The Vagina Monologues

Image c/o http://www.mansibhatia.com/

It's better known at Fordham as the Dialogue About the Monologues. The Vagina Monologues, a play written by Eve Ensler that deals with women's sexuality, was performed at Fordham this past weekend under the support of our Women's Studies Department and but not Student Affairs. On the upside, the play is associated with V-DAY, a charity that raises awareness about and funds to prevent violence against women. On the raunchy side, it deals explicitly with sex, masturbation and, in one particularly startling moment, child molestation. And it makes no apologies for its content, which is exactly why this Catholic school is reluctant to promote it.

The controversy over the play has taken campus by storm, culminating in lots of conversation, multiple articles in the Ram, and even an on-campus debate. And it seems that people are talking well beyond Fordham with recent headlines like "Students succeed in getting “Vagina Monologues” on campus," "More than a Show," and "193 Campuses Reject Monologues."

No doubt, the controversy is valid for a school that feels it has a strict moral mandate to protect. However, the performances in the Monologues --all by current Fordham students-- are outstanding; for the sake of performance art alone, the show is, in my opinion, worth keeping.