The Vagina Monologues is a play written by twentieth and twenty-first century playwright Eve Ensler. The Vagina Monologues is a series of anonymous monologues centered around the vagina and women's experiences with their own vaginas. Ensler interviewed upwards of 200 women during the research phase of writing her play (Eve Ensler| Vagina Monologues). Initially, Ensler performed all of the monologues on stage by herself, but over the years many different institutions began to put on performances of the play.
The play touches upon varying sexual themes, all surrounding the vagina in some way, from the perspectives of the women that Ensler interviewed.The play also touches upon what women would name their vaginas, what they think vaginas smell like, what they would say in two words, and, more comically, what their vaginas would wear. Eventually, readings and full performances of The Vagina Monologues started to take place at V-Day events across the globe.
Eve Ensler
Eve Ensler Photo Credit: Joyce Tenneson
Eve Ensler was born on May 25, 1953. She was abused and raped by her father while she grew up in Scarsdale, New York, later causing her to become addicted to alcohol and drugs (Americans Who Tell the Truth). She married Richard McDermott when she was 23 years old and adopted his son, actor Dylan McDermott shortly after; however, the two divorced 10 years later (“Eve Ensler”).
Ensler’s first popular play was The Vagina Monologues, which she wrote in 1996 (“Eve Ensler”). The play was first performed in a cafe in Greenwich Village on October 3, 1996 (Americans Who Tell the Truth). Eventually, Ensler began selling the rights of The Vagina Monologues to people and organizations wanting to perform the play in order to raise money for various anti-violence groups and campaigns (Flanders).
Ensler was diagnosed with Stage IV uterine cancer in 2009 (Flanders). On October 26, 2010, Ensler gave a speech at a conference in Long Beach, California at which she discussed her experience with cancer (Ensler). This speech was written in the form of a poem and can be found here.
Ensler's experience with uterine cancer led her to write a novel, In the Body of the World. The novel was published on April 30, 2013. In an interview conducted for The Daily Beast, Ensler stated that she thinks it is ironic that a woman who dedicated her entire life to the female body, particularly the vagina, developed uterine cancer.
Development of The Vagina Monologues
In an excerpt from her book, In the Body of the World, published on The Daily Beast, Ensler discusses her estranged relationship with her mother, and cites her father's sexual abuse as the source. Throughout the excerpt, Ensler describes how her lack of a relationship with her mother caused her to have an estranged relationship with her own body (Ensler). The following is an excerpt from her novel, In the Body of the World:
"As I had no reference point for my body, I began to ask other women about their bodies, in particular their vaginas (as I sensed vaginas were important). This led me to writing The Vagina Monologues, which then led me to talking incessantly and obsessively about vaginas. I did this in front of many strangers. As a result of me talking so much about vaginas, women started telling me stories about their bodies. I crisscrossed the Earth in planes, trains, and jeeps. I was hungry for the stories of other women who had experienced violence and suffering. These women and girls had also become exiled from their bodies, and they, too, were desperate for a way home" (Ensler).
Ensler interviewed upwards of 200 women during the research phase of writing her play (Eve Ensler| Vagina Monologues). Through this process, she was able to learn about positive and negative sexual experiences that women all over the world have had, and, through her writing, give these women their voices back.
The play was first performed in a cafe in Greenwich Village on October 3, 1996 (Americans Who Tell the Truth). There have since been countless performances of The Vagina Monologues across the globe, both at V-Day events and independently.
Several famous actresses have performed in The Vagina Monologues, most notably Ali Larter, Cate Blanchett, Claire Danes, Glenn Close, Goldie Hawn, Idina Menzel, Jane Fonda, Julia Stiles, Michelle Rodriguez, Oprah Winfrey, and Susan Sarandon (Performances of The Vagina Monologues).
