Tufts marked an end to this year's Vagina Monologues week with a panel discussion entitled the Vagina Dialogue Monday night.
The discussion, moderated by senior Zoe Hastings, centered around two key points: flaws in the execution of V-Day and the Vagina Monologues, and the usage of certain profane words on campus.
Some objected to some thematic material in Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues, citing the play's insistence that women can only be happy while openly sexual and in touch with their sexuality. "There really isn't a happy ending in the 'Vagina Monologues' for women who aren't that sexual," said freshman panelist Caitlin Johnson, a 'Vagina Monologues' cast member.
Members of the audience and the panel, comprised of Johnson, Betsy Goldman ('05), Sam Resnik ('04), Jamie Chang ('06), and Sarah Hecht ('04), also analyzed whether V-Day alienated men.
"How do we tell people this play is for women, but get men to come and understand it?" Goldman said.
"V-Day hasn't done an amazing job in inviting men, and that's also true for the 'Vagina Monologues,'" Resnik said. An audience member noted that men, the main perpetrators of violence against women, are key players in the fight to end such violence.
Many cast members felt that the backlash surrounding the play was directed towards them. "The negative feedback we've received this year means that there's still a necessity for this play," Hecht said.
Women's Center Director Peggy Barrett, a panel audience member, noted that criticism of the play was not necessarily geared toward this particular production of the "Vagina Monologues," but rather reflected a growing political trend in the U.S.
"It's important to know that there is a strong movement to stop discussion of sexuality in this country," she said. "That fact is evident in the struggle for gay marriage and the shutting down of sex education."
Dean of Students Bruce Reitman, also in the audience, noted that the backlash surrounding last week's events was not as strong as it appeared. "Few people responded negatively to what's been happening. The few that did were smart and wrote press releases to newspapers and stations on the East coast," he said. "The backlash you've felt is simply campus politics -- liberal versus conservative."
Reitman praised the cast of the "Vagina Monologues", claiming that "the school is supportive of you. You're brave, and you've done a wonderful thing."
Some conversation centered on controversy regarding the best way to end violence against women. "There's the V-Day goal [of ending violence against women] -- and you can't disagree with that -- and then there's how to get there," senior Rachel Hoff said. "It's not the goal that's being disagreed upon."
The advertisement of V-Day and "Vagina Monologues" on campus proved to be a major topic of conversation at the dialogue. "I've been offended by plenty of ads on campus, such as those for [the play] 'Debbie Does Dallas', but I accepted it. Others should too," Resnik said.
The controversy surrounding the advertising campaign for the "Vagina Monolgoues" revolves around its usage of certain words that the play promotes students to "reclaim."
Barrett compared the word "c**t" to the word "queer," which at one time held a strongly negative connotation towards the LGBT community, but has now been "reclaimed" and is now considered a positive word. "How are we supposed to reclaim [the word] when we can't even write it?" Resnik asked. The word is still considered profane by the Federal Communications Commision (FCC).
Although the discussion raised more questions than answers surrounding the various issues of the "Vagina Monologues" and V-Day, the women's spirits remained positive.
The audience, who participated in informal discussion, included Reitman, Barrett, and Judicial Affairs Director Veronica Carter as well as approximately 40 students.
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