The [V......] Monologues

[magid]

Two weeks ago, I went to a production of The Vagina Monologues (Eve Ensler) at 0 Church St, in the sanctuary I hadn't been to before (it's very very nondenominational, luckily).

I'd heard of the show, but never made it to a performance before. It's a series of skits*, some with intros, mostly monologues, based on interviews with lots and lots of women about their vaginas. Topics ranged from the word itself (and other words for the same thing), to aesthetic considerations (hair and other questions of appearance), to facts and figures (number of nerve endings, amount of violence against women, and so on), to a range of stories (of violence and shame, of finding one's sexuality, of taking charge of one's orgasms, and more).

* To wit: Hair, "Wear and Say", The Flood, The Vagina Workshop, Vagina Happy Fact, Because He Liked to Look At It, Not-so-happy Fact, My Angry Vagina, They Beat the Girl Out of My Boy... Or So They Tried, My Vagina Was My Village, The Little Coochi Snorcher That Could, Reclaiming Cunt, A Six-year-old Girl Was Asked, The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy, I Was There in the Room, and a 2011 spotlight on Myriam Merlet.

It's a fascinating show; I think it's a shame that the audience was so overwhelmingly female. I hope that there will be more guys next VDay.

And I also thought it strange that a mother brought her 4-year-old kid to the show. Not only not appropriate content, some of it, but also unable to be quiet and still for the length of the show.

Comments

[megmuck.livejournal.com]

I suspect her babysitter flaked out and she REALLY REALLY wanted to see it. But not, it's not cool to bring a 4-year-old to a show if said kid can't sit still and be quiet.



m.

[thespisgeoff.livejournal.com]

I think it much more likely that she believes firmly in exposing her child to "real life" as much as possible and allowing him or her to "make his/her own choices" as to what's appropriate. And, like many people, not understanding that it's not about her kid, it's about everyone else in the room feeling uncomfortable.

I saw a production in Austin called "Dark Goddess" - a feminine-magic ritual disguised as a theatre piece about various goddesses from around the world. There was a five year old boy in the audience. Hecate offered him a slice of an apple. The sheer terror in his wailing was both uncomfortable and hilarious.

[megmuck.livejournal.com]

Given that she was there as a single mom, I still suspect that desperation to attend played a part.

None of my erstwhile four-year-olds would have gotten *anything* from the Vagina Monologues--or any other evening theater performance, seeing as they all went to bed at 8. In any case, most four-year-olds are remarkably impervious to media that doesn't involve animals, princesses, or superheroes.

[magid.livejournal.com]

The mom was there with at least one friend; no clue whether a babysitter flaked or not.

That said, this kid wasn't quiet (a 90-min show without intermission), nor taken out, and not even seated near an exit for minimal disruption to leave if it were necessary (there were long pews on either side of a central aisle, and a wooden divider down the middle of those, so people had only one direction to get out; they were near the divider, and very close to the front of the room). The mom didn't have water with her, much less some quiet toy/book to occupy the child's attention if the stage weren't compelling.

[megmuck.livejournal.com]

OK, she's inconsiderate and clueless. Perhaps she *was* the babysitter!

[magid.livejournal.com]

Nope, she was the mom.

I was so surprised by her unpreparedness; I guess all of my friends are just fabulous parents ;-)