It isn't a good week to be a vagina in New Orleans. The Associated Press reported over the weekend that Jesuit-affiliated Loyola University has apparently blocked a production of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" on the campus of the Louisiana school.
The school's president, the Rev. William Byron, allegedly deemed some of the play's up-front, vagina-friendly language a touch too controversial for his New Orleans college campus, forcing the production to move off campus about two weeks from its scheduled premiere. Byron has since denied he called the play off.
The same day, College of the Sequoias in Visalia, Calif., said "The Vagina Monologues" was too controversial a title amid a school financial crunch and took the college's name off the list of promoters.
And as if vaginas hadn't seen enough bad news last week, a Portsmouth, N.H., production reported having to sift through angry pro-life organizations and individuals after it disclosed that the funds raised from a production of Ensler's play would be donated to a health clinic that performs first-trimester abortions.
Every year Ensler's 1999 play has been performed on college campus stages to raise funding for local health centers and clinics, it seems a protest isn't far off. The right-to-lifers have a good case if the fund-raiser supports an abortion clinic, but the notion of restricting a play based on title or language is ludicrous.
If Ensler were after shock value instead of a play devoted to celebrating sexuality and womanhood in spite of violence and sexual abuse, we side with the Rev. Byron. Clearly, though, the intent is not in the shock value.
Certain words will chill - however slightly - any audience. It's fair to say that for most audiences (think outside of a college campus), "vagina" is among them. Be certain, though, the First Amendment is not designed to protect speech you agree with.
If all words spoken, read and symbolically acted were popular and praised, our definition of free speech would fall on its ear. There isn't anything wrong with a little shock value now and then. After all, if everything were pleasing to the mind and morals, we wouldn't be able to determine what shocks and makes us uncomfortable in the first place.
Furthermore, the mission of Ensler's play lies outside the few hours spent inside a theater watching it come to life. "V-Day" campaigns to raise awareness of violence toward women are a worldwide, yearly effort in conjunction with "The Vagina Monologues." Women's shelters are supplied with donated goods and health clinics receive needed funding every time a production comes to town.
If the Rev. Byron did, in fact, find the language of "The Vagina Monologues" to be too hot for Loyola, he's guilty of finding the issues of free speech, violence against women and sexual abuse too quarrelsome as well.
