Learning to love your vagina: SASSE’s production of “The Vagina Monologues”

The word “vagina” echoed off the walls of Hendricks Chapel on February 19.

There were other words, too. Words like beauty, orgasm, period, pain, and happiness resonated throughout the building. These words capture the essence of “The Vagina Monologues” as performed by Syracuse University and SUNY–ESF students and faculty.

“It’s about celebrating the vagina,” Caitlin Guthoff, a senior television-radio-film major and cast member, said. “It’s a forgotten body part sometimes, and why should it be?”

“It’s a roller coaster ride. Some of it is funny, poignant, some of it is really sad,” Tula Goenka said. Goenka is a professor of television-radio-film who acted as a narrator for the show.

Brianna Garcia, co-president of Students Advancing Sexual Safety and Empowerment (SASSE), the organization behind “The Vagina Monologues” at Syracuse University, said the show is more than entertaining: it is powerful.

It can help women who have been victims of sexual abuse “overcome their own trauma and come to terms with themselves,” she said.

SASSE and “The Vagina Monologues” have many common goals. “SASSE is about being empowered to make good sexual choices and to be emotionally okay with those choices,” Garcia said. “There is a lot of stigma surrounding sexuality, particularly women’s sexuality. We’re sexual beings and I think it’s important to celebrate that.”

According to the program, “The Vagina Monologues” is a play derived from feminist Eve Ensler’s interviews with over 200 women about their vaginas and sexuality. This performance included monologues about first periods, sexual slavery and abuse, lesbian experiences and the female orgasm. Proceeds from the show benefitted local organizations that deal with women’s issues, including The Vera House, Planned Parenthood, SU R.A.P.E. Center and The V-Day Haiti Rescue Fund.

“The Vagina Monologues” set gave Hendricks Chapel a new look. Benches and chairs were draped in fuzzy fuschia and candy-apple red blankets. Pink and red pillows of various shapes and sizes dotted the platform.

The all-female cast was bedecked in reds and pinks, too. They were a diverse group that included women of different ages, races and personalities. The cast was made up of undergraduates of all ages from SU and SUNY–ESF, graduate students and professors. Their clothing ran the gamut: conservative pantsuits, short skirts with bare legs, tailored vests, corsets, sky-high stilettos, ratty sneakers. But they were all clad in shades of red and pink.
“Vagina colors,” Harriet Brown said with a smile. Brown is a magazine professor and member of the cast.

Although Hendricks Chapel may seem like an odd venue for a play with such a racy theme, Goenka said it’s the “perfect space” for “The Vagina Monologues.” “It is a very spiritual piece,” she said. “It’s about reclaiming your body but also reclaiming your soul as a woman.”
There was general consensus among the women involved that everyone should see “The Vagina Monologues.”

“I can’t really think of anyone I wouldn’t want to see the show,” Garcia said. Goenka said she thinks the content of the show is very relevant on college campuses.
“It’s important on a college campus because there is a lot of sexual abuse at college that is never talked about,” Goenka said.

“I would prefer if more men saw it...they have no idea what women go through,” said Tamara Williams, a junior English major and member of the cast. Brown also said that men should see the show. “It’s important for young men to see that young women can be empowered to talk about their sexuality. It’s not just men who can talk about sex.”

Sean Eberle, a sophomore computer science major, was one of the few men in the audience of 80 on Friday night. It was his first time seeing the show and he said that it opened his eyes “to what women experience regarding their sexuality and process of maturing.”

Garcia said that performing in “The Vagina Monologues” can be an eye-opening experience for freshmen, as well. “You see them really uncomfortable talking about vaginas or periods,” she said. They feel like it is not acceptable to talk about these subjects and “we’re like ‘It is!’”

Brianna Collins, a senior communications design major and the other co-president of SASSE, can attest to the powerful effect of “The Vagina Monologues” on a first-year student. She wandered into one of the organization’s meetings by accident her freshman year, and left with a role in the show. “It was a transition for me,” Collins said, and explained how she was making her own decisions for the first time in college.

The importance of her first experience with “The Vagina Monologues” is what kept Collins from auditioning this year. “I didn’t want to take away the opportunity from anyone who walked in the door,” she said. “I’ve seen it as my job essentially to help other women experience what I experienced freshman year.”

