Vagina Monologues Review Draft
Subject: The Vagina Monologues, as the name suggests, contains a series of monologues describing various women’s experiences with their vaginas. These women were interviewed individually and the information collected into poetic form. The stories told in these poetic monologues were very different. One story that I found distinctive tells of a boy who saw his mother’s vagina and decided that he wanted one as well. The boy believed that one’s sex was nothing more than something that was assigned randomly and not an innate part of one’s identity. Others didn’t see it that way and he was beaten many times for not acting manly. The boy eventually ran away from home, and while in isolation he worked to change his identity, taking voice lessons, vaccinations to get rid of his hair, and implanting a vagina. After changing his identity to that of a girl, he returned home, where people, not realizing who he was, treated him nicely. Despite his changed identity, he still had some manly traits and this showed when he dated another boy. His boyfriend was beaten because others were afraid of the seeming ambiguity of the relationship. The idea being conveyed is that one’s sex is something innate to the person, a natural part of the person that should not be tampered with. Similar ideas are presented throughout the other monologues. In this way, the vagina monologues are really a celebration of female sexuality. It seems to be a response to many of the wrongs that have been committed against women in the past. It conveys to women that their female identity something that they should cherish, and not be ashamed of, as those of who have wronged against women would have claimed. We see this in the monologue in which a women states that her short skirt is not an invitation to be raped, but a means to enjoy the cool autumn air moving up into her vaginal area. This message is reinforced by an announcement on the play bill that V-day 2007, in which the Vagina Monologues is part of, is meant to address the issues of violence against women during war.
posted by Kevin @ 5:29 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
It's interesting that the play would select a story about a boy who wanted to become a girl. You say that the message trying to be portrayed was that one should not try to change their sex, it should be cherished because it is innate to that person. Do you feel that if this is the message that was being portrayed, that maybe they should have had a woman trying to be a man rather than man trying to be a woman? If the play is a celebration of the female sexuality, it just seems like it would make more sense to have a woman denying her sexuality...
You did a very good job of interpreting the story about the boy who became a girl. You were very descriptive, but I think what made it memorable as well was the fact that during that piece there were about three of four people in it? Why do you think that was so? A lot of what you interpreted of the monologues are similar to my own. Do you think the Vagina Monologues help enlighten the male sex? Do you think it enlightens people to the understanding "womanhood" as well as some harsh realities of these women? What do you think was the most moving piece from the play and why?
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