Monologue Summaries
Some of the monologues include, but are not limited to, the following:
"Hair"-- A woman describes the necessity of pubic hair. "The Flood"-- An older woman embarrassingly recalls the incident that caused her to shut herself off sexually for the rest of her life. "I Was Twelve. My Mother Slapped Me."-- Various women share their experiences of anxiously waiting for the arrival of their first menstrual periods, and how they felt and reacted when they finally arrived. "The Vagina Workshop"-- A woman takes a good look at her vagina (and womanhood) for the very first time, and in a very public, yet intimate, workshop. "Because He Liked to Look at It"-- A woman recalls, to her dismay, how a man caused her to discover her love for her vagina. "My Vagina Was My Village"-- A woman discusses how, since her rape, she has not interacted with her vagina. "My Angry Vagina"-- A woman’s candid rant about how people, men and women alike, “[spend] their days constructing psycho products and nasty ideas to undermine” her vagina (Ensler 67). "The Little Coochi Snorcher That Could"-- An older woman shares experiences--good, bad, and violent-- she has with her vagina over the span of her life. "The Vulva Club"-- A woman describes the arduous process of naming her vagina. "Reclaiming Cunt"-- A woman says the word cunt repeatedly, along with variations of the word, and other words, in an effort to reclaim it. "I Asked a Six-Year-Old Girl"-- Ensler asks a six-year-old girl various questions about her vagina (ex. “If your vagina got dressed, what would it wear?) "The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy"-- A woman recalls her first sexual encounter with a woman. "I Was There in the Room"-- A detailed recollection of a woman observing another woman giving birth.
Vagina Facts
Sporadically placed throughout the novel are random facts about vaginas. In some instances, the facts correlate with specific monologues; however, this is not true in all cases. Some of the facts are anatomical and physiological in nature. For example, one of the Vagina Facts states the following:
“The clitoris is pure in purpose. It is the only organ in the body designed purely for pleasure. The clitoris is simply a bundle of nerves: 8,000 nerve fibers to be precise. That’s a higher concentration of nerve fibers than is found anywhere else in the body, including the fingertips, lips, and tongue, and it is twice...twice...twice the number in the penis. Who needs a handgun when you’ve got a semiautomatic” (Ensler, 51).
On top of the anatomical and physiological Vagina Facts are facts that are more trivia and history based. For example, one of the Vagina Facts discusses a lawyer that “discovered a clitoris for the first time” during a witch trial in 1593 (Ensler, 31). The lawyer’s discovery condemned the young girl as a witch and she was convicted as such (Ensler, 31-32).
The Vagina Facts give the reader a break from the personal stories that are held within the monologues. While some of them (i.e. the anatomical facts) are not as emotionally impacting as other Vagina Facts and the monologues, they lend themselves to the work and give the reader a break from the rawness of The Vagina Monologues.
The Spotlight Monologues
Ensler continued writing monologues after the play was published as a book. These monologues are called Spotlight Monologues, because they shine a light on various issues that affect women throughout the world. The Spotlight Monologues are more violent in nature, highlighting oppression against women across the globe.
One of Ensler’s newest Spotlight Monologues is written in honor of Myriam Merlet, “activist and author” who brought V-Day and The Vagina Monologues to Haiti (Ensler). She died in the Haitian earthquake of 2010 (Ensler).
V-Day
Photo Credit: vday.org
Named after the holiday on which it falls, V-Day was founded on February 14, 1998 (Why V-Day Started). V-Day’s mission is “to end violence against women and girls worldwide” (Why V-Day Started). Since the play’s original opening night, Ensler has visited more than 40 countries to spread the word about V-Day (Americans Who Tell the Truth).
As part of the V-Day celebration, performances of The Vagina Monologues take place. According to vday.org, over 5,800 V-Day events took place in 2012, all of which were organized by “volunteer activists.” The events took place in the United States and around the world with the intention of “educating millions of people about the reality of violence against women” (Why V-Day Started).
One Billion Rising is a campaign that branched off of the V-Day campaign on February 14, 2013. The campaign has distinguished itself by releasing the following statement:
“This is not an annual holiday, we are not waiting until 14 February 2014. NOW is the time to harness the power of your activism to change the world” (Thank You One Billion...).
On their website, One Billion Rising states that one in every three women on Earth “will be raped or beaten in her lifetime.” In an effort to raise awareness about and stop this violence against women, One Billion Rising has, in its short existence, spread to 207 countries across the globe (Thank You One Billion...). The campaign has made people more aware of the relativity of various issues, including, but not limited to, poverty, imperialism, political repression, greed, religious marginalization, etc. (Thank You One Billion...).
The One Billion Rising event consists of women dancing. On the One Billion Rising Website's FAQ page is the question, "Why dance?" The answer to this question is as follows:
"Dancing insists we take up space. It has no set direction but we go there together. It's dangerous, joyous, sexual, holy, disruptive. It breaks the rules. It can happen anywhere at anytime with anyone and everyone. It's free. No corporation can control it. It joins us and pushes us to go further. It's contagious and it spreads quickly. It's of the body. It's transcendent" ("One Billion Rising").
