Monologue this
By Leah Prestayko
Medicine Hat News Aug 15, 2006, 05:12
For anyone who thought a production of The Vagina Monologues was merely an opportunity for cheap sex jokes and man bashing, they couldn’t be more wrong.The production is just as its name reflects, a series of monologues all having to do in one way or another with vaginas.Uncomfortable with the word? Get over it. Half the world has one.Without a doubt the production contained sexual references. Most importantly, it offered up a number of lessons the entire world should be reminded of.The hardest hitting of the monologues concerned a woman from Kosovo who was raped repeatedly for seven days by soldiers using a variety of instruments. It wasn’t an easy story to hear, even as told by an actress in the comfort of the Black Box Theatre. The audience on Saturday night was silent aside from some squirming in chairs brought on by the uncomfortable nature of the material.Unfortunately, there are too many parts of this world where rape is used as a systemic tactic of war. A number of Hatters come from parts of the world where this is true. Now, thanks to The Vagina Monologues, other Hatters have a better understanding of what it’s like to endure such grievous living conditions. They may not be the kind of living conditions we think of on a day-to-day basis: car payments, clothing costs and groceries. It has to do with personal safety, self worth and survival on the deepest levels.At the same time, it was mentioned that 500,000 women are raped in the United States each year. That’s children raped by family members or trusted friends, elderly women raped by caregivers, women of all ages raped by strangers, friends and even their own lovers.Think of the population of Medicine Hat and multiply that pretty much by 10. That’s a lot of women. In one year. It’s incomprehensible. Now make it a strategy of war.Some may say Fut in the Hat was brave to stage The Vagina Monologues, that may or may not be true. What Medicine Hat should be, regardless of the show’s intent, is grateful.
The Vagina Monologues continues this weekend with shows on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Leah Prestayko is an associate editor with The News. Contact her at lprestayko@medicinehatnews.com.
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