The Vagina Monologues @ Michigan State Capitol – June 18, 2012

In case you haven’t heard, vaginas are a pretty heated issue here in Michigan. So heated that you can’t even say “vagina,” the medically accurate term for a lady cave, on the house floor.

Last week, Republican leaders in the Michigan house banned two female legislators from speaking after having “temper tantrums” against the bill that would severely restrict abortion access and force many clinics to shut down. Rep. Lisa Brown was banned for saying “I’m flattered that you’re all so interested in my vagina, but no means no,” which was too inappropriate for some fragile, delicate ears to handle. Proper medical terminology will do that to you. It’s even funnier because they said she brought up the word vagina in an argument about abortion. Quick riddle: What’s the quickest way to or from a woman’s uterus? The vagina! Way to be a twat, Repubs.

Rep. Brown and Rep. Byrum taking the stageRep. Barb Byrum was also banned after questioning why isn’t it that ALL procedures that prevent life from coming into the world, such as vasectomies, are not banned. Once again, the proper medical terminology was too offensive. It’s unsettling to hear that these women were barred from speaking for getting semi-emotional and opinionated about a bill with no decent backing that affects all women, but various Right to Life anti-choice “activists” were encouraged to speak. Shudder.

That’s when Eve Ensler, playwright of The Vagina Monologues, decided to come out and do a reading of the play last night along with Brown, Byrum, and several other legislators on the steps of the capitol building.

I drove up with my friend Julia to see this once in a lifetime event, and this is something I’ll never forget. Perhaps my favorite part of the whole night was when we pulled up to a parking meter, realized we had no change, and asked the lady parked in front of us (a 60-something woman decked out in Planned Parenthood gear) if we could buy some change off her to cover the hour left on the meter. She looked at us and yelled “FFFFFUCK ‘EM! They’re not getting MY money if they can’t even talk about vaginas, but good on you girls if you want to put some change in there!” LOVE HER.

The signs were magnificent, as expected, and the performances were empowering and hilarious. One thing I never really thought of before was that many women there were also around to see Roe vs. Wade go through and all the controversy surrounding it. Can you imagine what bullshit it must be to have to witness stuff like this again after 30 fucking years? Enough is enough, seriously.

Eve gave an empowering speech at the end of the night that had everyone laughing, crying, and feeling hopeful despite these scary, scary bills.

Eve takes the stage for her final speech.

“I am over the over-regulation of women’s health clinics and women’s bodies and vaginas when those same over-regulators do nothing to protect those same women when they get pregnant, when they get raped, unemployed and sick and need more financial support.”

“I am over dudes who pretend to care about personhood and cut Planned Parenthood which makes the health of my personhood possible.”

“I am over you having the chutzpah to redefine rape so that a drugged woman or a date-raped woman wouldn’t even be considered a raped woman.”

“And, by the way, I’m over RAPE!”

“I am over dudes voting against the Violence Against Women Act when one in every three women on this planet will be raped or beaten in their lifetimes.”

“I am really over some powerful men pretending this deep love of fetuses and babies and life when we know it’s all about your terror of our sexuality and power. If you, if you really cared about life, you would never, ever consider letting a woman die rather than performing an abortion.”

“You would cherish the word “vagina” and know there is nothing dirty or disgusting about the place where all life comes from.”

“I am over the Michigan state legislature, and any legislature, censoring, rebuking and removing Lisa Brown because they find the word “vagina” contemptible or out of bounds or lacking decorum. My vagina’s got decorum!”

This was my first visit to the state capitol, and I’d say it was pretty damn successful. Also, vagina.

 

Quotes via the video transcript on Eclectablog

Posted on June 19, 2012
This entry was posted in Michigan and tagged anti choice, eve ensler, lansing michigan, michigan abortion bill, michigan state capitol, planned parenthood, pro choice, pro life, vagina monologues.