tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12536328.post6791090789461950982..comments2023-09-20T04:12:45.159-07:00Comments on CKL's HotSheet is OBSOLETE: Reflections on teh RaceFailCKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12536328.post-45031775504998674852009-03-17T22:36:00.000-07:002009-03-17T22:36:00.000-07:00No apology necessary. The comments are here for o...No apology necessary. The comments are here for others to speak their minds, and maybe the conversation goes elsewhere. I'm okay with that.<BR/><BR/>Regarding activism:<BR/><BR/>Many good stories have been written which include vaginas. Many of those stories did not make said vagina(s) the focus of the narrative, or include the word "vagina" in the title of the story. Now, whether or not a particular story features a vagina is arguably not an accurate barometer of its quality, but calling attention to said vagina will affect how some people perceive said story, regardless of its content or quality.<BR/><BR/>You'd have to be pre-pubescent or socially inept not to understand that discussions of sex (and race) are freighted with millennia of tension, oppression, repression, and confusion. Eve Ensler was not operating in a vacuum when she created <I>The Vagina Monologues</I>, and she knew she was directly addressing the politics of the word "vagina." If nothing else, I'd argue that choosing the title she did <B>is</B> inherently activist.<BR/><BR/>But there's nothing wrong with that. I think she knew what she was doing, and more power to her. The world is a better place with vaginas than without. Talking vaginas, that is. <I>You know what I mean.</I>CKLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12536328.post-48422294484604784292009-03-17T20:20:00.000-07:002009-03-17T20:20:00.000-07:00I apologize in advance for derailing your comments...I apologize in advance for derailing your comments. I think the question of race is really important, and the guest posts Scalzi hosted on the topic went a long way toward pushing me to write some things I was afraid of. <BR/><BR/>That said, do you really think it's impossible to write and perform The Vagina Monologues without becoming an activist? I ask because Eve Ensler's transformation from artist to activist is a minor obsession of mine.<BR/><BR/>In my mind, there's nothing inherently activist about the work. It's a structurally interesting piece on its own, but no better or worse than a lot of other one-person-shows. I think it's actually the marketing of the play that's inherently activist, relying on built in controversy and celebrity performances to drive a larger agenda (and promote Ensler at the same time).<BR/><BR/>Which isn't to accuse her of cynical manipulation. I believe she's sincere, but the activism lends the play more weight than it might earn on its own.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08309031221762121074noreply@blogger.com