10 Catholic campuses to host V-Monologues this year

[BlueEyedLady]

" is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purpose of sexual arousal."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pornography

Yep, it’s pornography.

There is nothing arousing in the play, nor is it meant to be. There’s certainly nothing that encourages any type of lifestyle, so the charge that it encourages women to be lesbians is far from accurate.

It’s obvious that lot of people on this thread haven’t seen the play. It isn’t meant to be sexual, or to sexualize women. (For the record, the word ‘vagina’ is not crude or dehumanizing). It’s about the experiences that women all over the world have had that defined them sexually in some way, for better or worse. It sheds light on a lot of horrifying and devastating things that women have gone through simply because they have a vagina. It also makes light of some of the funnier, more endearing, or even more loving moments that women have uniquely experienced because they have a vagina.

No, it isn’t appropriate for children, and not every adult will enjoy it either. If you’re easily disturbed, or if bad language offends you, you definitely shouldn’t see it. But it certainly isn’t porn, and it doesn’t encourage anything.

 

[Estevao]

One could find no better summary of our culture than that long monologues on one’s genitals are wide-spread.

 

[Elizium23]

I’m sorry if you feel the word “vagina” is distasteful. (I assume you don’t mean the word “monologue”?)

It’s the most clinical term for that anatomical area–the word used in textbooks in health class for high school students, the word used in med school for doctors.

Every woman has one, even Mother Mary.
This is where babies grow, even Jesus.

I imagine that if God/the Son of God saw it fit to grow and the come into the world using a woman’s vagina, then God himself doesn’t think the word/area on a woman’s body is distasteful.

.

I would like to know the Sacred Scripture verse which recounts Mary getting up in front of the assembly in the synagogue or temple and singing the praises of her private anatomical areas to all those gathered. I would also like to know when Jesus got up before the gathered assembly and did the same for his private parts. Do please tell me all of the instances where people in polite societies such as Jersualem stood before mixed company, in public, and discussed these things. Please tell me the complete history of these kinds of presentations throughout the Christian world in the last 2000 years. Go ahead, I am waiting to hear.

 

[Magdalena59]

There isn’t anything remotely arousing about the play. Not even a little bit. I’ve seen it. I found it kind of boring, and documentary-like. It was performed by amateurs so that might have something to do with…something.

So, no, it’s not pornography.

Okay, some of this can be seen on youtube and I do agree with others. It is inappropriate and pornographic. One or two minutes of hearing her speak is enough to realize it is not something that should be playing at any Christian school. The Cardinal Newman Society says this:

The Monologues seriously distorts human sexuality and celebrates sinful behaviors, including lesbian activity and masturbation. One scene even declares a lesbian rape of a teenage girl her “salvation” which raised her into “a kind of heaven.” The play’s production on Catholic campuses has been criticized by several bishops."

It would be sad if this was the message. However that is not the message of the play.

Are you aware of all the issues about which they are trying to raise awareness?

Who are these Catholic women who are passionate about raising awareness of and supporting organizations that help victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, and human trafficking? I’m unaware of any.

I think the Cardinal Newman society said it plain what the message was. I also understand that yes they are trying to raise awareness of issues against women but there is a way to build women up and a way to bring us down. Down to women speaking and listening through our sexual anatomy.

There are many great Catholic women out there. One great thing the colleges could have are Rachel’s Vineyards retreats. There are also great women who speak on women’s issues such as:

Johnette Benkovich
Pattie Armstrong
Rebekah Durham Hart speaks on the Dignity of Women
Teresa Tomeo
Mary Rice Hasson
Kelly Wahlquist
Mary Wallace.

These are just a few. I know there are more. These are great speakers who through their speaking raise the awareness of the need for women’s dignity.

 

[Magdalena59]

I’m sorry if you feel the word “vagina” is distasteful. (I assume you don’t mean the word “monologue”?)