Works Cited
"About V-Day." THANK YOU ONE BILLION FOR ROCKING THE WORLD. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2013. "About V-Day." V-Day. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2013. Ensler, Eve. "Eve's 2011 Haiti Spotlight Monologue - "Myriam Merlet"" THANK YOU ONE BILLION FOR ROCKING THE WORLD. N.p., Jan. 2011. Web. 03 Apr. 2013. Ensler, Eve. "Eve Ensler's Lyrical, Gritty New Memoir, ‘In the Body of the World’." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 02 May 2013. Web. 02 May 2013. Ensler, Eve. "The Flood." YouTube. YouTube, 24 Apr. 2009. Web. 11 Apr. 2013. Ensler, Eve. "The Gift of Cancer." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Oct. 2010. Web. 03 Apr. 2013. Ensler, Eve. The Vagina Monologues. New York: Villard, 2001. Print. "Eve Ensler." Americans Who Tell The Truth. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2013. "Eve Ensler." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 04 Aug. 2013. Web. 08 Apr. 2013. Flanders, Laura. "Eve Ensler Rising | The Nation." Eve Ensler Rising | The Nation. The Nation, 7 Nov. 2012. Web. 03 Apr. 2013. "From 'Vagina Monologues' to Cancer Survivor." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 01 May 2013. Web. 06 May 2013. Lacombe, Brigitte. Eve Ensler. N.d. Photograph. Eveensler.org. Eve Ensler. Web. 11 Apr. 2013. <http://www.eveensler.org/about-eve/>. "One Billion Rising." One Billion Rising. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2013.
"Performances of The Vagina Monologues." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Apr. 2013. Web. 06 May 2013. "Spotlight Monologue: Haiti - HWS Style." YouTube. YouTube, 20 Feb. 2011. Web. 11 Apr. 2013. "THANK YOU ONE BILLION FOR ROCKING THE WORLD | Vday.org." One Billion Rising. N.p., 2013. Web. 03 Apr. 2013. "The Vagina Monologues." Vagina Monologues. Warren Wilson College, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. What Is V-Day? Vimeo. N.p., 2011. Web. 03 Apr. 2013. "Why V-Day Started." V-Day. N.p., 2013. Web. 03 Apr. 2013.
Table of Contents
Summary
The Vagina Monologues is a play written by twentieth and twenty-first century playwright Eve Ensler. The Vagina Monologues is a series of anonymous monologues centered around the vagina and women's experiences with their own vaginas. Ensler interviewed upwards of 200 women during the research phase of writing her play (Eve Ensler| Vagina Monologues). Initially, Ensler performed all of the monologues on stage by herself, but over the years many different institutions began to put on performances of the play.
The play touches upon varying sexual themes, all surrounding the vagina in some way, from the perspectives of the women that Ensler interviewed.The play also touches upon what women would name their vaginas, what they think vaginas smell like, what they would say in two words, and, more comically, what their vaginas would wear. Eventually, readings and full performances of The Vagina Monologues started to take place at V-Day events across the globe.
Eve Ensler
Eve Ensler was born on May 25, 1953. She was abused and raped by her father while she grew up in Scarsdale, New York, later causing her to become addicted to alcohol and drugs (Americans Who Tell the Truth). She married Richard McDermott when she was 23 years old and adopted his son, actor Dylan McDermott shortly after; however, the two divorced 10 years later (“Eve Ensler”).
Ensler’s first popular play was The Vagina Monologues, which she wrote in 1996 (“Eve Ensler”). The play was first performed in a cafe in Greenwich Village on October 3, 1996 (Americans Who Tell the Truth). Eventually, Ensler began selling the rights of The Vagina Monologues to people and organizations wanting to perform the play in order to raise money for various anti-violence groups and campaigns (Flanders).
Ensler was diagnosed with Stage IV uterine cancer in 2009 (Flanders). On October 26, 2010, Ensler gave a speech at a conference in Long Beach, California at which she discussed her experience with cancer (Ensler). This speech was written in the form of a poem and can be found here.
Ensler's experience with uterine cancer led her to write a novel, In the Body of the World. The novel was published on April 30, 2013. In an interview conducted for The Daily Beast, Ensler stated that she thinks it is ironic that a woman who dedicated her entire life to the female body, particularly the vagina, developed uterine cancer.
