Vagina Monologues coming to SDSU
I think they might have run it previously at USD, but for SDSU… Well, this might be a first for my alma mater. According to websites promoting the event,
As part of the 2008 V-Day College Campaign, the students of South Dakota State University are proud to present a benefit production of The Vagina Monologues to raise awareness and funds for local organizations working to end violence against women and girls.
Read it here. While the play is going to benefit noble goals, for the prevention of violence, it’s not as if this play doesn’t bring controversy with it wherever it goes:
The play unfolds through a series of monologues that address issues ranging from sexual assault to sexual pleasure. In one piece, a Bosnian woman recounts her rape; another catalogs the various sounds women make during sex. The word vagina is used 132 times.
and…
Others say the message is potentially damaging to young women. The content “guarantees a certain level of interest among many college students,” Cate Brumley, 20, a junior at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., wrote in a recent column for the Independent Women’s Forum, a conservative non-profit group. But among other things, she writes, the play also “reduces the full potential of a human person” to a single body part and “encourages college women to be sexually promiscuous.”
Read that here. They’ve banned it at many Catholic Colleges for reasons that you can go into in the article. Some the language and imagery is intentionally graphic so as to shock the attendees. But in conservative South Dakota, is an unedited version (the author won’t permit edited performances) going to agree with it’s audience?
What say you, readers – much ado about nothing? Or inappropriate for our state’s largest University?
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Comments
For the record, this isn’t the first time this has shown at SDSU. The Vagina Monologues ran there in 2002, I think. I went, as I had some friends in involved.
PP. How come you always go so meshugener about sex stuff? I bet you can’t even watch one episode of “Leave it to Beaver” without giggling.
The play is a profund work of art, and yes, probably controversial. But in my opinion, not in the least offensive once experienced and reflected upon.
On the other front, I’m just teasing you because I have the same initial reaction to frank, open discussions about sex myself, good Catholic boy that I am (or at least was raised.) i.e. Any discussion of sex at first renders me immediately and hopelessly stupid even at my now advanced age.
So, is that TMI, or what?
6. Yeah BF, many of your comments contain TMI. Nobody cares about your upbringing or what you think about sex. Or anything else. That said, hopefully nobody is going to make a big deal out of this. It’s a university, for Pete’s sake, not kindergarten. Nobody is required to attend. And it seems to be for a good cause.
At least PP is brave enough to actually call it the ‘vagina monlogues’. There was some tiff a while back, where a woman objected the ‘vagina’ part of the title. A ridiculous scuffle, I thought.
PP:
Is former Republican Rep. Ted Klaudt directing the play? Seems like he has some first hand experience.
Todd
I would bet that most people who complain or protest or joke about this play have never seen it. I am a male who saw it at my Catholic college. It was very well done. It covered important topics that rarely get mentioned. And it did not reduce all females to one body part.
What gets people all riled up is the title, which, I assume, is designed to catch people’s attention and raise ticket sales. Would PP be posting on this if it were called “The Lifetime Channel’s Salute to Women: Stories from Women that You
Should Hear”???
But the central messages of the production are so important that I would recommend it to anyone over the age of 18.
So before anybody else comes up with some theory about whether this is a good or bad thing, go watch it first.
Holy crap – that 2:19 comment is so going away.
And that’s funny Patti – I was going to refer to it as the “VJJ Chronicles” but I figured that we’re all grown up, and I’d use the real title.
What’s worse is that I spent some time and analysis on the previous post, and this is the one getting all the attention.
17.
Um, Jabba the Hutt from the Star Wars movie!? And either SoDakMac or Dakota Patriot morphed Jabba the Hutt into Jabba the Klaudt?
If this doesn’t help, then you’re on your own to make sense of it.
It’s supposed to be funny.
Since it was written for adults, and adults will be going to see it, there should not be any problems. Too much is made of this play, and you are right, people get worked up about the title.
17
Brilliant post, It is so refreshing to here from people who are not held captive by our pop culture, and yet are somehow able to identify fictional creatures there in.
Jabba Rocks and you don’t
If you want to see it, see it. If you do not, don’t. In a marketplace, that is how we decide what is worth seeing and not. I won’t, but Bill, you are welcome to see it. I won’t think any less of you.
Did I just step into a time machine back to Y2K? A lot of colleges have stopped doing the Vagina Monologues because everyone is tired of it.
I’d love to hear your opinion on that crazy new “Oops…I Did It Again?” song. I think that Britney is really going places!
