Letter to the Editor: Response to Anique Ashraf

The following letter to the editor was written by Bettina Weiss ’15, producer of the new production As Told By Vaginas, in response to Anique Ashraf’s ’17 article, Scrutinizing “As Told By Vaginas:” The Pervasive Disinclusion of Trans and Gender-queer Individuals in Feminist Performance.  The article can be read here. The College Voice does not endorse either side of the issue, but presents both sides in hope of fostering a conversation around the issue at hand. 

Maya Angelou once said, “Stepping on to a brand new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman.” This quote has been on my mind since arriving on campus in August, ready to start building a brand new production to replace The Vagina Monologues, which has been a popular performance and fundraiser on our campus for the last 12 years.

The Vagina Monologues is an official production through an international organization, VDAY, which was started by Eve Ensler. Because of this, producing the show is all or nothing: we either perform the monologues as written, donate a portion of proceeds to VDAY, and perform the show in the necessary format—or we completely walk away. As widely known and articulated through Alia Roth ’14’s article, we have disbanded from VDAY because the cast of the show and our community did not feel accurately reflected by the content of the monologues. In the last five years, we have donated over $35,000 to Safe Futures, the only domestic violence shelter in New London County, which serves more than 5,000 people a year. That is the focus of this movement: women helping women. This show is a fundraiser and connects the cast directly to the survivors in New London. This year’s production will, in fact, focus more on the relationship between the cast of the show and the amazing individuals at Safe Futures.

Because we have separated from VDAY, it was not a decision to change the name: it was a requirement. Our new show needed a name, the entire leadership, including directors and reading committee members, were part of the conversations about what name to choose. We have been as transparent as possible about this; the leadership had numerous conversations with faculty, staff, and students to develop the new show. We have held an information session, tabling, and a monologue discussion in the last two months where we have spoken with larger bodies of students and articulated the changes.

Choosing As Told By Vaginas was not a conclusion that we came to lightly, and we discussed the pros and cons of keeping the word “vagina” in the title. In order to make that decision we reviewed our goals for the organization and concluded that it is of the utmost importance that the cast’s connection remains the central focus, and that we maintain a space for women on our campus to come together and talk about their experiences. Being able to comfortably say the word “vagina” aloud has been an integral part to my, and many other students’, feminist identity. The Vagina Monologues was a space for women to embrace discomfort, learn from it, and acquire new skills for discussing such experiences.

Through discussions with the leadership team, we decided that including the word vagina does not “narrow what the definition of womanhood is,” as Ashraf put it, but rather expands the realm of what is acceptable. As Told By Vaginas is for telling stories about female experiences at Connecticut College. Whether you have a vagina, don’t have one, want one, don’t want one, don’t want to think about it, think about it all the time, don’t know how you feel, or have a different experience altogether: you have a relationship with the idea of the vagina. It is extremely important to remember that there are women on our campus who need a space to discuss these feelings no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity, and that all identities matter. Furthermore, we stand by this name because we feel it is the umbrella that best encapsulates the space we are trying to preserve. The other alternatives we discussed would either be more limiting or cause us to lose the space that Connecticut College women have come to rely on.

Walking away from VDAY was a bold but necessary choice for our school, but who are we to take away a space that impacted as many women as it has for so long? I don’t have the authority to do that, nor would I want to be responsible for taking away a space on campus that has been so empowering to students in the past. Transitioning from the monologues needs to be just that: a transition. Cutting off everything that students cherished from this show would be irresponsible.  Additionally, the content of the show should reflect the experiences of the cast because it will enhance their involvement and the audience’s understanding of life at Connecticut College. Ashraf cited that the most important aspect of the show for the cast was the togetherness and questioned why, then, we would care about the content.

Why? Because the monologues are meant to challenge comfort zones and inspire reflection. We felt that some of the monologues crossed the line from uncomfortable to offensive. The togetherness and the content make up the show: without both components, there is no show. At our College, we are challenged to put the liberal arts into action. We are striving to be leaders in this movement and are challenging the status quo. We will build on the foundation that the original monologues provided us and retain the valuable aspects.

On a campus with so much going on, it has been difficult to articulate such huge changes to everyone at once, but the resources have been presented. The leadership board and I, who have been working tirelessly to provide a space for women of all genders, sexualities, and identifications, are discouraged by the reaction to the name because this movement is more than its name and because the show has not even been written yet.

Anyone who knows the leadership team knows that this is not a “half-hearted” effort or a “cop-out.” We all need an army of hearts to encompass how deeply we care about this cause. The responsibility of facilitating female expression on this campus is a fulltime job. We acknowledge that in our society, gender and sexuality are topics at the forefront and are continually being redefined, and we have said from the beginning that the title can change from year to year. In light of this possibility for change, I would love to encourage conversations about a name that others feel would incorporate this group of people for next year.

Our world is changing. We think it’s incredible that people whose voices have been silenced for so long are being heard, and we want to hear those voices too. Ashraf inquires about genderqueer, agender, transgender, “those who are not born female,” “those who come into themselves as women,” those who “proclaim a gender identity regardless of what biological organs they possess.” We want to hear from everyone. The deadline for monologue submissions is Nov. 1, and we are looking forward to having a diverse array of experiences articulated in the show.

I would hate to think that there are people trying to get us to eliminate the use of the word “vagina,” when that is exactly the reason the show was created. To quote Eve Ensler, our predecessor whom we greatly admire for providing a starting point for this work, we use the word “… to speak of their hunger and pain and loneliness and humour, to make them visible so they can not be ravaged in the dark without great consequence.” We want everyone’s voices to erupt from the darkness with confidence, and we are proud to be part of the change that includes even more students than before.

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