Eve Ensler & The Vagina Monologues

Today's email brought some sad news. Eve Ensler, the author of The Vagina Monologues, was recently diagnosed with cancer. 
     
I became aware of Ensler's activism and her play, The Vagina Monologues (TVM), in the late-1990s, when I lived in Oklahoma.  It wasn't until I'd moved back to Idaho that I saw the play, acted in the play, and eventually took a turn directing the play. 


The first three years of my involvement as a TVM actor, I performed one of the more controversial pieces, "Reclaiming Cunt."  As an English teacher, I felt connected with the structure of the piece: it's an exercise in phonics.  Of course, I was aware of the shock value the piece had on the audience.  If "fuck" is the father of all English swear words, surely, "cunt" is the mother.  However, many people overlook the other word in the piece's title: reclaiming.  "Reclaiming Cunt" isn't about saying a forbidden word in order to shock; it's about transforming a word that is used to berate and denigrate women into a word that celebrates and empowers women.


Because Southeast Idaho is so conservative--in every sense of the word--the first year The Vagina Monologues was performed, it was referred to by the local newspaper as merely "a woman's play."  Over the succeeding years, a series of very determined women worked hard to educate the community and overcome resistance to the play--resistance that was, I believe, based primarily on its title, since it was obvious that its most vocal critics had never actually seen the play. TVM eventually became an expected annual event that faced less and less resistance. 


Some say The Vagina Monologues is dated and has outlived its usefulness.  I don't think so.  A comment by one of my University colleagues sticks in my head.  After seeing TVM for the first time, she said to me, "That's my life as a woman--and no one ever talks about it."  Exactly.
     
Below is a message Eve Ensler posted on the V-Day website (www.vday.org), along with a link to an article she has written about violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A Personal Message From Eve

Dear V-Day Activists,

I have been waiting for the right time to share something with you. I was recently diagnosed with uterine cancer. I was fortunate to have excellent doctors and a very successful operation. My prognosis is excellent.

This has been both a difficult and truly transformational time. Cancer has a way of stripping away that which is not important and leaving what is. What remains with me is all of you - your dedication, your commitment, your open hearts, your healing ways. I have learned so much in these two months about care and what it means to be cared for and to care for others. It requires time, attention, stillness and patience. That is the work of V-Day. So, if you truly want to help me now, continue to care, continue to stand up to end violence and work harder than you have ever worked before to make sure women and girls are safe and free, and that men and boys are embodied with their girl cell.

Know that I am taken care of and am focusing my time on resting for the next few months so I can be back with you all in the Fall, stronger than ever.

I love you all and I believe in you. You have been in my heart each and every day. You have been my deepest inspiration throughout this journey.

Love,

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/12/cancer-atrocities-congo-violence