Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Providence College Bans Vagina Monologues
(Link) Eve Ensler's award-winning, consciousness-raising show is apparently too hot for the upper crust college, but not because they talk about coochie snorchers. If you guessed that it's because teenage lesbian monologue is contrary to "church teachings", you're right!
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From Associated Press
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The president of Providence College, which is run by the Roman Catholic Dominican religious order, has banned a campus performance of “The Vagina Monologues” — a play about female sexuality and violence, saying the work contradicts church teaching.
Written by Eve Ensler, the play debuted a decade ago and is based on the author’s interviews with more than 200 women. College officials had permitted performances of the play for four years, while limiting promotion of the show last year, said senior Erica Rioux, who was coordinating this year’s production.
Another prominent Catholic school, the University of Notre Dame, also has placed restrictions on the play’s performance.
The new school president at Providence, the Rev. Brian Shanley, wrote in a Jan. 18 letter to students that he particularly objected to one tale that uses religious language to describe a sexual encounter between a woman and a teenage girl.
While the teen narrator describes the episode as “a kind of heaven,” Shanley said it’s “abusive, exploitative and morally wrong.” The church teaches that homosexuality is “intrinsically disordered.”
Shanley also objected to a description of the work as a “new bible” for women, which he said gave the impression that the play attacks “the traditional biblical views that inspires the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.”
“Artistic freedom on a Catholic campus cannot mean the complete license to perform or display any work of art regardless of its intellectual or moral content,” he said.
Separately, the new president of Notre Dame said that the school will scale back its production of “The Vagina Monologues” and a Queer Film Festival held on campus this year. He is also considering whether to cancel the events in the future.
The Rev. John I. Jenkins, who took over July 1, said he would allow “The Vagina Monologues” to be performed on campus this year, but only in a classroom setting and not as a fundraiser. Last year’s event raised about $15,000 for a women’s shelter and other programs.
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