Did You Sell or Do You Rent Your Vagina?

What started out on the feminist blog, Feministe, to be a straight forward discussion of the acclaimed play Vagina Monologues turned into a downright cat fight including both male and female kitties. It seems as if conservative Darleen of Darleen’s Place got things started here in this thread.

There is no doubt that some conservatives are upset with the play as too graphic, sexual or something of the sort. I, as a conservative, had no problem with the play. I guess the fact that I went to the play indicates that I am not ultra-conservative.

There is much positive to be said for U.S. style of conservative values, as they pertain to the health of our society. But, too much of a “good thing” is not a good thing, if you know what I mean. On the other side of the coin, liberal permissiveness has led to rampant sexual exploitation and general cheapening of society thanks to, among others, the entertainment and fashion industries. Maybe we can agree that there are elements of both the conservative and liberal philosophies which each have positive and negative aspects.

In the U.S., an aversion to the nude display of the human body is closely associated with the Abraham religions, which require varying levels of modesty. There is a deeply ingrained linkage between the sexual and the nude body to the virtual exclusion of non-sexual expression of nudity. The rejection of the nude body and open references to the more intimate aspects of our bodies, specifically the sexual organs and the female breasts, is deeply rooted in the more conservative elements of our society. But, it also transcends into the liberal elements. Hence, there is resistance to plays like the Vagina Monologues. Disdain also extends to the dissection display of the human body, such as the recent tours by Body Worlds.

The cat fight referenced above got down to a rude, and sometimes profane, discussion as to whether women sold their vaginas in marriage or rented them out for short durations. It certainly is a hot topic for the women. As an aside, some of the female commentators had no compunction about using colloquial terms for the vagina. I suppose it is an expression of their ability to be as rude and crude as males. That’s an example of obtaining equality by descending to a lesser level of civility.

I don’t think men, at least heterosexual men, would get into a similar fight over the social function and ramifications of having a penis. But, who knows? It’s a new age and maybe the feminist males in the cat fight just might do it.