I wonder if columnist Gabe Bradley has ever seen “The Vagina Monologues.” I wonder if he has sat next to any of the hundreds of audience members who felt uplifted by the performance, who cried at the sad stories and laughed at the funny ones, who felt like maybe their stories were worth telling too. Those were the women and men I saw during the performance.
The women in this year’s production were teachers, full-time mothers, traditional students, nontraditional
students, students of color, queer
students, actors, activists and the list could go on and on. Most importantly, the women in this year’s show
embodied the ideals of V-Day, an
international movement to end
violence against women that raises millions of dollars every year for the cause. Proceeds from this year’s
show will go to help organizations here in Eugene.
Bradley’s synopsis of the show in his column (“‘Vagina Monologues’
misspeaks,” ODE, Feb. 15) — “The first half is everybody giggling about the fact that an adult just said ‘pussy’ out loud while the second half of the play is everybody crying and feeling miserable about violence against women” — makes me think he wasn’t there to see it. None of the actors cried in the
second half. They were talking about real violence that happened to real women — that still happens to real women. The monologues are real
stories. If they make the audience cry, then maybe they deserve to be grieved.
Yes, the mayor, the dean of students and the ASUO vice president were all in the production. But do you know how amazing it is that these positions are held by women? Do you realize what an honor it is for the mayor to participate in an amateur theatrical
production? These women are working to end violence, working toward
equality with real fervor. What’s so wrong in celebrating that? That’s what “The Vagina Monologues” is: a
celebration. In the end, it doesn’t have anything to do with giggling about
saying “pussy.” It’s about showing how strong and beautiful women can be. It’s about sharing stories and helping each other to find solutions.
As a husband, I would have thought Bradley would be more ready to
celebrate women. And as far as
the vagina fan club, I don’t want him anywhere near it. I am calling for
his resignation.

Sarah Wells is a student senator