I am wondering whether this cold spell has dulled my senses as I have been struggling to put finger to keyboard all week. It’s not that I have not been thinking about the many things that I could write about but they just haven’t materialised into anything as yet.
However, in celebration of World Aids Day, it appears that the wonderful Eve Ensler has written something that I finally feel a need to comment on.
The article starts with the most remarkable paragraph that many commenter’s have taken considerable offence to.
“Vagina is the most terrifying word, the most threatening word, in any language of any country I have ever been to. Even when the vagina is worshipped in theory, as the yoni is in India, it is denigrated in practice. It is more reviled and feared than words like plutonium, genocide and starvation. In many countries the word for female genitalia is so derogative or disgusting, it cannot be spoken in public. In a few places, there is no word in the language for vagina at all.”
Well, who would have thought that such a comment would generate such vitriol? Look at the link and see what people have to say about it.
Whilst I think there is a certain amount of poetic licence in this comment, there is a valuable point that Zenpuss has made on plenty of occasions.
The word “vagina” terrifies the living daylights out of far too many people, possibly not as much as ‘genocide’ but it is still a word that is not spoken openly and comfortably. It still engenders a weird response when someone has the courage to mention the ‘V’ word and one can sense the discomfort when it is spoken aloud.
Provide an alternative to this word, like ‘cunt’ or ‘pussy’ and people drift into a fearful fit of apoplexy. These are naughty, divisive words that cause offence with their directness and lewdness.
Only ‘vagina’, ‘cunt’ and ‘pussy’ are not dirty, naughty, lewd or dysfunctional words. They all describe the very essence of womankind with the perfectly delightful, fascinating and delicious part of the female form.
Eve Ensler is correct. People fear this word as much as the other words she mentions, and it is quite right that we should stop being so bloody stupid about it. It is time that we won the word back and gave it the sort of serenity and civility that it deserves.
Recently, a friend of mine was doing some work in a school when a young man braved the shockwaves of multiple gasps and mentioned the ‘V’ word. As he fervently and confidently talked about the vagina, his peers shrieked in shock that he had actually used the word. He was defiantly annoyed. “What else am I supposed to say?” he said, “Women’s bits?”
And he is right! I don’t want my beautiful pussy to be described as women’s bits. It sounds as though they are added extras rather than the essential part of my body. I’m rather fond of my ‘bits’ and I have it on good authority that other people are rather fond of my ‘bits’ too.
My pussy is a fascinating mixture of textures, moisture, softenings and bulges, changing second by second, minute by minute with stimulation and satisfying touches.
Each and every fold of my pussy has its own form. It is not an amalgamation of ‘bits’. It is ALL mine!
Ms Ensler went on to say that if we embraced the word ‘vagina’ the world might be able to stop the spread of AIDS.
This is where people started making objections to her unaccountable and non-verified facts.
This is a tricky one, and I am not sure that Eve Ensler did herself any favours with the article. However, I applaud her for having a go and trying to say something quite significant.
I’m just not sure that she said it as well as she could have done.
In many ways, she was trying to tackle too many subjects in one article, and this has given the impression that the theme is more eclectic and indeed disparate than it is.
The article was written for publication on World Aids Day so it had to have something about the spread of HIV. It had to have the word ‘vagina’ in because that is Ms Ensler’s bread and butter. She then went on to say that sex was still somewhat misogynist, something that Zenpuss has stated on many occasions. And then she implied that the spread of AIDS is synonymous with the world not embracing the word ‘vagina’ and ergo female sexuality.
I am intrigued by the comments on this piece. People are finding it incongruous that the spread of AIDS and the lack of comfort in the word ‘vagina’ are linked.
I’m not sure that Ms. Ensler has expressed this as well as she might but there is an incredibly important aspect to this.
If we cannot get women worldwide to love their vaginas, to know their vaginas, to explore their vaginas, to protect their vaginas, to embrace their vaginas, then all sorts of abuse and disease is possible, and not just HIV.
My pussy is MY pussy. I may choose to share its delights with others but that is my choice. If I had the urge to open my legs for a variety of people, male or female, I would use the appropriate contraception to protect myself. Why? It is patently obvious! I want to protect my most important asset, of course but the other reason is that my pussy is so important, I only want a special person to have complete access to it; uncovered, unprotected, open, needy and sensitive.
Women around the world have not, as Ensler quite rightly points out, had the right sex education to embrace their perfectly formed vaginas. Even in this country, sex education is completely factual in most cases. Discussing female masturbation is completely taboo and yet being honest about this very natural subject could resolve some seriously huge problems such as the spread of STIs and unwanted pregnancies.
If more women loved and knew their pussies, they may, like me, be more protective of it. Only they will not do this if they have not had the education. They will not do it if they have never been given the opportunity to explore and understand the essence of their womanhood.
What I don’t think Eve Ensler reiterated enough was that this is not just happening in the outward bounds of tribal villages in Africa. This lack of understanding about our own sexuality is as rife in this country and other so-called civilised societies. Our inability to even find a comfortable and acceptable word for the female organs is indicative of how much of a road we still have to travel.
What I don’t think Eve Ensler reiterated enough was that this is not just happening in the outward bounds of tribal villages in Africa. This lack of understanding about our own sexuality is as rife in this country and other so-called civilised societies. Our inability to even find a comfortable and acceptable word for the female organs is indicative of how much of a road we still have to travel.
As I said, the trouble with this article is that it is trying to do too much in too short a space of time with too few words. Essays have been written about female sexuality and yet people still do not listen, do not take stock and still get offended by the mere mention of the word.
It may sound far-fetched to link the word ‘vagina’ with the spread of HIV but if you consider the distorted views on female sexuality, it makes sense.
Well it does to me, anyway.
So I applaud Eve Ensler and let us hope that the Guardian newspaper gives more space and time to delve into further detail on some of the points that she made.
The real positive, of course, is that the number of comments shows that people actually do want to talk and learn more about this subject.
If Zenpuss can help in any way, Eve, you know where I am!
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