The women said they had high hopes for the show and its impact on the audience. “I’m hoping they take away the idea that women’s sexuality is as individual as everything else about human beings. There are many ways to be sexual,” Brown said. “There is nothing embarrassing about your body, it’s part of who we are and it’s OK.”

Similarly, Guthoff hopes to remove some of the taboo that surrounds sexuality. “It’s a very natural thing, if it’s between a man and a woman, a woman and a woman, or a man and a man, it’s something to be celebrated,” she said.

After the show closed, the women reflected on their experiences. “I had tears in my eyes the first time I heard it,” Brown said about the first performance of all the monologues together.

Williams said she felt the performance had a huge impact on the audience. “It’s always profound to see the whole show together. It just makes me love vagina,” she said.

Collins said one of the most amazing things about “The Vagina Monologues” is that it “invites all different kinds of women” to bond over “a common goal.” Women are coming together because they are “passionate about what we do with the Monologues,” she said.

Williams agrees. “We all have this common bond,” she said. “We all come of age, we all get our periods...because we share this we always have something to talk about, regardless of things like age or race.”

Despite all the stress and hard work that goes into the show, Garcia was sad to see it come to an end. “The last night is always bittersweet, because it's amazing to see their growth but sad to let them go,” Garcia said. “Those ladies rock harder than they'll ever know.”

Goenka said that she believes the women who were part of “The Vagina Monologues” have been empowered by the experience and have learned about their own sexualities. “Hopefully when they graduate they can take this sense of themselves out there into the universe and continue this work in some way,” she said

by Jacqui Kenyon

Anna Holmes: Jezebel.com

Anna Holmes’ visit to Syracuse was a laid back stroll down memory lane, strewn with blunt and honest advice regarding her two favorite topics; Journalism and Feminism.

Holmes graduated from NYU and moved on to work at magazines like Entertainment Weekly and Glamour. “Working at Glamour refined my hatred of women’s magazines” Holmes said as the audience giggled.

Holmes was then summoned by Gawker.com to create the “female gawker.” She decided right away that it needed to be more about making fun of women’s magazines, that “created and preyed on insecurities or just always tried to sell you something.”

Holmes is now Editor-in-Chief of Jezebel.com. Her site gets over 20 million monthly views, and has a die-hard fan base. These ‘jezebels’ often get into heated debates in the comments section, as well as share very personal stories relating (and sometimes not) to the article.

When asked about these fans, Holmes theorizes with slight frustration that “a lot of women are being underutilized in their jobs.” Because of Jezebel’s feminist and often snarky content, some companies dislike the site immensely. American Apparel, a common target for their underage-looking models and creepy owner, has not advertised with Jezebel for at least a couple years. To the angry emails Holmes receives, she laughingly says “If someone complains about me making fun of them, I’ll probably run their email on the site.”

While Anna focused more on her journalism experience during her presentation, I got to sit down with her after and talk about Feminism and women’s issues. (Yes, I was incredibly excited, thanks for asking.)

What is Feminism to Anna? “It’s called the F-word for a reason. It’s a bad word now. But I don’t think it’s something ugly or bad. I’m not going to stop using the word because it conjures up… images for some people. It’s just a marker, like anything else.”

But, how can we reach out to the upcoming generation? It seems as though Feminism just becomes a “dirtier” word as time goes on. “You have to draw girls in with stuff they want to hear. You have to hide the spinach in tastier food,” says Anna.

While she’s looking at some new projects, Anna has no idea what the future holds for her. One thing she does know is that she probably won’t be at Jezebel in 5 or 10 years… Which means you should check it out right now to see the greatness that is Anna Holmes, Editor-in-Chief at Jezebel.com.

PS- She thinks the name ‘Medusa Magazine’ is “pretty awesome.” Yes.

by Veronica Ripson

Ani DiFranco

Ani DiFranco is a feminist. But she’s more than that. She is the reason that other people (men and women) are feminists. During her performance at the Westcott here in Syracuse Friday, February 5, she sang a piece inspired by an old working song from the 30’s. I don’t know what the original lyrics are, but I’m pretty sure that “feminism ain’t about women, that’s not who this is for” was not fashioned by the lovely Ms. DiFranco.

