Write a check

When you’re sitting in the Indiana Memorial Union Starbucks, you might expect to overhear the occasional conversation from a nearby table, some soft jazz music or, if you’re close enough to the register, the sound of a skinny guy wearing size 4 women’s jeans and a small Abercrombie polo shirt ordering a vanilla chocolate mocha, double-shot espresso macchiato – “extra hot.” One thing you probably don’t expect to hear, though, is a college-aged female standing on top of a table loudly spelling out “cunt” while acting out an orgasm through the exclamation of each letter. This was all accompanied by a few friends who follow her performance by chanting the aforementioned term several times. Last Thursday, I had the ... privilege? ... of experiencing this last event. Judging by the reaction of several student around me, the girls’ little performance didn’t shed a good light on whatever it is they were representing. This makes one wonder what would inspire a few students to go to some select locations on campus to make this scene? Why, the promotion of the “Vagina Monologues,” of course. Shoot, how could I forget?\nAs you’ve probably heard, for the small price of $10 - or $8 if they had their university ID’s - students have been able to sit through an entire show of women declaring sexual freedom, giving testimonies on how they found their sexuality and, of course, celebrating their vaginas. Well, that’s great.\nNow, I’m not mocking the show itself. The overall message presented in the show is undoubtedly positive: Women should love and be comfortable with their bodies, and others should respect them. And the performance of this show has been used to raise money for women’s charities worldwide.\n“The Vagina Monologues” has even spawned the creation of the V-Day Campaign, whose goal is to increase discourse about such issues as rape, incest, battery and sexual slavery. Now, I’m all for ensuring that women worldwide live in a society where they are safe from sexual slavery, rape and any form of discrimination, but I don’t see how the chanting of “cunt, cunt, cunt” is helping the cause. If anything, it perpetuates the idea that all feminists are bra burners who think the only logical way to accomplish their goals is to blatantly spit out offensive language and seemingly mock traditional views of sexuality. Most importantly, it hinders the partnership between socially liberal and conservative women. If the goal is to increase awareness and dialogue about injustices toward women, acting out an orgasm on stage seems to be not only unnecessary, but also detrimental to the cause. \nAll women should have the desire to help fellow females, and it’s fantastic that a portion of the proceeds from the show goes to the Bloomington Middle Way House. In fact, this was the only reason I went to see it the last time it came to IU. But I wouldn’t waste the time again. You’d be better off just writing a check.