Occasionally conservatives have a point

College administrators have been enthusiastic supporters Eve Ensler’s play The Vagina Monologues and schools across the nation celebrate “V-Day” (short for Vagina Day) every year. But when the College Republicans at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island rained on the celebrations of V-Day by inaugurating Penis Day and staging a satire called The Penis Monologues, the official reaction was horror. Two participating students, Monique Stuart and Andy Mainiero, have just received sharp letters of reprimand and have been placed on probation by the Office of Judicial Affairs. The costume of the P-Day “mascot” — a friendly looking “penis” named Testaclese, has been confiscated and is under lock and key in the office of the assistant dean of student affairs, John King.

[…]

It is easy to understand why school officials would not want a six-foot phallus wandering around campus; nor why they would ask students not to paper the college with posters describing all the things it likes to do. But that is just the sort of thing the vagina warriors have been doing, year after year, on hundreds of campuses. In fact, P-Day at Roger Williams was mild by comparison. Wesleyan College hosted a “C***” workshop; Penn State held a “C***”-fest. At Arizona State, students displayed a 40-foot inflatable plastic vagina. It was not confiscated and no one was ever threatened with probation.

I personally have nothing against either 6-foot phalluses (phalii?) or 40-foot yonis, but when one is tolerated and the other is not I call foul. I have no patience for feminists with double standards.

(Hat tip: erudito)

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26 Comments

  1. It’s not always unbalanced like that.

    The girls that I performed the Vagina Monologues with were actually talking about having a corresponding section on male sexuality called “Penis Pontifications” or some such, but there weren’t enough guys interested and willing to write monologues for it so we never really pursued it. We would have wholeheartedly supported the guys for trying to assert their own sexuality, as long as they were really doing it in an empowering way that wasn’t demeaning to other men or women.

  2. It’s not always unbalanced like that.

    The girls that I performed the Vagina Monologues with were actually talking about having a corresponding section on male sexuality called “Penis Pontifications” or some such, but there weren’t enough guys interested and willing to write monologues for it so we never really pursued it. We would have wholeheartedly supported the guys for trying to assert their own sexuality, as long as they were really doing it in an empowering way that wasn’t demeaning to other men or women.

  3. Read the article all the way through. . .I don’t see anything degrading in what those guys did. I would have liked it better if they really wanted to express their own sexuality rather than mock our expression of ours, but none of their propaganda was in any way degrading to the sexuality of others, so it still seems okay by me.

    It’s a shame that it has to be a battle though. Our sexualities are compliments, not enemies. We should be working together so that everyone has more freedom to express their sexuality, regardless of whether they have a penis or a vagina. I wish those guys didn’t feel threatend by the Vagina Monologues, and I like to think that if they had approached the campus events services and asked if they could put on a similar show from the male perspective and dealing with male problems that the campus would have supported them too.

    Maybe not though, but it is worth a shot.

    1. Agreed.

      Lord knows we’ve got our own hangups and misconceptions to deal with. Overt male sexuality may be more acceptable in society (in that men are less likely to be divided up into “virgin” and “whore” categories); but I don’t think the understanding of it is any less primitive.

    2. Agreed.

      Lord knows we’ve got our own hangups and misconceptions to deal with. Overt male sexuality may be more acceptable in society (in that men are less likely to be divided up into “virgin” and “whore” categories); but I don’t think the understanding of it is any less primitive.

  4. Read the article all the way through. . .I don’t see anything degrading in what those guys did. I would have liked it better if they really wanted to express their own sexuality rather than mock our expression of ours, but none of their propaganda was in any way degrading to the sexuality of others, so it still seems okay by me.

    It’s a shame that it has to be a battle though. Our sexualities are compliments, not enemies. We should be working together so that everyone has more freedom to express their sexuality, regardless of whether they have a penis or a vagina. I wish those guys didn’t feel threatend by the Vagina Monologues, and I like to think that if they had approached the campus events services and asked if they could put on a similar show from the male perspective and dealing with male problems that the campus would have supported them too.

