Photo by Sean Kirkpatrick |
It was interesting. The show that I was involved with though inspired by Eve Ensler's piece, was sort of its own thing. The participants in Yoni Ki Baat either wrote their own pieces or read the pieces that others had submitted. The show I recently attended however presented pieces from Ensler's original performance of the Vagina Monologues, read and performed by various women on stage. It was sort of cool to see and experience the different versions of the Vagina Monologues. I never saw performances of Ensler's original play and for some reason I was surprised that a lot of it was literally about VAGINAS and what vaginas did, or wanted to do. I was a bit shocked. As liberal as I'd like to think I am, I grew up in a conservative Bangladeshi Muslim household. Sex was forbidden, boys were forbidden, and for a good chunk of my life, I believed that even thinking about boys was forbidden. So yes, the vestiges of this upbringing can still hold strong. There was a session of faking orgasms onstage, talking about what your vagina would wear, monologues against shaving and tampons and so on. My poor friend who was being awarded was a little taken aback. She also comes from a conservative background, being Burmese and raised in Bangladesh. She had invited various members from her conservative Burmese community to attend the show. To say it was a shock to her and community members in attendance is an understatement, as she stood on stage a bit dazed with a huge plaque that read "Vagina Warrior".
Photo by Sean Kirkpatrick |
Seriously though, you go girl (photo by Sean Kirkpatrick) |
However being "closed" does not equal oppression, not always, just like being open does not always imply freedom. For my mother and her cultural upbringing, keeping intimate things, well intimate, held it's own power, something that didn't need to be out there for everyone to know.
Which brings up a bigger debate, where some may look at scantily clad women and the constant portrayal of women in media as sexual objects and think that they are being oppressed, while others may look at women who cover up as being oppressed for not being able or being comfortable to show off their faces or bodies.
For me, I think that the vital element in all of this is CHOICE. If I choose to wear a short skirt because I love it, then let me be. If I want to wear a hijab because I want to, then that is my choice as well. The complication may come about when we think of what affects our choices. Society? Men? Media? Culture? Patriarchal hierarchies? All of the above? What does choice even mean....arrgghh my head hurts and this post is going on for much too long.
I have no conclusion, I want to do what makes me happy, what makes me feel good inside. Maybe for me, it's not talking about my vagina, but also respecting the idea that others may do this and that feels great for them...and that it may not feel so great for other women and that's also okay.
CHOICE, a simple idea, but it can be a complicated concept in the real world. I hope that women can at least have a choice, and be happy with the paths they choose. Maybe that is what the Vagina Monologues is really about, because unfortunately women today around the world, and in this country are being denied choices: Wisconsin, Tennessee Try To Pull Planned Parenthood Funding
and are being denied choices
Woman's 'Honor' Killing Sparks Outrage In West Bank
and are being denied choices
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eve-ensler/over_b_861159.html
Well, choice really is a powerful thing, if it's an option. But you do bring up some very valid points, and commend that you don't just take one side over another, and try to see all the angles, which not many do, let alone are capable of.
ReplyDeleteHey, I saw an original Vagina Monologues with a female friend of mine, who got me turned on to it back in undergrad. I re-call having this one thought "this is the most I've ever heard the word 'Vagina' uttered in as short of a period of time as this ...in my life". I think, first, women are exclusive owners of a Vagina..this alone sets a woman apart from a man in a general and major way...the sexual reproductive organ, I think this is a powerful thing because we alone as women can propagate our species...without women, the human race would die out. Second, there are female sexual mutilation in that region of the body. I think that physical distinction causes so much oppression for women...someone just got fed up and decided to do the stark opposite and uphold it, physically. But, with all that said, I think everyone will see it differently, I think it was strange to hear the word "vagina" so many times, but I kind of got used to it..I think people who weren't in the remotest okay with it wouldn't attend such an event...so you are among fellow supporters. but i also agree that each person takes it differently, and at the end of the day it was a valuable experience for you =) which is always a good thing.
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