It’s the most clinical term for that anatomical area–the word used in textbooks in health class for high school students, the word used in med school for doctors.

Every woman has one, even Mother Mary.
This is where babies grow, even Jesus.

I imagine that if God/the Son of God saw it fit to grow and the come into the world using a woman’s vagina, then God himself doesn’t think the word/area on a woman’s body is distasteful.

.

I agree. It is not a distasteful word. And yes it is a clinical word but in this instance they are not speaking clinically. They are speaking sexually through a good part of the play.

I am old enough to know that every woman has one, even our Blessed Virgin Mother Mary.

It is not the word. It is the context and use of the word. It is using that word to label what we as women are. We are not just sexual parts. Our lives are so much more than our sexual parts. We can certainly discuss these issues in soooo much better and dignified ways.

Our dignity isn’t going to come from discussing our sexual areas as if they are separate from the rest of us. As if they are some object, which is what this play makes it sound like. Women are already treated as objects, today, hundreds times more than ever before. If women want respect and dignity, which is something that is being lost today, we need to show respect for ourselves and this play doesn’t do that.

We also need to remember that sex should never be separate from marriage and this play certainly doesn’t encourage that.

 

[pnewton]

No, it isn’t appropriate for children, and not every adult will enjoy it either. If you’re easily disturbed, or if bad language offends you, you definitely shouldn’t see it. But it certainly isn’t porn, and it doesn’t encourage anything.

While I think I agree with this, it also is rather inappropriate in a Catholic venue.

 

[JimG]

I suppose we should be hopeful that the seeming recurrent inevitability of the V-Monologues on college campuses does not inspire some group to present the P-Monologues.

 

[ishii]

This is the college which in the past had the play shown on Ash Wednesday. It seems weird that Roman Catholics celebrate Ash Wednesday this way. It seems like before Vatican II, they celebrated Ash Wednesday in a more reverent fashion than now, when they show the V-monologues.

Before V-2 most of the students were probably practicing catholics. I highly doubt that is the case now. I think people forget this when the discussion of universities that are run by a Catholic religious order come up. I had never heard any of this play so I googled it and I agree that it doesn’t really seem appropriate I suppose, although I didn’t find it as alarming as some of the other things that happen on these college campuses.

Ishii

 

[Ruthmary]

It would be sad if this was the message. However that is not the message of the play.

Are you aware of all the issues about which they are trying to raise awareness?

Who are these Catholic women who are passionate about raising awareness of and supporting organizations that help victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, and human trafficking? I’m unaware of any.

Reggie Littejohn, founder and president of Women’s Rights Without Borders
If there is a good work that needs to be done, odds are you’re going to find that there’s at least one Catholic somewhere that’s on top of it, and generally many. If you’re not aware of them, then perhaps you should do a little searching.

 

[JourneyForTruth]

Criticism[edit]

Elements of the play that critics find contentious include:

The amount of attention given to brutal or non-consensual sexual encounters compared with consensual or harmonious sexual encounters;

• Negative portrayal of male-female sexual relationships;
• In “The Little Coochie Snorcher that Could”, an underage girl (thirteen in earlier performances, sixteen in the revised version) recounts being given alcohol and then having sex with an adult woman; the incident is recalled fondly by the narrator, who in the original version of the play ends the monologue by saying “if it was rape, it was a good rape.” Her female abuser is portrayed positively as someone “rescuing” her from sexually abusive men of her past.[8]
• Part of the play comes from Ensler’s interviews with a six-year-old girl, which included questions deemed by social conservatives as sexually obscene, such as what her vagina smells like, what it would wear, and what it would say if it could speak.[9]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vagina_Monologues

 

[Ruthmary]

The author of this play may be claiming to be raising awareness of certain issues but is in actuality trying to destroy modesty and chastity in our young women through crudeness and encouragement to sin. Old Beelzebub himself would be behind that. The end still never justifies the means in a Christian soul.