Now this is supposed to be a review of the concert, and I am going to do that, because it was my first time ever seeing her live and my life has officially been changed. However, I am also writing for a feminist magazine, and Ani has way too many interesting pieces to discuss in regards to her feminism to simply let that part slide. I was hoping she would do a couple of her extremely feminist songs at the show so that I would have a way to tie everything together but—oh well. I guess finding the common thread is my job. And actually that won’t be too difficult.

At the merchandise table, one of the t-shirts had what is possibly one of my favorite lines of hers pasted on it. It read “Feminism ain’t about equality, it’s about reprieve.” Isn’t that beautiful? The reason that so many people are feminists because of Ani DiFranco is because she gives them a legitimate reason.

When you see Ani perform live, it isn’t frightening. She isn’t some crazy lesbian butch maniac singing about roasting men over the fire. She is a tiny woman with a powerful voice and a whole string of powerful songs. She has the ability to entertain an audience—and she is a feminist. People assume because of her whole persona and because of her record label name and all of the things that anyone has ever heard about her that she is overwhelming and intimidating.

But that’s not true. I was actually surprised after listening to a couple of live albums of her music at how tame she was on stage. She made a couple of political jabs and she did her fair share of cursing at the audience, but she wasn’t preaching. And even though this wasn’t what I expected, it made me like her even more.

If you’re familiar with Ani’s music at all, she sang a lot of songs off her older albums and of course a lot of her classics—Napoleon has got to be one of the most energizing songs to hear live. She has a full band behind her but honestly she is so mesmerizing that you can’t really pay attention to them, except when the xylophone player has a kick-ass solo and everyone is cheering for him. It’s her and her guitar and the amazing lyrics that have the power to change your life and being in the room with all of these people who know every single word to every single song. That is an experience.

One of her songs, which she did not perform that evening but which always sticks with me, begs the question “why can’t all decent men and women call themselves feminists? Out of respect?” and I would like to know the answer. Ani makes identifying as a feminist something to be proud of – she markets it as a way of looking at the world, not the “bra burning, I don’t need a man” stereotype, but the idea of respect.

To Ani, feminism is the idea that the sexes be equal on all levels, and we still aren’t there yet. But we could be. And we should be. Most importantly, if everyone could get on board and realize the goal of feminism, wouldn’t we be a hell of a lot better off? I think she’s on to something. Maybe if life was like a giant Ani DiFranco concert everyone would understand. And hey, would that be such a bad thing?

Emmery Brakke

Terry McBride: The God of the Goddesses

It seems that the goddesses of female music are finally smiling down upon me. My previous blog post dealt exclusively with the history of Lilith, after I discovered just how few SU students had heard of it. It may not have been very evident from my last post, but my excitement was uncontrollable when I heard the news of the Lilith revival not two weeks before my post.

And as if the news that I was finally able to witness the glory of Lilith Fair wasn’t exciting enough, at the peak of my excitement I was informed that Terry McBride was giving a lecture here at Syracuse. Terry McBride; the co founder of Lilith Fair, the person who worked with Sarah McLachlan to bring this feminist music Mecca to life, was going to be speaking here.

My previous writing was based on the written history of Lilith as acquired through my research. But lucky for you all, I am now pleased to relay the information which I learned directly from Terry McBride himself. His segment on Lilith Fair focused mostly on comparing what he called “The Old Lilith” to the soon to be revealed “New Lilith.”

Now before I launch into the tale of my evening of rapture, let me remind you: Terry is a man. He is a high-powered, male music executive. As surprising as it may be, it is also incredibly encouraging to see that the person who drove such a crucial piece of the feminist movement, an event that has practically become synonymous with feminism, is not even a woman. He put this event together because he loves good music. And he doesn’t see gender as a part of the equation that determines good versus bad. Which means that this man is very much our ally. So now that you have been properly warned; get ready to fall in love.

The main discrepancy in my historical account of Lilith was my lack of acknowledgement of the festival’s charitable involvement. From the way in which he spoke of his creation, it is clear that Terry is most proud of the astonishing ten million dollars that Lilith was able to donate to women’s aid organizations. One dollar from every ticket—and this system is to remain in place for the upcoming Lilith—is kept and donated to a charity that helps women. And at the first Lilith show, over fifteen thousand people showed up.

