This past week, Boston College hosted its annual performance of The Vagina Monologues, a play written by Eve Ensler.  Since its debut in 1996, the play has drawn considerable attention and controversy.  The performance consists of a series of monologues, each recited by different actresses, which tell stories and experiences of various women as these stories relate to female genitalia.

Ensler drew her inspiration for the Vagina Monologues from a series of interviews she held personally with women over several years.  Since the script as written is very much open to interpretation and new monologues are added periodically, no two showings of the play are exactly the same.  This year’s performance at BC, for example, featured a cheerleader who would return to stage periodically, dance provocatively, and remind the audience of facts about the sexual sensitivity of women’s sexual organs.

The performance, normally occurring on or around Valentine’s Day, has a broader mission of combating violence against women.  The Vagina Monologues are the high point of “V-Day,” a movement which stages performances of the play in cities and campuses across the world in order to raise money to work against sexual violence.  As the movement’s website describes, “V-Day is a global movement to end violence against women and girls.”  As Maggie Carr, A&S ’10, the student coordinator of V-Day at Boston College, explained, “One hundred percent of our ticket sales goes to organizations working to empower women.”  She remains optimistic about the V-Day efforts: “I absolutely believe that we will one day live in a world where sexual assault is a rarity”

Although well intentioned, the play is not without its critics.  Controversial aspects of the play include an interview Ensler did with a girl just six years of age, in which the child was asked intimate questions about her sexual organs.  Another controversial monologue tells of a women reflecting on being intoxicated and molested by an older women at the age of 16 (13 in an earlier version of the play).  The character describes this experience as healing and redemptive.  Critics such as the Cardinal Newman Society have voiced concerns that, had a work of art portrayed an older male taking advantage of a young boy sexually, the work would be unanimously disapproved by most institutions of higher learning.

Those concerned often call into question what place if any this play has at any university, especially a Catholic university.  “We do face challenges to putting on the play,” explained Carr, “but also have tremendous support from administration, faculty, and students who not only want to see the show, but participate in talk-backs and dialogues following the performances.” Carr is referring to faculty-led discussions following the first two performances, Monday evening’s Men and the Monologues, and the yearly panel discussion, Dialogues on the Monologues, featuring a faculty panel discussion.

“No we do not have any qualms about having a performance that has scenes that include statutory rape,” clarified Psychology Department Chair Prof. Ellen Winner. “We do not believe in censorship… we must never censor artists, writers, thinkers of any kind. We live in a free country, and it is only in totalitarian states that artists, writers and thinkers are muzzled.”

Professor Henry Rosser, Director of the Latin American Studies Program at Boston College, one of 14 academic co-sponsors of this year’s performance, said there is nothing wrong with controversy “as long as the controversy leads to a greater awareness of important human/social and cultural issues and suggest solutions that are beneficial to the greater good for a greater number of people.”  He said, “The relevance of the event/performance on campus is that it may be, and is, of interest across disciplines.”

Marjorie Howes, co-director of the Irish Studies program, explained that “a willingness to tackle even difficult or controversial issues, has been, and should continue to be, a hallmark of the Jesuit tradition in education that BC seeks to continue.”  For that reason, she does not “have any qualms about sponsoring this well-regarded and influential feminist performance.”

Despite criticisms, departmental support remains strong and The Vagina Monologues show no sign of slowing down in years to come.