    Maybe not though, but it is worth a shot.

  5. On a less serious note, who wouldn’t want a six foot pahllus wandering aroudn their campus?

    I certainly would!

  6. On a less serious note, who wouldn’t want a six foot pahllus wandering aroudn their campus?

    I certainly would!

  7. Yeah….. I hate things like that. Equal rights for men and better rights for women.

  8. Yeah….. I hate things like that. Equal rights for men and better rights for women.

  9. I’m sorry, but to women everywhere in the world, EVERYDAY is penis day.

    The Vagina Monologues discusses issues that affect women everywhere in the world : childbirth, rape, discrimination against women in favour of men in places of employment, abuse. Of course men are raped. Of course men are abused. Of course men are the victims of reverse discrimination due to their sex.

    But none of this happens NEARLY so much as it happens to women, even in what some call “civilized” countries. You never hear about the systematic oppression of a country and its people through the rape of men who are then forced to bear the children of their oppressors.

    Sorry, hit a little too close to home. I didn’t mean to rant at you; I was just trying to explain WHY these women (1 in 4 of which have been raped themselves by men they trusted or knew and many of which who have been abused by a significant other, usually male) were so upset about this.

    V-Day is important for so many reasons. It gives those of us who have been raped and abused a chance to see that the world could be different if we as women could only but band together against the oppression.

    Ugh. Again, I didn’t mean to rant at you. *hug*

    1. to be satan for a second…

      While I agree with all of your points about why women might be angry.. and why V-day and the vagina monologues are good and empowering….. (and personally, I believe rapists should be sodomized with carving knives)

      Wouldn’t it also be a good day to have what mentioned above–i.e. a kind of pro-male-sexuality-that-isn’t-based-on-macho-misogynistic-nastiness day?

      While this wasn’t perhaps the case in the incident mentioned above–in theory, at least, wouldn’t women have a lot less to fear and a lot more to celebrate if men had a less insecure and more open relationship with their sexuality instead of having the only really big role models being dick-swinging assholes whose basic ignorance of who they are causes them to abuse women?

      just a thought.. 😉

    2. to be satan for a second…

      While I agree with all of your points about why women might be angry.. and why V-day and the vagina monologues are good and empowering….. (and personally, I believe rapists should be sodomized with carving knives)

      Wouldn’t it also be a good day to have what mentioned above–i.e. a kind of pro-male-sexuality-that-isn’t-based-on-macho-misogynistic-nastiness day?

      While this wasn’t perhaps the case in the incident mentioned above–in theory, at least, wouldn’t women have a lot less to fear and a lot more to celebrate if men had a less insecure and more open relationship with their sexuality instead of having the only really big role models being dick-swinging assholes whose basic ignorance of who they are causes them to abuse women?

      just a thought.. 😉

    3. I’ve got no disagreement with you and I don’t take offense. None of that, though, should stand in the way of men taking equal pride in their own sexuality and discussing the issues that effect them with equal candor and openness. What I see in that article is not women being angry at men, but school administrators so hidebound by a dated PC orthodoxy that they can’t see the hypocrisy in their own actions. If these students were going around proclaiming penis supremecy, I could understand the schools cracking down on them. But when kids punished for wearing a pin that says “my penis is hilarious”, there’s something wrong.

      1. *nod* I certainly see your point. And the point of the other poster who responded so eloquently to my comment. I’m just a bit wary of university-aged boys who do things like this because I know how many of them are so vehemently anti-feminist and even anti-woman. I’m just too cynical sometimes. ;c)

      2. *nod* I certainly see your point. And the point of the other poster who responded so eloquently to my comment. I’m just a bit wary of university-aged boys who do things like this because I know how many of them are so vehemently anti-feminist and even anti-woman. I’m just too cynical sometimes. ;c)

    4. I’ve got no disagreement with you and I don’t take offense. None of that, though, should stand in the way of men taking equal pride in their own sexuality and discussing the issues that effect them with equal candor and openness. What I see in that article is not women being angry at men, but school administrators so hidebound by a dated PC orthodoxy that they can’t see the hypocrisy in their own actions. If these students were going around proclaiming penis supremecy, I could understand the schools cracking down on them. But when kids punished for wearing a pin that says “my penis is hilarious”, there’s something wrong.