Development of The Vagina Monologues
In an excerpt from her book, In the Body of the World, published on The Daily Beast, Ensler discusses her estranged relationship with her mother, and cites her father's sexual abuse as the source. Throughout the excerpt, Ensler describes how her lack of a relationship with her mother caused her to have an estranged relationship with her own body (Ensler). The following is an excerpt from her novel, In the Body of the World:
"As I had no reference point for my body, I began to ask other women about their bodies, in particular their vaginas (as I sensed vaginas were important). This led me to writing The Vagina Monologues, which then led me to talking incessantly and obsessively about vaginas. I did this in front of many strangers. As a result of me talking so much about vaginas, women started telling me stories about their bodies. I crisscrossed the Earth in planes, trains, and jeeps. I was hungry for the stories of other women who had experienced violence and suffering. These women and girls had also become exiled from their bodies, and they, too, were desperate for a way home" (Ensler).
Ensler interviewed upwards of 200 women during the research phase of writing her play (Eve Ensler| Vagina Monologues). Through this process, she was able to learn about positive and negative sexual experiences that women all over the world have had, and, through her writing, give these women their voices back.
The play was first performed in a cafe in Greenwich Village on October 3, 1996 (Americans Who Tell the Truth). There have since been countless performances of The Vagina Monologues across the globe, both at V-Day events and independently.
Several famous actresses have performed in The Vagina Monologues, most notably Ali Larter, Cate Blanchett, Claire Danes, Glenn Close, Goldie Hawn, Idina Menzel, Jane Fonda, Julia Stiles, Michelle Rodriguez, Oprah Winfrey, and Susan Sarandon (Performances of The Vagina Monologues).
Monologue Summaries
Some of the monologues include, but are not limited to, the following:
"Hair"-- A woman describes the necessity of pubic hair.
"The Flood"-- An older woman embarrassingly recalls the incident that caused her to shut herself off sexually for the rest of her life.
"I Was Twelve. My Mother Slapped Me."-- Various women share their experiences of anxiously waiting for the arrival of their first menstrual periods, and how they felt and reacted when they finally arrived.
"The Vagina Workshop"-- A woman takes a good look at her vagina (and womanhood) for the very first time, and in a very public, yet intimate, workshop.
"Because He Liked to Look at It"-- A woman recalls, to her dismay, how a man caused her to discover her love for her vagina.
"My Vagina Was My Village"-- A woman discusses how, since her rape, she has not interacted with her vagina.
"My Angry Vagina"-- A woman’s candid rant about how people, men and women alike, “[spend] their days constructing psycho products and nasty ideas to undermine” her vagina (Ensler 67).
"The Little Coochi Snorcher That Could"-- An older woman shares experiences--good, bad, and violent-- she has with her vagina over the span of her life.
"The Vulva Club"-- A woman describes the arduous process of naming her vagina.
"Reclaiming Cunt"-- A woman says the word cunt repeatedly, along with variations of the word, and other words, in an effort to reclaim it.
"I Asked a Six-Year-Old Girl"-- Ensler asks a six-year-old girl various questions about her vagina (ex. “If your vagina got dressed, what would it wear?)
"The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy"-- A woman recalls her first sexual encounter with a woman.
"I Was There in the Room"-- A detailed recollection of a woman observing another woman giving birth.
Vagina Facts
Sporadically placed throughout the novel are random facts about vaginas. In some instances, the facts correlate with specific monologues; however, this is not true in all cases. Some of the facts are anatomical and physiological in nature. For example, one of the Vagina Facts states the following:
“The clitoris is pure in purpose. It is the only organ in the body designed purely for pleasure. The clitoris is simply a bundle of nerves: 8,000 nerve fibers to be precise. That’s a higher concentration of nerve fibers than is found anywhere else in the body, including the fingertips, lips, and tongue, and it is twice...twice...twice the number in the penis. Who needs a handgun when you’ve got a semiautomatic” (Ensler, 51).
On top of the anatomical and physiological Vagina Facts are facts that are more trivia and history based. For example, one of the Vagina Facts discusses a lawyer that “discovered a clitoris for the first time” during a witch trial in 1593 (Ensler, 31). The lawyer’s discovery condemned the young girl as a witch and she was convicted as such (Ensler, 31-32).
The Vagina Facts give the reader a break from the personal stories that are held within the monologues. While some of them (i.e. the anatomical facts) are not as emotionally impacting as other Vagina Facts and the monologues, they lend themselves to the work and give the reader a break from the rawness of The Vagina Monologues.
The Spotlight Monologues
Ensler continued writing monologues after the play was published as a book. These monologues are called Spotlight Monologues, because they shine a light on various issues that affect women throughout the world. The Spotlight Monologues are more violent in nature, highlighting oppression against women across the globe.
