I just saw Eve Ensler speak at Kresge Auditorium tonight. She spoke about V-Day -- the campaign to end violence against women -- and shared anecdotes, insights, and history of how she was "chosen by the Vagina goddesses to give her life to her work." This woman, who roots her work in the pain of her rape and abuse at the hands of her father, is amazing -- so articulate, so honest, so inspiring, and so down to earth. She paints so impassionedly the stories of women from Kabul to Kansas City, weaving the joy and intense pain that life can bring into a short, honest snapshot of an existence.

And this woman, so intelligent, not only gets away with, but reclaims the un-self-conscious phrases of teenage girls, repeatedly exclaiming, "I was, like, 'Oh, my God!'"

Some choice anecdotes:
Two girls at a southern Christian university were encountering intense resistance from the men they had to convince in university administration. Describing one of the girls' encounter in a meeting with three administrative men and the one woman, Ensler drawls irritatedly, "Now, we will have nooh tawk of such things. It's crass, inappropriate, and dirteh!" Then, taking on a polite, charming, woman's drawl, she retorts, "Now, exc-ooose me, gentlement. But did you nawht come out of a vaginah? I believe we all came out of vaginahs. And isn't it true that Jesus Christ himself came out of a vaginah? If it's good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for you!"

Describing a woman in Africa who performed the Vagina Monologues, Ensler said, "She got arrested for vulgarity and inciting women to riot -- both of which sound really good me."

Ensler speaking with a Masai woman about body image:
"Do you see that tree?" the woman asks Ensler. "Do you love that tree?"
"Yeah," Ensler responds to the woman, nodding.
"What about that tree? Is it beautiful?"
"Yes," Ensler answers emphatically.
"Do you look at that tree and say 'I wish that tree would look more like that tree'? No! You're that tree. I'm that tree. Love that tree."
- posted by gleemie @ 2:49 AM