Defiant Stand Applauded By Play's Author

POSTED: 6:59 pm CST March 6, 2007

CROSS RIVER, N.Y. -- A Westchester, N.Y., public high school has suspended three 16-year-old girls for saying the word "vagina" during a reading from "The Vagina Monologues."

John Jay High School Principal Richard Leprine said the girls were punished because they disobeyed orders not to say the word "vagina." The school is in Cross River.

Their stand is being applauded by Eve Ensler, the author of "The Vagina Monologues," who said the girls were right for "standing up for art and against censorship." Ensler called the school's position "a throwback to the Dark Ages."


Ensler, a graduate of Scarsdale High School, said she called the girls to support them.

Honor students Megan Reback, Elan Stahl and Hannah Levinson, included the word because -- as Levinson said "we knew it was the right thing to do. Since we're comfortable saying it, we should make other people comfortable saying it."

The excerpt from "Monologues" was read Friday night, among various readings at an event sponsored by the literary magazine. The girls will all serve one-day, in-school suspensions Wednesday.

Its a word!
part of the female body
and something men wanna be in all the time..


[Edited 3/7/07 4:37am]

Well, we can't have anyone naming anatomy in a public school. For shame, those girls. For shame. Next they'll be yelling out "SPLEEN" during pep assemblies.

2the va gines

Good grief.



Why have a reading of vagina monologues AT ALL if they're not allowed to say, "vagina."

And what's with an in-school suspension?

sj1600 said:

Back in the day an in school suspension meant that rather than go to class you sat in a room and did nothing all day. That will show them!

i was in the scrotum solilaque

sj1600 said:

yeah, i mean. what did the school call it?

"the part of the female anatomy located where the feet connect monologues"?

ThirdandFinal said:

ladies and gentlemen.... The Pussy Book

IrresistibleB1tch said:

!!



Wait, you're not serious??

Jesus

maybe they should've just done it like when prince changed
his name to a symbol. instead of saying vagina they could
just show a big picture of one glued to a stick

CarrieMpls said:

i wish i were kidding!



ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. -- A modified marquee in Atlantic Beach has been drawing some attention. "Hoohaa" replaced a word in the title of a play after a driver complained about finding the previous wording offensive.

The marquis for Atlantic Theaters advertises a number of plays including, the Masquerade Ball, Band Jam, and now The Hoohaa Monologues.

Some said hoohaa is a strange word and that its definition depends on its context, while others said it sounds like a country band.


However, it's not a band at all. In fact, most people know hoohah by a different name -- vagina.

"We got a complaint about this play The Vagina Monologues," said Bryce Pfanenstiel, of the Atlantic Theater.

The Hoohah Monologues is a replacement title for The Vagina Monologues -- a well-known play about that part of the female body.

"We decided we would just use child slang for it. That's how we decided on Hoohah Monologues," Pfanenstiel said.

They did this after a driver who saw it complained to the theater, saying she was upset that her niece saw it.

"I'm on the phone and asked 'What did you tell her?' She's like, 'I'm offended I had to answer the question,'" Pfanenstiel said.

Some parents said they applaud the title change.

The theater said they're trying not to offend anyone, but the publicity doesn't hurt.

"We hope people understand we're trying to do the right thing. But as far as doing it for attention, we're a comedy club, we do all kinds of shenanigans," Pfanenstiel said.

The play is being brought to the theater by a group of law school students and all of the proceeds are going to various charity organizations.

The director of the play said she was going ask the theater and comedy club to return the title back to its original name.

IrresistibleB1tch said:

That's downright assinine!!

I wonder how they felt when it got to the part in the play where the audience shouts together CUNT CUNT CUNT!.

CarrieMpls said:

Stax said:

jesus christ, there are some dumb people in the world. what the fuck is wrong with saying "vagina"?!?! a little more than half the world has one, and it is the scientfic name.

cborgman said:

da Punanny logues

the most ironic thing about it is it is hardly the most offensive word in the peice. the part where one of the women leads the audience in reclaiming the word "cunt" seems like it would set them off more than the word "vagina"

Sometimes I wonder just WHY I want to move back to that country.

CarrieMpls said:

that would have been a trip to see!

IstenSzek said:

Quick, somebody photoshop that Kermit the Frog picture!


punctuation issues need more coffee edit
[Edited 3/7/07 9:26am]

IrresistibleB1tch said:

it's one of the best parts of the peice. if you ever get a chance to read it, i highly recommend it. she is one of the greatest living playwrights we have in america.

FunkMistress said:

The Cunt-On-A-Stick Monologues...

What were they suppose to say, "thingy"


Gee!

I don't understand?

Why couldn't they say it?

It an organ.


Is vagina monologues that mocie about those girls that killed themselves?

Thats more disturbing than the word vagina.

WTF?

SureThing said:

SureThing said:

no, it's a play... sort of.

it's a collection of answers to questions the author posed to hundreds of different women.