More Emo Creature

4. Look up some of the women or groups mentioned in Section 3 and explore the context a bit more. How does that enrich your understanding of the text itself?

Peshmerga (those who face death) women are an all female Kurdish army faction looking to oust Saddam Hussein.

Pink Sari gang protect Indian womens’ interests by violent attacks

Liberian women mass action for peace

Nigerian Chevron women took oil terminal demanding fairer share of oil revenue

Cindy Sheehan lost son in Iraqi war and protested at Bush ranch

Malalai Joya unleased three-minute hard-hitting speech accused alleged warlords of crimes and corruption

Aung San Suu Kyi house arrest 15 of 21 years, refused to leave country

Neda Soltani killed voicing opposition to Ahmadinejad

“Refuser” is the first piece of work in Section 3. It is the perfect title for its style. In many ways it’s like a rallying cry for women to stand up for themselves. It also gives tribute to certain real-life women who have made their own ‘statements’ and stood up for their cause in honorable ways. These modern day women have stirred things up and broken the norm in unprecedented ways. They no longer need men; they can stick up for themselves as stated in “Now we are the ones who walk our girlfriends home from school.”

Toward the end, the monologue goes on to mention some of the most influential women ever. Ironically enough, they had also been labeled in a way that seriously downplays their accomplishments. Joplin, regarded as one of the greatest female musicians ever, was also known for her sub-par looks. Joan of Arc, national heroine of France and Catholic saint, if often discredited as being hysterical and having hallucinations. Butterfly Hill can contribute her fame to the ‘tree sit.’ Instead of a staunch environmentalist she was an extremist freak.

The women of these latest generations seem to carry a new voice. They are leaping all the old boundaries and roadblocks of the past. Perhaps this passage tells of their plight:  “We know if you plan too long nothing happens and things get worse and that most everything is found in the action and instinctively we get that the scariest thing isn’t dying, but not trying at all.” No longer do women stand idly by on the sidelines, they are amongst the action; in the thick of things.

Emo Creature

Today I will take a look at You Tell Me How To Be A Girl In 2010. I think it’s relevant to speak a little about the similarities between what I have come across so far in I am an Emo Creature, and Vagina Monologues. From what I’ve read (pages1-37), this book seems to be something of an epilogue to Monologues. Ensler made such a positive impact on society with Monologues that she almost picks up right where she left off and addresses the tumultuous and turbulent adolescent years of today’s society. That same self-confidence/self-appreciation/self-worth that she brought women with Monologues, she hopes to bring to young girls.

In You Tell Me How To Be A Girl In 2010, the voice DEPRESSES the hell out of me! “Each town they bomb, each human they kill is done for “humanitarian” purposes.” I take it that with this quote she is speaking with regard to our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Personally, her political statement gets under my skin. War should be avoided at all costs, yes, but we don’t live in a perfect world, and things aren’t so simple. For Ensler to just make this remark based on pure emotion is way too unfair and opinionated for my taste; it turns me off to this monologue immediately. “People don’t own the water in their own village and they certainly don’t own the diamonds and gold.” Unfortunately, this has been the course of human evolution. We claim valuable resources. It is probably not going to change.

“Why is everyone so much more afraid of sex than SCUD missiles?” STDs, high teen pregnancy, “kids raising kids.” How about the vast and countless amounts of kids brought up in broken homes and its effects because kids are having sex way too young. I would say that’s a valid problem and something to be afraid of.

“How come we have money to kill but no money to feed or heal?” Really…?

“Six million dead in the Congo and they never made the news…and minerals.” What else is she suggesting we do about the atrocities in Africa? She didn’t like how we went into Iraq where very similar injustices were taking place, so exactly what does she propose?

“Give me one thing to believe in that isn’t a brand name.”

 I can honestly say that Eve Ensler, through Monologues, grew on me some. I was eager to break ground on her latest book here. However, I was disappointed with her first monologue.  I see and hear so much negativity in it; my answer to the title’s inquiry is “Damn, you are on your own. Good luck.” Very depressing, way too idealistic. Fails to offer any constructive advice into the dozens of complaints and reproaches.

