If your vagina could talk, what would it say? If it wore clothes, what would it wear?



Those are just a few of the questions writer Eve Ensler posed in interviews with several women of all ages, from all walks of life, and from all over the world. Ensler then used these interviews as the foundation for her smash-hit stagepiece, "The Vagina Monologues".



"The Vagina Monologues" is essentially a celebration of feminine sexuality, which in this day and age, still possesses a stigma of shame. As the play itself says, "Can't stand to see a woman experiencing pleasure, especially sexual pleasure."



This book is a compliation of certain selections from the Monologues, which has just ended a long, acclaim-laden, off-Broadway run. It is also still enjoying successful tours and small local productions all over the world, and has been graced by a very long line of well-known women. I myself am performing in my campus's production of the Monologues this coming February!



There are humourous monologues, such as "The Flood", in which an older woman acquires a more conscious relationship with her "down-there", and "My Angry Vagina", which goes into hilarious tirades about tampons and gynecological exams.



There are saddening monologues, such as "My Vagina Was My Village", which is about a girl who spent time in a rape camp in Bosnia. There are small "Vagina Facts", which include tidbits about the torturous practice of female genital mutilation, and the story of how a 17th-century woman became convicted of witchcraft simply because she had a clitoris.



There are stories about the experience of giving birth, and both heterosexual and homosexual "vaginal epiphanies."



It is an empowering, life-changing book, and you do not have to be a woman to enjoy and appreciate it.



It's also the best alternative to seeing the actual play, although you should do that too if you ever get the chance.

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Created Jul 18, 2003 at 10:52am • Submit your own review...