Eve Ensler: Security and Insecurity

Palin, Eve and Polar Bears

The Buddhist in me wants to accept the fact that no matter who wins in November, suffering will continue. We must remember that grand change does not occur in four years, or eight years, or one-hundred. Real long-standing change is called evolution, and that only occurs throughout thousands of years. We are humans, and we have been making the exact same mistakes over and over again since the dawn of civilization. Can one elected president really stir up that much change?

The optimist in me wants to believe in hope and change, and that the American public is smart enough to vote for the best candidate. And that good will overcome evil, that things can and will get better.  But the cynic realist in me is beginning to accept more and more that McCain has a very good chance of winning, and if he does things could continue to get worse: my rights as a woman and a human being will be stripped away, the Judeo-Christian god will rule the land, national ID cards will be established, and unnecessary death, war, and destruction will continue.

All I know is that the stakes have never been higher. And never before has a presidential nominee used such a backhanded, conniving, and calculated choice for their VP. Choosing Palin was a strategic choice to rally the feminists, the Hillary enthusiasts, and the right-wing religious fundamentalists. This choice has lit McCain’s campaign on fire; he has effectively upstaged Obama.

Eve Ensler re-awoke me to the atrocities of this political theatre, with this essay which hits the crux of the issue:

V to the Tenth

10th year anniversary of “The Vagina Monologues.” A weekend I will never forget.

Reclaiming Cunt

You know what they say– all press is good press!

I think it is hilarious that the words used in “The Vagina Monologues” are still causing such a ruckus–even in the year 2008! What is ridiculous is that Fonda used the ::gasp:: “C-WORD” in complete context–she was simply naming the monologue she was asked to perform, she was not using it in a profane way. Yet everyone FLIPPED out. Common, people!

Language is all about context, and Fonda was completely appropriate: words do not hold inherent power, only so much as we give them power. And we have the power to change the meaning of a word if we want to, because language is dynamic, not static! This is the very pointof the monologue itself! The short monologue, written in a sensual slam-poet type of way, is an empowering piece that shifts the negative connotation away from the word and moves it into a place of profound acceptance and ownership; the piece is called “Reclaiming Cunt.” Maybe instead of freaking out and apologizing to the viewers which only perpetuated the dirtiness of the word, a conversation could have started about why Eve wrote the piece, and its important and powerful purpose in our culture.
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The actress used the four-letter c-word for a woman’s anatomy on the show Thursday while talking about the play “The Vagina Monologues.” Fonda, 70, is appearing in a 10th-anniversary performance.

Fonda said she was asked to perform a monologue with the slang term for vagina as the title — and she used the term itself on the air. She said her reply was, “I don’t think so. I’ve got enough problems.”

About 10 minutes later, “Today” co-host Meredith Vieira told viewers that “Today” and Fonda apologized for the remark.

NBC News has recently apologized for comments made by Chris Matthews and David Shuster

–Associated Press
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My Hero

Eve created an entire movement out of one question: What is your vagina story? She gives me hope. Hope in change. Hope in being a survivor, not a victim. Hope in love. Hope in peace and solidarity and respect. She gives me the hope that I can make a positive change in the world, no matter how broken I may be. And in a larger way, she has given me that very chance as I have found myself acting the role of an activist in a global movement to end violence against women. And it’s pretty powerful. So, thank you Eve. I hope to see you in New Orleans.