Ensler #4

            Ensler, in her text, works toward both celebrating vaginas and raising awareness of violence against women. Several monologues support this claim of celebrating vaginas. “The Vagina Workshop” tells the story of a woman who finally connects with her body and her vagina; the experience is profoundly stimulating and liberating. For the first time in her life, she is amazed with herself and left in an awe called “vaginal wonder.” In “Because he liked to look at it,” the female professes she “began to feel beautiful and delicious-like a great painting or a waterfall…began to feel proud. Began to love my vagina.”  

            Many monologues also help raise awareness of violence against women. In “My Vagina was my Village,” the monologue reveals the story of a girl being raped and tormented by a group of soldiers. Words like “They invaded it. Butchered it and burned it down,” haunt the page and the reader’s mind. Women from a Bosnian refugee rape camp inspired the monologue. “The Little Coochie Snorcher that Could” tells the sad story of girl who comes from a broken home and is subject to rape and sexual abuse at very young ages.

            I believe that she does achieve both these goals equally and it is obvious in reading the 10^th anniversary addition. In the introduction, Ensler professes, “There have been so many victories. Women speaking the word where it had never been uttered. Women standing up against local and national governments…and the voices inside them that judge and censor.” To realize the enormous amount of awareness raised the reader must only look at the “V-Timeline: Ten Years of Vagina Victories.”

            There is a slight contradiction between celebrating vaginas and raising awareness. In many of the monologues, heinous and deplorable acts are often committed to women in the hope of raising awareness through the truth and reality of it. In these specific monologues there are no celebrations of the vagina, simply because the stories are too disturbing. This contradiction is seen by reading all the monologues as one large piece. Also, the reader is able to see the dual-purpose of Ensler’s work in both celebrating and raising awareness.

Ensler #3

For Ensler, language is a very important part of her message. This whole entire movement that became The Vagina Monologues started with the word “vagina.” It was far from an ordinary word either, because along with it came feelings of “anxiety, awkwardness, contempt, and disgust.” Now that is most certainly a powerful word. Because of these uncomfortable feelings, vagina has also become a censored word in our society. Ensler seems to feel that this beautiful word that personifies a woman, has been stolen from the female gender and made ugly and embarrassing. She hopes to reclaim it; to reinvent it. The most fundamental difference among males and females is their reproductive organs. A woman’s vagina, and all its beauty, belongs to her; and so should the term, its definition, and its meaning. She should be able to say it openly and discuss it freely. Ensler sees her vagina as her “primary resource, a place of sustenance, humor, and creativity. So how on earth did vagina become a bad word? NO MORE!

The word vagina does not stand alone either. Pussy, cunt, vulva, coochi snorcher, clitoris, etc., are all words that describe and define something that is truly unique and representative of the female gender. Somehow, however, these words have evolved into making the female body seem dirty or shameful. So the question is… If all these words that are supposed to describe a female body are dirty and shameful…. which terms/words actually do exist that explain the beauty and delicacy of the female body??

To explain why Ensler asks the questions about what vaginas would wear, etc., I would like to start with a quote from Ensler in the preface: “I say vagina because when I started saying it I discovered how fragmented I was, how disconnected my body was from my mind. My vagina was something over there, away in the distance. I rarely lived inside it, or even visited.” Taking this quote into careful consideration, I think it’s pretty clear as to why she asks these questions; the woman and the vagina are one and the same. If your vagina got dressed, what would it wear? The question is answered with a long list of silly answers undoubtedly relevant to the woman answering the question. These questions offer “a personal, grounded-in-the-body vantage point of identifying with your body.   

Ensler #2

Audience reaction is crucial to Ensler’s overall project because of its ‘shock value’. The shock value brings attention and puts a spotlight on the project.  Howard Stern, a popular radio jockey, revolutionized talk radio by introducing material that was controversial and unconventional. Through this approach he made quite the name for himself. Ensler is putting shock-valued spin on her own piece of work. Instead of using the shock value to gain recognition for herself, she uses it to draw attention to two different issues: (directly) how women are repressed in society and (indirectly) the atrocities committed against women throughout the world. 