 

[pnewton]

Before Nixon was elected, this would not have happened.

 

[Tigg]

The author of this play may be claiming to be raising awareness of certain issues but is in actuality trying to destroy modesty and chastity in our young women through crudeness and encouragement to sin. Old Beelzebub himself would be behind that. The end still never justifies the means in a Christian soul.

Almost what I was going to say. The virtues that women have been encouraged to practice in the past are now being mocked so that the dignity, grace and beauty that is uniquely the ***soul ***of w-o-m-a-n can be denigrated.

 

[gam197]

The author of this play may be claiming to be raising awareness of certain issues but is in actuality trying to destroy modesty and chastity in our young women through crudeness and encouragement to sin. Old Beelzebub himself would be behind that. The end still never justifies the means in a Christian soul.

They held this at Amherst high school in Massachusetts some years ago. I went to see what was going on and we held a protest. This was disturbing enough but they had tables set up outside the auditorium with bowls of cutsie condoms and lots of literature on women’s body parts. One of the main group sponsoring it was called “Tapestry”.

I wonder if these colleges also have these kinds of tables set up.

 

[JimG]

I’m sorry if you feel the word “vagina” is distasteful. (I assume you don’t mean the word “monologue”?)

It’s the most clinical term for that anatomical area–the word used in textbooks in health class for high school students, the word used in med school for doctors.

Every woman has one, even Mother Mary.
This is where babies grow, even Jesus.

I imagine that if God/the Son of God saw it fit to grow and the come into the world using a woman’s vagina, then God himself doesn’t think the word/area on a woman’s body is distasteful.

.

Hmm, I always thought that Jesus grew in the womb of Mary. And the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception holds that she remained a virgin before, during, and after his birth.

 

[Magdalena59]

Hmm, I always thought that Jesus grew in the womb of Mary. And the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception holds that she remained a virgin before, during, and after his birth./QU

Great point.

 

[Magdalena59]

The author of this play may be claiming to be raising awareness of certain issues but is in actuality trying to destroy modesty and chastity in our young women through crudeness and encouragement to sin. Old Beelzebub himself would be behind that. The end still never justifies the means in a Christian soul.

Very well said.

 

[Tomdstone]

The Cardinal Newman Society says this:

The Monologues seriously distorts human sexuality and celebrates sinful behaviors, including lesbian activity and masturbation. One scene even declares a lesbian rape of a teenage girl her “salvation” which raised her into “a kind of heaven.”

This is one thing that I would disagree with. I don’t see why Roman Catholic colleges now show filthy plays which encourage the rape of children, which in this case is the lesbian rape of a 13 year old child (or in a later version of the play a 16 year old), is any form of salvation for the child. My personal opinion is that our salvation comes from the suffering, death and resurrection of Our Divine Lord and Savior, and that it is wrong to say that salvation comes to children by lesbians going around using filthy language and raping them. Further, for a Catholic college to celebrate Ash Wednesday this way, as did Holy Cross college in Worcester, MA, seems insane or at least contrary to what was taught in the Catholic Church before Vatican II.

 

[SuperLuigi]

I know at least one campus in India which can be added to that list.

Heaven help us.

India really shouldn’t follow in our footsteps here.

 

[gnjsdad]

Many of the monologues are very touching, funny, and devastating.
They are all true-to-life stories about women and their experiences…describing giving birth, getting your period, experiences at the ob/gyn, and even rape in Bosnia…genital mutilation…

It’s women sharing stories about women–some sweet, some difficult to hear.

I don’t imagine a man would be as interested, true.

.

You didn’t mention that this obscene tripe explores the joys of masturbation, or the lesbian seduction/rape of young girls by older women.

Would that be the “some difficult to hear” reference?

The purpose of the Vagina Monologues is to get impresssionable young girls into the habit of masturbating and out of the habit of praying. That is the sexual revolutionary’s preferred modus operandi.