that restrict women's rights and continue inflicting violence against women, I am grateful beyond belief that they also go to funding V-Day and Vagina Monologues. This is, however, misrepresenting, as each production of The Vagina Monologues is paid for by the fundraising efforts of cast and crew, and by V-Day and Eve Ensler's organization. I do suppose the Universities provide the building space, and occasionally sponsor the student groups that put on the productions. To say "young women are forced" to participate in or attend the productions is simply false. Not true. At all. Though when I think about all the things young women are forced to observe, I wouldn't mind making this "required reading."

This letter fears the stories of "explicit depictions of child rape, a six-year old's description of her vagina, graphic discussions of gay/lesbian sex, and a series of speeches portraying men as cowards, abusers, and rapists." As long as children are raped, six year olds are taught their bodies are sites of shame, gays and lesbians are vilified and demonized, and (some) men in fact are abusers and rapists, I value having safe spaces where these stories can be shared, where the women can find solidarity and healing, and we can collectively break the silence and shame that continues cycles of horrific abuse.

But then again, the folks at the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute would likely say I'm simply a "vile feminist," and "glorifying lesbianism." And, I suppose, they'd be right.

Oh. And, while my copy of the monologues was lost in my latest move, this has motivated me to order another copy. It should be here within the week. You're welcome to borrow it, if you want to read it for yourself.

Peace to you both.
Pastor Anna