She works to push us out of our comfort zones because it’s the only way to break the chains repressing women in society. The monologues help women realize their own self-worth and beauty. It helps them understand that each woman has a unique and meaningful voice. There is nothing to be embarrassed about or ashamed of. With this new recognition they are further empowered to stick up for themselves, especially when basic human rights and/or needs are being violated.

“The Flood” represented an entire generation of older women. The general attitude of ‘their down-theres’ is one of awkwardness and embarrassment. It reads, “I can’t tell you this. I can’t do this, talk about down there,” which explains a lot. This generation of older women feels that after a certain age they can no longer express themselves sexually. They can’t even bring themselves to speak about ‘down-there.’ Ironically enough, however, in the final sentence, the older woman reveals the comfort she had taken in the conversation. Ensler also says in her intro “women secretly love to talk about their vaginas.” This makes me think about the repression of women in the past and present.

           “I was twelve. My mother slapped me.” This monologue is riddled with overtones of embarrassment, awkwardness, and fear about the menstruation cycle. It does seem mighty strange that something so natural can be seen in such an ugly light.

Ensler

Eve Ensler wants Monologues to be publicly performed because the concept is supposed to be much more than simple words in a book. Hearing “vagina” yelled out and talked about on stage is supposed to be, at first, shocking and unconventional; then it is supposed to be liberating and empowering. If it were just words contained in a book, dull and emotionless words, then this entire movement would have never gathered this much momentum, and become all that it is today. Instead, the words are supposed to become alive and fly out, catch the attention, and infect the audience. The audience is supposed to be a part of it all. It has encouraged women to stand up against the voices that “judge and censor.”

She wants vaginas to be physically embodied because it resonates inside the audience much more personally when stories have a face and a personality to them. Through these uniquely identifiable stage monologues, women can find what they need in order to “reclaim their bodies” and tell “the stories of their own violations, desires, victories, shame, adventures.” They can connect to one another and become united against the larger and much more egregious issue of violence against women. The effect this has is pretty profound. It humanizes the cause and raises awareness of a widespread issue that conflicts women.  In turn, more and more women get onboard and rally around this movement. They find “their power, their voice, and their leadership ability by becoming accidental activists.”

Night Women

          “Night Women” is a very short story revolving around a prositute and her young son. The setting takes place inside their small dwelling. At night she ‘works’ and brings her ‘suitors’ back to her place where her young son sleeps behind the scene. This story is a lot of things: it is sad and tragic, it genuine and heartfelt, and it is raw and unapologetic. The narrator says that “there are two kinds of women: day women and night women.” Obviously, she is a prostitute, but she describes herself as someone who is “stuck between the day and night in a golden amber bronze.” I believe she makes this distinction  because she refuses to be defined ONLY a prostitute. Prostitution only serves as a way for her to make money and support her son. Also, she proudly runs a household and plays the role of a traditional female and mother.
          What I noticed most of all in regard to the narrator was her amazing strength. She seems to accept the cards she has been dealt, however unfortunate, and shoulder on with both incredible hope and perserverance. She plays both her roles (day woman/night woman) the best she can. She is tender and caring to the boy by offering up her scarf, reading him stories, and most importantly, preserves his innocence with dressed up (literally) stories of angels. She COMMITTED to helping her child feel happiness in the face of unspeakable despair. In her role as a night woman, she takes ‘painstaking care’ in prepping herself for ‘dates.’ The narrator keeps hope alive in a most marvelous way; in a way that is fundamentally human.
          Of course, such a life wasn’t able to completely spare her of certain side effects. She remarks in the very beginning that,“Tonight I am much older than the twenty-five years that I have lived.” This sentence speaks in volumes. This is not an isolated feeling unique to her only. Knowing a little about the history of the Haitians, I can say somewhat confidently mostly all Haitian children simply HAD to grow up extremely fast and learn to provide for themselves. This is precisely what the narrator is doing, and in my opinion, she is doing an admirable job. This story, despite being such a harsh reality, represents the Haitian struggle and should be preserved. I managed to find a good quote in the back of the book to help further articulate this meaning. It reads, “…and since you had written them down and memorized them, the names would come rolling off your tongue. And this was your testament to the way that these women lived and died and lived again.”