Right off the top, let me apologize for the provocative title of this column.
It is, to use a recently coined term, clickbait. An image or title used specifically to be controversial, catchy or unusual enough to bypass people’s conscious thought process and immediately grab and hold their attention.
The title “Close encounter with a vagina” was obviously intended to be ever so provocative. To get you to sit up. To make sure you are really reading instead of just scanning through the pages of this week’s paper.
In our society, there are certain words, phrases and images that immediately cause people to sit up and pay attention. Vagina is definitely one of those words, which makes sense because, for the most part, when you talk about vaginas – or the cruder, less politically correct terms we use to describe them – you are talking about sex.
Generally speaking, sex is a subject discussed in very clean, sterile muted language that suggests that something is happening without really talking about it in plain terms.
That’s why when someone speaks in plain terms, just says the word vagina for example, it makes us sit up and pay attention. It makes us ever so slightly uncomfortable, wakes us up a little and forces us to actually listen.
The production of The Vagina Monologues at the Nancy Appleby theatre exploited whatever that discomfort reflex is by presenting plain truths about vaginas, sex and other topics that are only ever whispered in corners.
But unlike clickbait, the title and subject matter of the monologues were not used to shock the audience for the sake of shocking them.
Topics such as rape, orgasm, experiencing a period for the first time and domestic abuse were discussed in the open in as raw and honest a manner as they possibly could be.
And by forcing everyone to sit, listen to and absorb the emotional highs and lows, the funny moments with the painful ones, everyone in the audience – both men and women – were able to get a glimpse into the unique experiences of women they may not have otherwise seen.
And – speaking as a man – it reinforced just how much I do not know or understand about women at a very basic, human level. It showed how valuable just sitting and listening can be.
Finally, it was a beautiful illustration of how words only have power because we give them power as human beings. There is nothing scary or sacred about the word vagina. It is merely a term used to denote a part of the body that performs specific functions. There is no need to be afraid of it. It cannot hurt you.
And if used in a frank, honest conversation it can be a powerful tool of understanding.