One of Ensler’s newest Spotlight Monologues is written in honor of Myriam Merlet, “activist and author” who brought V-Day and The Vagina Monologues to Haiti (Ensler). She died in the Haitian earthquake of 2010 (Ensler).
V-Day
Named after the holiday on which it falls, V-Day was founded on February 14, 1998 (Why V-Day Started). V-Day’s mission is “to end violence against women and girls worldwide” (Why V-Day Started). Since the play’s original opening night, Ensler has visited more than 40 countries to spread the word about V-Day (Americans Who Tell the Truth).
As part of the V-Day celebration, performances of The Vagina Monologues take place. According to vday.org, over 5,800 V-Day events took place in 2012, all of which were organized by “volunteer activists.” The events took place in the United States and around the world with the intention of “educating millions of people about the reality of violence against women” (Why V-Day Started).
What is V-Day? from V-Day Until the Violence Stops on Vimeo.
One Billion Rising
One Billion Rising is a campaign that branched off of the V-Day campaign on February 14, 2013. The campaign has distinguished itself by releasing the following statement:
“This is not an annual holiday, we are not waiting until 14 February 2014. NOW is the time to harness the power of your activism to change the world” (Thank You One Billion...).
On their website, One Billion Rising states that one in every three women on Earth “will be raped or beaten in her lifetime.” In an effort to raise awareness about and stop this violence against women, One Billion Rising has, in its short existence, spread to 207 countries across the globe (Thank You One Billion...). The campaign has made people more aware of the relativity of various issues, including, but not limited to, poverty, imperialism, political repression, greed, religious marginalization, etc. (Thank You One Billion...).
The One Billion Rising event consists of women dancing. On the One Billion Rising Website's FAQ page is the question, "Why dance?" The answer to this question is as follows:
"Dancing insists we take up space. It has no set direction but we go there together. It's dangerous, joyous, sexual, holy, disruptive. It breaks the rules. It can happen anywhere at anytime with anyone and everyone. It's free. No corporation can control it. It joins us and pushes us to go further. It's contagious and it spreads quickly. It's of the body. It's transcendent" ("One Billion Rising").
Works Cited
"About V-Day." THANK YOU ONE BILLION FOR ROCKING THE WORLD. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2013.
"About V-Day." V-Day. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2013.
Ensler, Eve. "Eve's 2011 Haiti Spotlight Monologue - "Myriam Merlet"" THANK YOU ONE BILLION FOR ROCKING THE WORLD. N.p., Jan. 2011. Web. 03 Apr. 2013.
Ensler, Eve. "Eve Ensler's Lyrical, Gritty New Memoir, ‘In the Body of the World’." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 02 May 2013. Web. 02 May 2013.
Ensler, Eve. "The Flood." YouTube. YouTube, 24 Apr. 2009. Web. 11 Apr. 2013.
Ensler, Eve. "The Gift of Cancer." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Oct. 2010. Web. 03 Apr. 2013.
Ensler, Eve. The Vagina Monologues. New York: Villard, 2001. Print.
"Eve Ensler." Americans Who Tell The Truth. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2013.
"Eve Ensler." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 04 Aug. 2013. Web. 08 Apr. 2013.
Flanders, Laura. "Eve Ensler Rising | The Nation." Eve Ensler Rising | The Nation. The Nation, 7 Nov. 2012. Web. 03 Apr. 2013.
"From 'Vagina Monologues' to Cancer Survivor." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 01 May 2013. Web. 06 May 2013.
Lacombe, Brigitte. Eve Ensler. N.d. Photograph. Eveensler.org. Eve Ensler. Web. 11 Apr. 2013. <http://www.eveensler.org/about-eve/>.
"One Billion Rising." One Billion Rising. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2013.
"Performances of The Vagina Monologues." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Apr. 2013. Web. 06 May 2013.
"Spotlight Monologue: Haiti - HWS Style." YouTube. YouTube, 20 Feb. 2011. Web. 11 Apr. 2013.
"THANK YOU ONE BILLION FOR ROCKING THE WORLD | Vday.org." One Billion Rising. N.p., 2013. Web. 03 Apr. 2013.
"The Vagina Monologues." Vagina Monologues. Warren Wilson College, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.
What Is V-Day? Vimeo. N.p., 2011. Web. 03 Apr. 2013.
"Why V-Day Started." V-Day. N.p., 2013. Web. 03 Apr. 2013.