I know you don't run in GodBlog circles, but The Feminarian is putting together a kind of Christian Vagina Monologues. She's already posted a few of the stories--they're at the top of her blog right now.

The one problem that I have with the whole thing is that most of the time they say vagina, they are talking about a vulva. Maybe that is why it was the V monologues. Too much to hope for I guess. It does really bother me that people say vagina to mean the whole of a woman's genitilia, almost as much as it does when people use terms like pussy to meal all of a woman and then use that as an insult. In the showing I went to there were a few more men there. One was a giggler. One shouted "WHORE" and "BITCH" and other innappropriate things at key moments to do his best to not let the play be heard or taken seriously.

Hi Don - I found your opinion of the Vagina monologues interesting and provocative, having never thought about how little men probably think about these things. Still, the Vagina monologues bother me, as a woman, a lot, for a couple reasons. One, I think they do exactly what they criticize men for doing, i.e. reducing the sum total of a woman to her genitalia. "Taking it back" is not the same thing as recognizing that sexuality is an integral and integrated part of a human being, but in the context of a body that can run and jump and think and act, etc. Also, from a medical perspecive . . . female pelvic exams are not particularly more uncomfortable than properly done testicular exams, although men frequently refuse them. Also, if you need a tampon, it's already lubricated for you. And if it had other lubrication, it would probably be unable to absorb the blood it's supposed to absorb. Just some medical advice . . .

Too bad about the obnoxious guys, Lee. Didn't somebody ask them to leave? I'd think that by about the second outburst it'd be time to call security.

The vulva/vagina thing was covered in the intro monologue: basically, although not technically covering the whole region, it's the best word that doesn't carry a lot of extra baggage along with it. It seems like a reasonable compromise---it's a word everybody knows, is nearly accurate, and doesn't have specific connotations.

And, of course I'm not going to argue that any female-specific thing is or is not uncomfortable; I'm obviously a little underqualified for that. What most amazed me about all of it was how much of it was stuff I hadn't really thought about much before, despite considering myself relatively well-informed. Good to have the counterpoint on the record here, though.

Well, the play I saw was riveting and I was not going to miss out by leaving to call security. I have heard of women who put a little lube on the tip of the tampon to ease insertion. The blunt cardboard looks harsh, but usually there is enough flow coming out to lube the tampon going in. However, they can pinch as the sections of the telescope are pressed into each other and that hurts.

Fascinating.

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