By Lauren M. Whaley
My friend Tiff is on a quest to reclaim some of her feminine real estate. I call it her Pussy Project.
She hopes people will use the word like they use “sick,” “sweet” and “cool.” As in, “the face shots on that last ski run were soooo pussy” and, “Grinding with you last night at Eleanor’s was pus-sy!”
“Why do men use it as a put down when they spend their whole lives chasing it?” she asks.
Recently, at 43 North, she presented her case to a table of men, one of whom replied, “That’s a super-pussy idea.” But would he really dive in and use the term? Or was he just giving it lip service?
Tiff’s pussy project dovetails nicely with an upcoming local performance of the Vagina Monologues, as part of the global V-Day campaign to prevent violence against women and girls.
Doors for the performance open wide at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Mainstage Theater. Shows start at 8 p.m.
Ninety percent of proceeds from the two-night performance will be donated to the local Family Safety Network and Equipoise Fund. Ten percent will be trimmed from the box office receipts for the worldwide V-Day effort.
While Tiff’s PP isn’t part of the show, it would make some performers smile, especially the woman who performs “Cunt.” She has the job of reclaiming that dirty word and coaxing the audience to call out “Cunt!” in unison by the end of her monologue.
Audience members will also see more somber pieces like “The Flood,” in which an old woman describes her “down there” as a cellar full of dead animals and “The Little Coochie Snorcher That Could,” that has a teenager describing memories of sexual abuse.
“It’s vulgar, it’s funny, it’s sad, and in one word, it’s honest,” said local organizer Deb O’Neill, who had to ask permission from the original playwright for Jackson to be a certified “vagina friendly city.”
O’Neill saw a performance last year in Montana and thought Jackson would be a perfect place for the twat talk, but more importantly, for raising awareness about violence against women, even within our small community.
“There’s lots of money here and it has a diverse culture and great women,” she said. “I just thought it would be ideal.”
Twenty-nine local women, including a ten-year-old and a 67-year-old have been memorizing monologues for past three months, hoping they don’t muff their lines.
“Most of them have never been on stage before in their lives,” O’Neill said.
When not organizing benefit performances for V-Day, O’Neill is a self-employed wildlife biologist and volunteer firefighter. She’s an admitted liberal, but said this experience has made her even more open-minded.
“I can’t even believe how easy it is now to talk about my vagina,” she said. “An older male friend of mine stopped me a couple days ago and said, ‘Hey Deb, How’s your vagina doing?’ I told him, ‘It’s great!’”
She hopes everyone will come to the show: women, men and even children, though it’s probably not appropriate to have the monologues be a child’s first introduction to the sometimes beautiful, sometimes dangerous, sometimes anxiety-inducing female nether-regions.
“I hope not only to get people talking, but also to inspire people to act,” O’Neill said. “People can donate money or donate time if they don’t have any money. Being aware is the biggest first step. … I would also love it if people left and almost couldn’t say anything.”
O’Neill’s personal favorite monologue is “My Angry Vagina.” She enjoys the woman whose feisty vagina complains that tampons are “dry wads of fucking cotton” and detests gynecologist visits with the requisite “cold duck lips.”
Because the Monologues often evoke strong emotions in audience members, counselors will be on site before, during and after the performances.
Snatch up your $15 tickets for Jackson’s first Vagina Monologues at the Valley Book Store, Mountunes, Global Treasures, Victor Emporium and the Family Safety Network.
It’ll be totally pussy.
AMAZZING. you rock.
wow, that’s brilliant.
Your article is totally pussy! :)