This past weekend I saw “The Vagina Monologues.”
Yes, I, David Keyes, saw “The Vagina Monologues.”
After the show, I started thinking about women ““ and
monologues, naturally. Though it is undoubtedly shocking to some
that a brute such as myself could have found pleasure among this
bastion of femininity, I did.
Often my readers are surprised to find out that I am a man. They
say my words possess a soft feminine quality about them; women
claim my articles caress them with unrivaled tenderness and
passion. Even my name ““ David ““ is a common and revered
female name in the mountainous regions of Kyrgyzstan.
And I do indeed have my feminine side. I am sensitive, in touch
with my emotions. I have cried, and I have even asked for
directions once.
Admittedly, however, I am still a man’s man. I am redolent
with a potent musk, I wrestle grizzlies with my bare hands, and I
don’t walk ““ I lumber. All day, every day, I have a 5
o’clock shadow. I have no sense of hygiene or fashion. My
voice is thunderous and booming. I am quixotic and brawny. I pee in
new places to assert my dominance. Yes, I am a man’s man.
Still, I was riveted by the soliloquy of the vagina. Perhaps it
was that I appreciated the sense of camaraderie that permeated the
room, a feeling of well-deserved empowerment and solidarity that
wafted from stage to audience and audience to stage.
Perhaps I simply identified with the great struggle for equality
women have engaged in from the creation of Eve. Or perhaps I am
just a “girly-man,” in the words of our esteemed
governor.
My love and respect for women should come as no surprise, for I
myself was born from a woman. In fact, both of my parents were born
from women as well.
My nearly 90-year-old grandmother ““ who herself was born
of a woman ““ spoke of the old days in which she could only
long for equality.
“Women were denigrated back then,” she said,
referring to her youth. “But nowadays America is the best
country in the world for that.”
My grandma, a self-described “little old lady,” is
right on the money, as always.
Not without its lingering shortcomings, the stupendous power
women have gained in the past century should be emulated the world
over. In 1920, Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the
ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving
millions of American women the right to vote. Though pathetically
belated, it was certainly better late than never.
A determined women’s suffrage movement had defeated
decades of sexism and prejudice. Let us hope that other parts of
the world receive a fraction of that splendid victory.
Yet the United States is far from a perfect place for women.
In 2003 alone, the FBI estimated that nearly 100,000 forcible
rapes took place, and it is estimated that about 70 percent of
rapes are not even reported. Domestic abuse of women is also a
persistent problem. Nevertheless, on the whole, women are making
incredible strides toward equality, liberty and opportunity.
Today a woman in the United States can become secretary of
state, a billionaire or a stay-at-home mom. One is not inherently
better or worse than any other, but at least today the options are
available.
A woman’s exit from the home is nothing in itself to
celebrate, but the ability to choose to leave the home and enter
the workplace is an issue worth fighting for.
These were among my many thoughts as I watched “The Vagina
Monologues.” As a man, I can only hope to do my small part in
the ongoing struggle for women’s equality.
Women should be reaching out to conscientious men in order to
work together to continue the long-overdue liberation of women.
More than ever, the time is now to establish a vagina dialogue.
Keyes is a third-year Middle Eastern studies student. E-mail
him at dkeyes@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to
viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.