McBride plans to take it to a whole new level this time around. The New Lilith will focus even more on the charity aspect of the event, selecting four or five for profit organizations who show promise to achieve great things and sponsoring them.

Doesn’t sound too charitable? Think again. These businesses will be brought on the road with Lilith, setting up tents and advertising what they do at all of the concerts. Then these for profit organizations will donate portions of their proceeds to non-profit organizations, which are selected by a local talent search of sorts.

For McBride, it’s all about sustainability. His biggest disappointment from the old Lilith was the fact that although it was wildly successful and brought massive amounts of awareness when it was first created, only a few years after the last tour ended, so too did their work. People seemed to forget about it, and the charities they had helped to support were on their own again. They left a legacy, certainly, but not one with much proof of existence. McBride wants to change that this time around. His fresh approach promises to make Lilith a permanent fixture in the minds of great music festivals and great charity excursions.

Emmery Brakke is a sophomore in VPA. She can be reached at ewbrakke@syr.edu.

Medusa Magazine

Promote Your Page Too

Yesterday I had the good fortune to be able to attend the National Day of Action against the Stupak Amendment in Washington, DC.

When I got the first email about the event a few weeks ago, I lamented the fact the Wednesdays I have class straight from 9:30 until 3:35, and couldn't rationalize missing a Wednesday. But after receiving a few more emails, and reading up about Stupak, I couldn't rationalize NOT going down to DC. Skipping classes wasn't even a question once I thought about it. Exercising my right as a citizen, and participating in democracy is infinitely more important than one day of my classes. And what is college preparing me for, if not this? So we went. A group from my WGS 301 class with Minnie Bruce Pratt drove down with a bunch of other other students, totaling at 11!

After an eventful drive down at 4am -- I'll spare you the details, (OK I won't - we ran over a dead deer! It was so crazy! So we lost an hour off the drive waiting for AAA to come help us out. But the damage is very minor, don't worry) we made it into DC just in time for the noon rally. We were ushered to an overflow room since the main room was over capacity - and when we sat down, we noticed that our party was standing right behind the podium! Our friend Andrea was on screen the whole rally! She was directly behind so many famous and influential women, I couldn't believe it. We kept cursing that deer for making us late!

But the rally was incredible. So many women I admire so much! Cecile Richards was the emcee - it was weird seeing her right there - I'm so used to seeing her face as an icon at the bottom of all the emails I get from PPFA! Other memorable speakers were Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), who got the crowd really pumped, and Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), who showed us an old campaign poster, when her slogan was "Pro-Choice. Pro-Change." My own representative, Nita Lowey (D-NY!) gave a rousing call to action that made me proud to be from the great 18th district of the Empire State. She's very vocal and wonderful and I love her a lot (She also hooked me up with tickets to Obama's inauguration, back in January!).

Many other important people spoke, and one woman relayed another woman's extremely moving story. The woman was never hugely concerned with abortion rights, since she knew that if she got pregnant, she wouldn't consider getting an abortion. But when she got pregnant with twins, and they were diagnosed with a very dangerous fetal anomaly, she was thrust into the abortion debate. The odds were that both twins would die, unless they elected to abort one in the hopes that the other survived. If the Stupak Amendment passes, this procedure won't be covered by insurance. Luckily for her, 80% of it was covered, and it seemed that it went well - she just finished paying off the bills, 3 years later. She reminded us that these diseases don't choose wealthy people, and that if she wasn't fortunate enough to be covered by issuance and be able to pay for her share of the abortion, there is no way she would've been able to have it, and she would've buried both her twins, not just one. It was incredibly moving, and refocused my thoughts on abortion and why it's necessary that it be safe and legal.

Our room began clearing out for another meeting, and the main room was open, so we went down and saw the end of the rally in person, holding up our signs and waving the our party standing behind the podium. Then we met up with KaeLyn Rich, who I'd never met in person! She told us about a free youth lunch, and about our meeting at 3:15 with Senator Gillibrand.

