April 19th, 2005

Filed under:
PR and Marketing
5 Comments »

The Word ‘Vagina’ Upsets People

Olaf’s wife is producing The Vagina Monologues in Gainsville, Georgia. Predictably, she’s catching some flack for the big banner in her window:

Ever since my wife put the banner up in her window for the event, she’s gotten flack from pockets of the community. I guess it’s to be expected when you put the word, “VAGINA,” up in bold letters in a public place. Of course, I’d have thought that people would quickly realize what it was that they thought they were repulsed by, and then realize it was actually for an internationally acclaimed performance supporting respect for women. It’s funny how people get so upset about something they don’t actually understand.

I’ve never been to Gainsville (in fact, I’ve never been to Georgia, but I’d like to), so I can’t speak to the level of conservatism in the town. Here’s how I’d solve this problem: I’d add a poster with the names and photos of famous women who have starred in the show (this page lists a bunch, but basically every actor with ’serious theatre’ aspirations and a vagina has done so). This will undercut the ignorant, because they’ll view the celebrities’ participation as an implicit endorsement of the show.

Comments: 5 Responses so far

Michael Kohne
April 20th, 2005
6:21 am

Sadly, while this is a good idea, I bet it won’t work. The sort of person who’s going to be offended by the sign isn’t going to read anything else. They’ll see the sign, make up their mind, and start to whine, all without knowing a single fact about the show. If they could think, they’d as a question or two before they complain.

[Reply]

alexis
April 20th, 2005
12:26 pm

Apparently some conservatives in Saskatoon were offended by a picture of a “V” and a poster which said, “The Vagina Monologues, spread the word.”

Some people get offended at anything.

[Reply]

Paolo
April 20th, 2005
1:57 pm

[shrug] Whatareyagonnado? People can be stupid. She should just tell them it was Vagina or Anus. Seeing as the Vagina Monologues are getting such rave reviews better to ignore the Anus Monologues altogether.

[Reply]

Anonymous
April 22nd, 2005
6:10 am

I live in downtown Atlanta, and admit that I am most spoiled by the cortical shielding provided by urban areas: people know what a vagina is, aren’t as offended by words on a poster, etc..

The offense, I suspect, is more basic than understanding from whence the play came, or whether it is positive and supportive of women or dirty/slutty.

See, “round them parts” there’s an order of things, a way things are. Vaginas belong in private, personal space. Thrusting vaginas onto storefronts, regardless of benign nature, upsets lots of folks because they’re just not spoken of publicly. By anyone. Anywhere. It’s not the order of things.

In rural/red America, you don’t have to see/hear/cope with/understand/accept as many challenges to your own personal universe because there aren’t as many people sufficiently different from you with which you must interact regularly.

So, stuff outside of your learned order becomes upsetting, wrong, and unacceptable. It becomes offensive, then justiafiably offensive because it upsets the order of things. It doesn’t matter if it is a positive play; it just “ain’t the way we do ’round here!”

We’re even, by the way. I’ve never been to Vancouver, and am dying to visit. I missed a super cheap flight deal in February, still kicking myself. One day.

Until then, I will just have to get my fix on db… ;-)

[Reply]

Baron Chandler
April 22nd, 2005
6:13 am

I live in downtown Atlanta, and admit that I am most spoiled by the cortical shielding provided by urban areas: people know what a vagina is, aren’t as offended by words on a poster, etc..

The offense, I suspect, is more basic than understanding from whence the play came, or whether it is positive and supportive of women or dirty/slutty.

See, “round them parts” there’s an order of things, a way things are. Vaginas belong in private, personal space. Thrusting vaginas onto storefronts, regardless of benign nature, upsets lots of folks because they’re just not spoken of publicly. By anyone. Anywhere. It’s not the order of things.

In rural/red America, you don’t have to see/hear/cope with/understand/accept as many challenges to your own personal universe because there aren’t as many people sufficiently different from you with which you must interact regularly.

So, stuff outside of your learned order becomes upsetting, wrong, and unacceptable. It becomes offensive, then justiafiably offensive because it upsets the order of things. It doesn’t matter if it is a positive play; it just “ain’t the way we do ’round here!”

We’re even, by the way. I’ve never been to Vancouver, and am dying to visit. I missed a super cheap flight deal in February, still kicking myself. One day.

Until then, I will just have to get my fix on db… ;-)

[Reply]

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