So this weekend I had my comprehensive exams, and afterwards a friend and I went to a Tegan and Sara concert (for all of you who do not know them, you should look them up because they're awesome!). Anyway, I decided that I would wear my Vagina Monologue's shirt to the concert because it says VAGINA SECURITY on the back. I thought hey maybe I could get to the front a little easier if I had 'Security' clearance... I was right. Most people loved my shirt, I don't know if this had anything to do with the fact that the majority of the crowd were 'out and proud' or if they were just tickled to see someone wearing a vagina on their chest.
After the concert, my friend and I stopped at IHOP (be jealous) and I was still rocking the 'Vee'. Again, I was complimented on my shirt from two younger women who were sitting behind us. They got a good laugh, and told me they thought it was 'awesome'.
It was late so I told my friend we could just stay at my grandparents house that night instead of driving all the way back to school. The next morning when I woke up, I walked out in the kitchen to get my morning cup of joe, and my grandma was sitting in her usual seat working puzzles. I sat down and had completely forgotten about my shirt until my grandma says, "that's a pretty shirt, I haven't seen it before." <Insert huge Vaginal Heart here> "Oh, yeah I got it from school... it's for the Vagina Monologues..."
My grandmother's face was then suddenly overtaken by confusion, and she asked, "the what monologues??"
When I told her about the meaning behind the program, and after I showed her the back of the shirt and explained that the heart on the front was actually a vagina.. she didn't seem to think it was too 'pretty' anymore. I was more than disappointed (but not surprised) to hear my grandma say 'well that's silly, why on Earth would you want to wear something like that'. Of course being me, I said, "why not, I carry one around with me everyday..." This of course ended the conversation, and we sat drinking coffee and talking about my exams instead.
I wanted to share this because I think it speaks to the difference in generational understanding and expression of femininity. Given that most of the compliments I received were from young women and the only backlash I received (as of yet) was from an 83 year old woman. I was wondering what you all think might be a good way of explaining and promoting the message/messages that the Vagina Monologues aims at expressing. How can we close the generational divide and unite women from all walks of life to embrace their womanly parts, instead of seeing them as 'silly' or simply just not seeing them at all?
I am not sure, I wish there was an easier solution to change the generation divide. I know that even my own grandparents, who I do love, carry a little bit of racism. I try to explain in a positive light why things have changed, but I never get across to them. If we could use more images in the media about the importance of loving your own body, I think that would be a good start. As for the generational gap, we just need to keep reinforcing our own beliefs, and even if they don't share the same, at least we leave them with the understanding that there is a reason why to be proud of our body.
ReplyDeleteI do think it is really cool that at I-Hop you received several compliments about the shirt. I was a little worried as I read your statement that you would receive the opposite. Although we may not be getting across our message as much as we like to connect the generations, we are still getting across to younger people. Maybe we will see the day that women are not afraid of hiding their bodies.