March 2, 2002
Seven years of Celebrating Their Vaginas!
Owl and Eagle Lodge astounding in their Feb 17th performance
by Stephanie Hiller
In a 1988 study, 84% of college men identified as having committed rape said what they did was definitely not rape.
"Be Nice to Vaginas, You Came from One." With that slogan, a group of college women at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington won one of three awards in the College Stop Rape Contest sponsored by V-Day.
The slogan will be placed on buttons attached to cards that include tips for men on one side, tips for women on the other, on "How to be Nice to Vaginas." The project will now be funded by v-day and implemented by the group, named WEAVE (Women's Empowerment And Violence Educators).
There were three v-day events in Sonoma County, CA -- one in Guerneville, a summer resort on the Russian River; one in Petaluma; and another at the Luther Burbank Center in Santa Rosa, which I attended with three friends.
WOW.
Vaginas have energy! They pulse with exuberation! They vibrate with pleasure! They emit millions of colors and a range of sound unmatched by any instrument! Vaginas in the bodies of women, excited, happy women delighted to attend an event celebrating VAGINAS, the core of a woman's existence. And y'all came from one.
This was the seventh annual performance by the Owl and Eagle Lodge up here in the enlightened burgeoning wine country (where the rich come to play) that used to just be cow country. Though many bemoan what has become of this old farming region peopled originally by Miwok-Pomo Indians and secondarily by immigrant Italian families, it has always been a place where cultures intersect. In the 70s it was a haven for hippie refugees from the city, heading back to the land after trips through the vibrant universe where all is one; farmers weren't thrilled to have these naked dopers in their back yard, but they learned to live with them, especially when their kids developed a taste for that sweet bud of life which grows so readily here. Nowadays, children of baby-boomers have gone upscale. Their running into execs on a weekend away from San Francisco in the wine tasting rooms of some of the finest vintners in the world. An economy of luxury…
They were all there at LBC to hear the vaginas tell their stories, old renegades and new, women who dared and continue to dare to unwrap the veils of illusion under which we have all been suffocated for centuries. Veils, like the burqa, of male projection. Baring our vaginas, we are breaking free from all that garbage of the delicate and modest feminine who would never ever talk about "down there", transforming ourselves into gutsy women freed of the yoke of male ownership masquerading as protection.
We do want protection, heavens' yes. We do want men to stop the violence against us. Who can stop it, if not the men -- who create it!
There were a number of brave men in the audience, men willing to be outnumbered and back burnered perhaps by 1500 rollicking women roaring their laughter from the belly. Vagina Monologues is hilarious; have you seen it? And it's a testimony, perhaps, to the change in time, and to the human capacity for transformation, that these men were not ashamed to enjoy themselves.
Who enjoys vaginas more than a man -- if not a woman?
Nothing to dislike here. The performance, directed by Jacqueline Grace Hayward, was fabulous. Justine Tomes rendition of "The Vagina Workshop" (with a British accent of course) was orgasmically funny, beautiful, lyric and profound. And Alexandra Hart, the narrator in the rocking chair, peering over her glasses to share this story with her granddaughters, read with perfect clarity and finesse. They were all good, Marjorie Clark as the babe who loved to make vaginas happy, Linda Merryman stripping away the euphemism of her "coochi snorcher that could", Suzette Burrous reclaiming cunt. They were all knock-your-bra-off fabulous!
Our beloved congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, up for re-election this March, was one of the many brilliant guest speakers and performers. She generated tremendous excitement when she announced that with the coming retirement of Jesse Helms there was finally hope that Congress would pass CEDAW, The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted in 1979 by the United Nations Assembly, which has been ratified by 143 countries, not including our own. And Marie de Santis of the Women's Justice Center ended with a crack quite in tune with the mood of the evening in defense of a little privacy. "Let my vagina tell its story? Hell no!"
Yoruba Priestess Luisah Teish was stunning in white as she presided over the opening ritual, enacting African, Caribbean and African American folklore and feminist myths. Arisika Razal was as fluid as mercury, dancing to the music of Copper Wimmin, Sonoma County's own a cappella women's trio. And Linda Tillery and The Cultural Heritage Choir had us all drumming on our knees.
An extraordinary evening, and so empowering. Our vaginas are out of the box. Nothing can stop us now!
"Be Nice to Vaginas, You Came from One" Buttons, submitted by Aysha Cromeenes, Ashley Eberlein, Megan O'Brien, LaMesha Melton, CJ Moothart, Molly Riddell, Stephanie Sanchez, Jennifer Thorne, Andrea Titterness, Laura Wolf from WEAVE (Women's Empowerment And Violence Educators) at Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA - The buttons will be attached to cards that include "How to Be Nice to Vaginas" with Tips for Men on one side and Tips for Women on the other. All three prize winning projects will be funded by v-day.