Jessica Blackstock
Staff Writer
On Feb. 18 and 19 “The Vagina Monologues” will take place at the Malibu Stage Company. “The Vagina Monologues” is a play written by Eve Ensler that is now performed around the country and the world. Yes, “The Vagina Monologues” talks about vaginas, and some might view some of the content as inappropriate. However, the goal of the production is to inform the audience on women’s issues and raise awareness of violence against women and girls.
“If you take some of the words out of context, then I’m sure some people would be offended” said senior Julianna Reed, a member of this year’s cast. “However, if you look at the whole story and in light of what it stands for and promotes, you find a deeper meaning in it.”
This is the second year of “The Vagina Monologues” production at the Malibu Stage Company. Producer and Pepperdine senior Victoria Russell tried to get the show performed on the Pepperdine campus last year but was immediately refused by the administration. Russell cited apathy, money and fear as reasons that might have discouraged the administration from allowing the production on campus. According to Russell, not only could the monologues not be performed on campus, but that she could not advertise for it, not even on the freedom wall. The administration also said that if she chose to try to promote it through the Feminist Forum that the club would be pulled from campus and she might not graduate, Russell said.
“From what I know about the production, it would not meet the University’s standard for campus events, as they must be geared toward a family audience,” Tabatha Jones, Associate Dean of Students said recently.
This is a play that over more than college organizations put on every year; even the highly conservative Brigham Young University has allowed a student group to perform the show on its campus. Last year, the Malibu production alone raised $5,000 for the women of Juarez, Mexico and Services for Battered Women and Their Children also known as SOUJOURN. This year’s proceeds will be donated to SOUJOURN again, but will also will go to help the women of Iraq.
So here’s the problem: While Russell is fighting for the right to show “The Vagina Monologues” and raise awareness and money to support a good cause, Pepperdine has no problem whatsoever with allowing a company like Abercrombie and Fitch to do on-campus interviews to recruit Pepperdine students. A mere four days after the performances, Pepperdine will host Abercrombie on its campus.
This is a company distinctly known for marketing its clothing through nudity — an interesting contradiction. Anyone who has walked past an Abercrombie store knows what I am talking about. Often there are half-naked models standing outside the store solely to accompany the many half-naked sexual images displayed on the wall-sized posters inside.
Beyond that, there is the wonderful A&F Quarterly, which is basically Playboy light. The Quarterly depicts lots of topless girls, lots of pictures of men’s butts and lots of pictures that suggest that there is more going on than just some teenagers hanging out. The Christmas edition of the 2003 A&F Quarterly offered a feast for the eyes when, out of the 280 pages, only 100 of them were dedicated to selling actual clothes. The rest were, not surprisingly, pictures of half-naked people participating in less-than-appropriate activities.
As if the pictures weren’t enough, the fine folks at Abercrombie offered articles like the Q&A with Sari Locker, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Amazing Sex, in which she provides helpful pointers for students on how to host a threesome, tips on masturbation and something we all need to know about — how to have discreet sex in movie theaters. I could go on with other examples, like how Abercrombie also had a T-shirt campaign that degraded and marginalized the Asian population, but I think you get the point.
It is interesting, then, that everything “The Vagina Monologues” is trying to eradicate (i.e. exploitation of women, unsafe sexual behavior and promiscuity) is everything that Abercrombie and Fitch promotes. Perhaps it is time for the school to reconsider who it invites to campus.
2-10-2005