THERE are many shocking and offensive words in the English language. Most of them are four-letter words that have very specific connotations. But other, seemingly harmless words offend people for very puzzling reasons. "Vagina" has become one such word in our society.
Recently, three high school girls from Cross River, New York were suspended for one day for using the word "vagina" during a reading of "The Vagina Monologues" at their high school forum. While the administration claims the girls were told not to use the word and therefore given suspensions for insubordination, it is clear that the real issue at hand concerns the discomfort associated with "vagina." Discomfort, however, is no excuse for censorship.
For those students who have seen "The Vagina Monologues" at the University or elsewhere, they will understand how absurd it is to expect anyone to attend a reading of "The Vagina Monologues" without hearing "vagina" countless times. The entire point of the monologues is to raise awareness about why women are uncomfortable with their own feminine identity and also to praise women who are comfortable with their sexuality.
The use of "vagina" is certainly intentional. It pushes the limits and attempts to destroy the discomfort associated with it. To punish those girls for using the word completely undermines the message of the play.
There is no need for "vagina" to be censored in the first place. Considering it is the only non-slang word for the body part I can think of, it is absurd that it is treated as a dirty word. In 2002, residents in Irvington, New York objected to a sign for "The Vagina Monologues" at a locally-owned theater simply because they did not want to see the word on public property. Colleges also faced objections to the play, and now some will only allow it to be performed off-campus. This intense fear of the word "vagina" is inevitably reflected in society, where not just vaginas, but women, are forced to feel uncomfortable with their own anatomy.
"Vagina," for whatever reason, represents much more than a body part. Instead, the word seems to represent all that is sexual and dangerous about women. With the stories of Adam and Eve and Pandora's Box, a part of mainstream culture, a stigma towards the "tempting" nature of women has inevitably arisen. It is women's sexuality, specifically, that seems to be the target of the censorship.
While the word "penis" is celebrated with games, drawings and hearty laughs, "vagina" is hardly spoken at all. When it is used, it is usually a part of a thoroughly scientific discussion of sexual intercourse and reproduction in Sex Ed. But, it is not just school administrations or men who seem uncomfortable with the word.
Several of my female friends objected to "The Vagina Monologues" because of its controversial subject matter. Others simply did not want to hear "vagina" so many times. It is truly sad that many women cannot even embrace a word which is actually a part of them.
Although "vagina" may have, at one time, simply referred to anatomy, it now stands for something much greater. Just as "cunt" may have the definition of a body-part, it also has a much darker connotation. One of the episodes in "The Vagina Monologues," discusses taking back "cunt" and changing its derogatory message to one of empowerment. Vagina, similarly, needs to be rescued from the list of dirty words. Megan Reback, one of the three girls who received the suspension, was quoted in the New York Times as saying, "We [said] it because we believe in the word vagina, and because we believe it's not a bad word. It shouldn't be a word that is ever censored."
One of the other girls, Hannah Levinson, added, "It's important to get things out in the air that might be uncomfortable to talk about. Vagina is a part of the body, and it's not vulgar; it's not profane." If we continue to censor the word "vagina," women will never be able to overcome the embarrassment attached to their own sexuality.
Just because certain issues make people uncomfortable does not mean they should be swept under the rug. Women are already expected to remain quiet about so many things, such as menstruation and the graphic details of childbirth, just because society has decided that it does not want to hear about them. But it is time to erase the stigma and allow "vagina" to say what it really means, and there is nothing vulgar about that.
Lindsay Huggins is a Cavalier Daily Viewpoint Writer. She is a second-year student in the College of Arts and Sciences.
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