The lunch was one of the highlights of the day for me. Everyone says that our generation is characterized by apathy and inaction, but this lunch proved that all very wrong. It was full of youth activists and feminists, all passionate and excited. The room was buzzing with excitement. And furthermore, a host of my idols were there. I had spotted Shelby Knox at the rally, and couldn't figure out where I knew her from - and then I realized she's awesome and famous and I've seenher movie! She was at the lunch, as well as Miriam and Jos - two editors from Feministing. Latoya Peterson was there too, fromRacialicious and a host of other blogs and media. There were also representatives from a bunch of other organizations that cater to youth, who were willing to talk to us and make connections. It was really a power-lunch, and I met a lot of people I admire. A lot.

Then we walked back to the Senate building to see my senator - Kristen Gillibrand - I wasn't sure it going to actually be her, I heard a lot of people would be meeting with Aides - but sure enough, she walked right in. I sat in the front row, and it was really cool. I've never really seen a politician up close like that. I thought about how powerful she is and how much impact she has on my life, yet she's just a normal lady who is against the Stupak amendment like me. And thankfully, she made that crystal clear. She was unwavering is announcing her opposition to Stupak and her support of our cause. We asked her what we could be doing to help - she said to blog about it, and spread the word. So here I am.

Then Chuck Schumer walked in! I literally gasped when I saw him walk in, I'm not quite sure why. He has so much leverage in the Senate, and is so well-known, I just was so amazed that he was there. And he, too, was very firm and positive about Stupak. He loudly voiced his opposition to any healthcare bill that restricted abortion even further than current laws. He said that what we could do is call our Representatives and tell them that they should yield to the Senate wording (assuming that no Stupak-esque language makes it into the Senate version, which is not yet guaranteed…) of the bill. My friend Mary stood up and told him where our group was from, and thanked him for his work on these issues, and he said Go Orange! It was so exciting! Someone asked him what he would do if the Stupak amendment made it into the final version, after the discussions - would he vote for it? And he basically said No. He sad that he would try to get his colleagues to urge the bill to be sent back, and for that wording to be taken out, before voting yet for healthcare. That was very reassuring to me - I hope he sticks to his guns. I emailed him today urging him to be strong on that promise.

This post is getting long, let me wrap it up. All in all, it was a very cool day. Being in DC, walking around the house and senate office buildings, felt so good and right - this is what we should be doing: making our voices heard. Being surrounded by other pro-choice activists felt so right. It was such an amazing, empowering day. And I left feeling reassured by Schumer's comment - let's all urge our senators to put a stop to these restrictions. We can't let this language make it into the healthcare reform. Women's rights are human rights - it's as simple as that.

With liberty and healthcare for all,
Sammy

The camera slowly pans down the bare backside of a woman lying in bed, pausing slightly on her round ass in a pair of exposing black panties before soaking in her long, toned legs and finally, a pair of bright pink and white sneakers – wait, sneakers?

Imagine my surprise when I first saw this commercial while the TV was on mute. I rolled my eyes, expecting it was a promotion for a new, sexy fragrance. But my eyes soon stopped rolling and began bulging from their sockets when I saw those pair of running shoes.

Seriously? This is how we’re advertising sneakers today? I now grant the award for scummiest advertising campaign of the year to Reebok Easytone. The brand is revolving their new ad campaign around the promise these sneakers will tone a woman’s butt and legs, making them irresistible.

When you take the “mute” button off, the voiceover states these sneakers will make 88% of men speechless and 76% of women jealous of your body. Where are these stats coming from? And why only 88%? I thought all men enjoyed playing footsies in bed with a hard rubber sole. I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve rolled around the sheets in only my underwear bottoms and athletic footwear.

And just when I thought the female body exploitation was bad enough, Reebok aired a second commercial. A woman in shorts made up of less fabric than Richard Simmons’ infamous outfit, tells of the sneakers’ benefits while the cameraman zooms in for a close up shot of her behind. Twice. “I take it you agree?” she flirtingly asks the cameraman at the end, a broad smile plastered on her face. This commercial is severely uncomfortable to sit through. It made me feel like a pervert secretly watching some dude act out a sick fantasy. I half expected the host from “How to Catch a Predator” to walk out.

As a young feminist, I was nauseated to see such blatant objectification of women by a brand that should be about health and fitness, not sex and fetishism. Were you as disturbed by this campaign as me?

Erica Sanderson is a graduate student in communications. She can be reached at esander12@gmail.com