Bill, I totally understand your reaction and Pat’s reaction to frank public discussions about sex. It is not because we are prudes. It is probably especially pertinent to Pat as he has so many young kids in his house. When I had three daughters and son in my house, it was nearly nightly that I would cringe with what was said on TV. It is the coarseness which sex and other private matters are discussed with impunity and a lack of tact and discretion.
While I have not seen it, I’ve read a non-biased summary of the play and excerpts. What I wonder is if it is conducive to building self-esteem in women or respect for women in men. A play which separates a body part of a woman and essentially gives it “personhood” on the surface appears to me to demean women just as much to references that men think with their complementary part.
In my mind, using this play to raise money to prevent violence against women would be like the American Lung Association being sponsored by Marlboro.
As a father of three daughters, I am most appreciative of the societal gains of women. But I applaud only the good gains. Women becoming crass like men is not one of them.
Finally, not everything that occurs on a campus is an endorsement. In the name of educational freedom and intellectual discourse, it is good that they err on the side of allowing even offensive matters being presented. But I do wonder if a play which demeaned blacks would be welcomed? Would the local Black Student group except the proceeds?
However, the principle is not without limits. Cornell allowing that little twerp from Iran was good. The raucous conduct of the nut cases at speeches/talks of invited guests (ala the Minutemen or David Horowitz) is over the top. I don’t care if it is a conservative or liberal or even someone on the fringe. Guests should always be treated with respect.
By the way, Bill the references by “Nobody” is just someone giving himself/herself a 3rd person nickname. Feel free to refer to yourself as “Somebody”. We’ll know who you mean. 
24. Sex to me is best considered as a private matter. I always figured that’s why they called them “privates”.
Plus, there is, for me at least, a sanctity to the act of love that I think gets profaned in today’s commercial world.
Hey, maybe I am conservative about something, huh?
Who knew?
18 and 20 from 17. That explains it. I was probably the only person on the planet to walk out of the Star Wars movie all those years ago. Just couldn’t get into it. But now that you have explained it, yes, it is indeed funny.
Bill,
As much as I would like positive attributes like polite, discrete and prudent to be exclusively associated with conservatives, they are traits good people hold regardless of their political ideology.
Remember the seven virtues to be held by gentlemen and ladies and seven corporal works of mercy to focus our daily acts?
Faith, Hope, Charity, Fortitude,
Justice, Prudence, and Temperance.
Feed the hungry, Give drink to the thirsty, Give shelter to strangers, Clothe the naked, Visit the sick, Minister to prisoners, and Bury the dead.
25. Todd, you’re killing me over here. All the time I’m trying to get past the “Vagina Monologues’ title and stay modest and couth, the Mr. Hyde in me (with your prodding) keeps bringing up this image of a catcher’s mitt standing on a smoke filled stage under a spotlight saying “so a clam and a scallop walk into a bar… the oyster ducks.” I’m blaming it all on you, Epp. I personally don’t think that way. (Do I?)
28. Well, I work at that, Troy. But there’s this wacky cartoon thing I’ve got going that gets the best of me sometimes. I think it has to do with that “prudence” part. I seem to go back and forth on that one.
26. “Who knew”: “nobody” unless you’re “somebody”! 
It seems that some students might be made into a captive audience if a nutty professor required a paper written about the production or face an unfavorable letter grade. This could be one way to squeeze change out of a declining market.
Will SOMEBODY else besides the twin lefties please make some comments? Fleming and Epp need to get a room.
I’m fairly certain that they showed this at BH a couple years back… I didn’t attend so I can’t say for sure.
Troy – it was Columbia, not Cornell.
Censorship sucks.
If you don’t like it don’t watch. You are all adults so is every student at SDSU. If they don’t want to go, the won’t and no one will give a shit. If you don’t want to go, don’t.
And if YOU don’t like what’s on YOUR tv turn YOUR channel. If YOU don’t like what’s in or on the magazine/newspaper/dvd player/satellite radio/et cetera that YOU subscribed/paid/choose to view/read/write cancel YOUR subscription. Get a V chip so your kids don’t go behind your back.
It’s America baby and reasonable people can say, do, feel, think and watch what we want. Deal with it. It is that simple.
This isn’t a theocracy for folks to impose their views on the rest of us, because your view isn’t the same as mine. That’s what the Founding Fathers would have said.
