By Richard Parker
Wiping the tears from my eyes, I listened intently as the performers of “The Vagina Monologues” chanted, “Myriam! Myriam! Myriam!” The performance was put on by Prevention, Education and Advocacy on Campus and in the Community, better known as PEACC. The stories the brave performers told were filled with humor, reflection and triumph, showing the many faces of violence perpetuated against women every day. Female genital mutilation, rape, and the control and oppression of women’s sexual freedom were just a few of the issues addressed during the performance. The experiences provided weren’t limited to the women in our culture and nation, but were also the experiences of women throughout the world. The performance sent a jolt through my heart and compelled me to address the need for social change.
My goal is to offer ways in which we can contribute to a redefinition of the social context in which we interact with each other on a daily basis. Our interactions are not the only venues which further the cultural ideologies that legitimize and perpetuate violence toward women, but they are crucial to them. Before I provide possible methods of resistance, I would like to describe the underlying process that legitimizes violence.
For violence to be legitimized against anything, the focus of the violence must first become a thing. Many feminist writers refer to this as the process of objectification, but it could also be called dehumanization. The target of the violence must become something less than human, because we would otherwise consider the violence morally unacceptable, unless it was necessary for self-defense.
This process is not unique to violence toward women. It has also left its traces in our history with slavery. Those defending enslavement justified their actions by claiming that the slaves were not human. Instead, they called the slaves savages and uncivilized. The three-fifths compromise is another example. Enslaved Africans were literally considered three-fifths of a person.
When it comes to the dehumanization of women, we see an example of this sort of process in Sharia law, the sacred law of Islam. Under Sharia law, women are worth half of what men are worth. Rather than three-fifths of a person, women under this religious law are only worth half of a person.
Rather than objectifying people, we should work to influence social change. I would like to advocate some ways in which we can do this:
1. There are instances when someone will say something in a public setting, or even between friends, that may contribute to this process of dehumanization. For instance, if someone trivializes a social issue such as rape by making a joke, then it would be an act of resistance to question the person and those who laugh as to why they believe that sort of maleficent crime is humorous.
2. Women are more than just their appearance. If you notice someone, or even yourself, judging the value of a person’s character by their physical appearance, do not let it go unchallenged. The objectification of women as sexual objects to be desired for their beauty is a crucial component to the social context that perpetuates violence toward women.
3. Treat others not as if they have value, but as if they have worth. People do not have value, something that can be added and subtracted depending upon subjective markers of character. Instead, people have infinite worth which can only be decreased in cases where a person threatens the life of another. Show love to the women in your life, and to yourself.
In conclusion, PEACC and the wonderful performers and stage crew of “The Vagina Monologues” deserve to be commended. They warmed the hearts of everyone in attendance. I will continue to be aware of the social problems addressed in the play and will continue that struggle, so long as there is the dimmest light of love for others within me. They shed light on important social issues that we all have the ability to change, if only we recognize our own power.
