Bobbi and Robinson have been married for two years. They attended the "Vagina Monologues" together Saturday evening. Their discussions of theater and theme are heated and usually end with Robinson sleeping on the couch (for at least an hour).

Bobbi:  So now that you've seen the play, let me ask you this again.  Do you think plays like this demean or counter their ultimate goal?

Robinson:  I don't know.  I had a hard time taking this production seriously while they were trying to sell me vagina-shaped chocolates.  But really, I don't think that it's a moot point since in a performance like this you're pretty much preaching to the choir.  So what do you think?

B:  I think it depends on how it's performed.

R: Okay, fair enough, but I have a question: do women really secretly love to talk about their vaginas?

B: I think many do.  I do.

R: Really!?

B:  You've just never asked me before.

R: Maybe we should discuss this later.  Before we go any further I should probably say that I thought the show was good.  The cast looked like they were having a lot of fun—sometimes more fun than the audience.  They dragged us along for a wild ride.  I must say I felt a little out of place though, there were only like 20 guys there and we all looked like deer caught in headlights.

B:  Yeah, well, domestic violence, rape, sexual abuse, they're not topics we normally discuss.  But we should.  I think that's the point of Eve Ensler's script.  But I still don‘t think men, or women, are comfortable discussing these issues openly yet.

R: I have to admit, that going into it I felt a little wary.  I wasn't really sure what to expect.  I had read the play a few years ago, but it is such an organic thing that the attitude of the woman performing it could easily turn Ensler's script it into male-bashing, which I don't think was her intention.

B: No, it wasn't.  She discusses violence against woman primarily because it pacifies and cripples women.  Ensler wants to make woman comfortable with who they are by empowering them, encouraging them. 

R: I see the domestic violence, well really as you said, all violence against woman, as being the main thrust of Ensler's piece—the strongest point.  But it was diminished by the raucous humor of the rest of the show.  There was a beautifully poignant monologue about a woman from Sarajevo, I believe, who is gang raped and mutilated.  It left the audience breathless and weakened.  But it was overshadowed by a segment about how angry American women's vaginas are.  I'm sorry, but in light of this woman's tragic experience, the inconvenience of tampons and uncomfortable underwear seem pretty petty and inconsequential.

B:  I agree that there were many other serious moments in the play that were overshadowed by the comedic escapades, but the Monologues aren't just about stopping violence against woman.  They are about freedom from oppression, be it by tampons, thongs, or violence.  They are about expression, being able to say words like "cunt" and "vagina" without feeling awkward. 

R:  Or being able to moan on cue?  I had issues with that, with the raw sexuality, and it's not because I'm a conservative Christian (even though I am), but more because it was laughably faked.  I think Pamela McWherter said it best as "The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy" when speaking of her first attempts at moaning: "It sounded fake—it was fake.  It wasn't rooted in anything sexual.  It was only rooted in my desire to be sexual."  I think a lot of the good and necessary themes of this show were missed because the women on stage were too over-the-top in their desire to appear sexually charged.

B:  While the show was either too funny or too serious, I don't think it was as big of an issue as you make it out to be.  Women should feel sexual, and shouldn't be branded a slut if they like sex as much or more than men—it's an important part of who we are.

R:  Favorite part?  Least favorite?

B:  My favorite line was: "My short skirt, believe it or not, has nothing to do with you."  I thought that the production could have done without most of the comedy; it detracted from the play as a whole.

R:  Favorite part: Sarah Duncan's performance in the "My Vagina is My Village" monologue—so poignant, so powerful.

     Least favorite part:  That there were little kids in the audience, that there was a 15-year-old on stage, and that one of the monologues glorified a statutory rape between a 16-year-old girl and a 24-year-old woman.

Photo by: Brian Guzzetti

Katherine Duplessis performs a skit entitled "The Vagina Workshop" at Saturday Evening's "The Vagina Monologues", put on by the UAF Women's Art Group at the Herring Auditorium.

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