PP,
What’s worse is that I think they called it the ‘Pussy Monologues’ for a while, until people started seeing the absurdity of it.
Todd’
‘Scrotum Mumblings’ Hah! Guys do often let their dick do the talking.
“In my mind, using this play (The Vagina Monologues) raise money to prevent violence against women would be like the American Lung Association being sponsored by Marlboro.”
-Troy Jones
Quite possibly this is the dumbest thing I have ever read anyone write ever.
#41: Cornell, Columbia…. To this midwesterner, I apologize for my confusion. Hard to keep track unless they have a major football or basketball program.
In the end, I think it is well within the rights for SDSU to allow this play to perform on their campus with no explicit or implicit endorsement by renting the facility at market rate, they could allow it with an endorsement at a discounted rate because they believe it furthers education and discussion on campus, or they could decide to not allow it because they deem it demeaning to women.
I agree that censorship is not good, especially on a college campus (I all hope we agree that it would be appropriate for the play to be “censored” from a Kindergarten class). If they proposed having a play that was demeaning to Native Americans, Blacks etc., everyone would be up in arms. And I still might say “let the play go on” in the interest of free speech or educational freedom. Or, I might determine that I think decency and goodwill call for not allowing it in a public facility. It depends on the circumstances discussed later.
#41, I assume that you are talking to me. My natural civil libertarian bias is such that I err on the side of opposing censorship and oppose absolutely a theocracy. I generally agree with your points. However, when some speech receives public subsidy or endorsement, a new standard is created which places a burden on the institution to not be selective. Subsidizing demeaning speech about women requires them to subsidize demeaning speech about Native Americans. Thus, I just hope that SDSU is providing a subsidy or endorsement (if they are) at a level they would also be willing to support other controversial speech.
If my college sophomore daughter chose to go to this, I trust her to discern the merits and demerits of the play. To me the bigger question relates to whether it is appropiate for a group whose purpose is to prevent violence against women should accept money from a source which some women believe contributes to a marginalization of women. But this up to the prudential judgment of the group to decide.
My point is that this issue has complexity of subsidy/endorsement that doesn’t lend itself to a kneejerk response (ban or allow discussion of controversial topics). If SDSU is treating this the same as they would other controversial speech, I personally have no problem. Fairness will require them to be just as tolerant of controversial speech which demeans Blacks, Native Americans, Muslims, or Catholics.
We also have to consider that not all controversial speech is appropriate at all times and places. Today, a play about Native Americans that is controversial might be ok at SDSU. But at the time of Wounded Knee situation a few decades ago, it could be inappropriate. As good a book as “Huck Finn” is and appropriate for teaching American Lit, I don’t think I’d want to be the American Lit teacher in Jena, LA right now.
Mr. Bill – Without disclosing the item, for the sake of Troy’s virgin eyes/ears, I will declare you the winner (#34).
The steak knives are on their way.
Keep da faith baby!
43
Patti:
I don’t think it is so much talking as thinking that guys use their little commander for.
I’m just sayin’.
todd
48. But sometimes, when you’re not really standin’ behind what you’re sayin’, but rather, off to the side. In a sorta, mushy-kooshie kinda way, it might be the right thing to say…
…wait for it….
…I’m just sayin’.
49 from 48. That’s the point. It’s wishy-washy, not to mention just plain trite. Say what you mean, and mean what you say.
I saw it a few years ago at the Pavilion, a local group did it. It’s pretty good, but I found it more appealing to women and bonding (don’t let your girlfriend drag you to it). The whole time I was watching it all I could think about (besides vaginas) was how funny it would be if four middle-aged men with beer guts, coveralls and a case of beer on stage do the exact same play and lines.
44. Penny, you are clearly the dumbest person on this blog, so when you say “Quite possibly this is the dumbest thing I have ever read anyone write ever,” I’m going to take that as the opinion of an expert. You’ve taken stupidity to the next level, and if you say something is a dumb comment, it must be.
52. Yeah, Penny, don’t be such a dick.
52. I think Penny is saying that you (nor I) don’t have a clue as to how to see things from her perspective. But let’s be clear. We men are the most dumb. We even elect our presidents based on that conviction. Dumb is good, by God. If he would have wanted us smart, he wouldn’t have made us so stupid.
If this was held at Northern would it be manditory that you attend, but you woundn’t have to see the performance? No one is forcing anyone to attend and if anyone over 18 takes what is presented without some independent thought then we are all doomed.