Vagina Monologues - The Play

Happened to see the Vagina Monologues some weeks ago, it has been adapted in India by actress-director Mahabanoo Kotwal of Poor Box Productions. I found it curious that the microsite makes no mention of The Vagina Monologues; perhaps a reflection of the legal and social issues that the play has faced, so characteristic of the hysterical hypocrisy that we encounter all round today. Or on later discovery, the fact that most of the site doesn’t seem to have gone beyond the year 2002 :o(

I’d read (and reviewed) the book a while ago. And I’m glad I attended the play, as it caused me to re-visit my while-ago opinion of the book. There was emotion in the play, and warmth and human-ness. Not that the book didn’t have these qualities, but these were overwhelmed by the impersonality of the book-format. The cast, with the exception of Dolly Thakore were remarkable, a couple of them outstanding. I came away from the experience with the strong feeling that this was something that should possibly be made compulsory viewing for young people, both men and women. And yet.

I still consider sexuality and sex to be intensely personal - both in experience and in the learning and sharing. And so the Oprah-isation of the vagina formed some kind of a mental barrier; not that this couldn’t and wasn’t overcome. But it left me wondering about a few things.

For instance, how would it be if the same purpose, the same goal could’ve been effected with inclusion - involving men as well. Without defensiveness (to make more acceptable) or offensiveness (obvious mouth-pieces) but in the spirit of healthy intercourse! Interesting word isn’t it, we’ve forgotten that its scope is much more than just sexual. Anyway, the point being inclusive.

And yet, the counter-argument that came to mind is that perhaps its because femininity has been repressed and suppressed and humiliated for so long that the response always has to begin at the opposite end of the spectrum - the identity needs to be strengthened from within, by group formation and thus exclusion of the ‘oppressor.’

I hope that the progression from vagina monologues to, lets say genital dialogues won’t take as much time as it took the monologues to have emerged.

Another thread of thought was triggered by the monologue My Short Skirt (interesting that I found it online!) and had to do with the whole notion of clothes and sexuality. I am definitely not a supporter of the statement ‘look at how she was dressed, she was asking for it!’ There is no excuse, no justification for sexual assault, physical or verbal.

And yet, one of the topics that I bring up during my increasingly rare privileges of speaking with a woman is whether they themselves are aware of what clothes say about the wearer. I do not mean to be condescending at all, perhaps there will always be a certain percentage of women who are not making any sexual signal with the red lycra micromini skirt that they wear to a party. But clothing is about adornment, and this is an aspect that’s as old as mankind - red has broadly similar meanings across cultures, for instance. Does the author of My Short Skirt expect that the red skirt will not get interpreted in a wide variety of ways, including various shades of sexuality and provocativeness? As would, say a man dressed in a thong underwear also be? So I feel there’s something simplistic, something reactive in the approach.

And yet, crimes against women even today are truly horrifying in their extent, scope and scale. I cannot conceive of many of the things that happen to women, apparently on a routine basis. This is the way and the nature of power. Yet I still hope that I will be alive to see a culture where the genders understand, enjoy and respect their essential difference - and how it is in complementing these lies the magical path to bliss.

And in the mean time, all the best to the talented and committed group of women who are putting up the play in India (and around the world). May their tribe prosper an grow in stature.

And oh, ah, in case you want a review of the play, you could check out this rather well-written piece.