    5. The Vagina Monologues discusses issues that affect women everywhere in the world : childbirth, rape, discrimination against women in favour of men in places of employment, abuse. Of course men are raped. Of course men are abused. Of course men are the victims of reverse discrimination due to their sex.

      [[[Guess what….white men have their problems that get less address than women…

      Oh yes, men get raped. I have a male friend who was actually raped. (Did you know 1 in 10 males will be raped to sexually assaulted as either a child or an adult?) Discrimination in the workplace…bah…much less so now. Women, blacks, gays have way less discrimination than any one (regardless of color or sex) who is either short or over-weight.
      ]]]

      “You never hear about the systematic oppression of a country and its people through the rape of men who are then forced to bear the children of their oppressors.”
      [[[True…so address that to those countries. That’s not happening here…don’t !@#$%ing blame me. I get blamed for slavery. Neither I, nor my ancestors are to blame for it….but I am judged by my skin color. Now you !@#$%ing judge me by my sex.

      Well guess what…try !@#$%ing paying double for auto-insurance (even though accidents are now 51% female caused / 49% male. Yes…pay $2,500 with a clean record, joint homeowner’s policy and watch female friends who are on their third car (the other two totalled) in two years pay $1,000.

      Try growing up being read “Girls are made from sugar and spice and everything nice” and that you’re just something !@#$%ing slime.

      Deal with a girl throwing hot coffee on you and trying to punch you because of an argument and even though you never threw a punch – you get the main blame because you’re a boy.

      It’s also fun to be bitched at because you held the door open for a woman and therefore are a bigot. And then being slandered about how there is no chivalry and you suck because you don’t hold the door open.
      ]]]

      Oh, and let’s see…

      “You women wanted to work. Unfair that you had to stay home. WTF? It was the biggest gift a man could ever give a woman he loved. Well, welcome to our world. Yes, many disrespected the role but most did not. (And in my case, I think it’s best when at least one parent (mother OR father) can stay home. So now…you can work!

      So why the !@#$% do us men have to pay alimony in divorce cases. Go out…get a job and don’t loaf on your ex-husband’s account.

      ***********************************************

      All this is just to point out how much crap us males get too. And the fact, that a lot of women want their cake but don’t want to pay for it. You want equality – fine! But let it be equal…that means not only do you get the rights and priveledges but also the responsibilities and the loss from consequences!

      Cause frankly, to the white male….we get walked on constantly…

      So unlike everyone else, I do take offense…cause I’ve had to deal with this sexist and racist crap for much of my life. And a few years ago I decided to not take the crap anymore. I will fight tooth and nail for equality and equal rights and equal respect. But don’t trash me or judge me based on my sex or race and then tell me I can’t do the same.

      1. Ohhhh….

        I hear the chanting…

        *fight* *fight* *fight* *fight*

        🙂

      2. Ohhhh….

        I hear the chanting…

        *fight* *fight* *fight* *fight*

        🙂

    6. The Vagina Monologues discusses issues that affect women everywhere in the world : childbirth, rape, discrimination against women in favour of men in places of employment, abuse. Of course men are raped. Of course men are abused. Of course men are the victims of reverse discrimination due to their sex.

      [[[Guess what….white men have their problems that get less address than women…

      Oh yes, men get raped. I have a male friend who was actually raped. (Did you know 1 in 10 males will be raped to sexually assaulted as either a child or an adult?) Discrimination in the workplace…bah…much less so now. Women, blacks, gays have way less discrimination than any one (regardless of color or sex) who is either short or over-weight.
      ]]]

      “You never hear about the systematic oppression of a country and its people through the rape of men who are then forced to bear the children of their oppressors.”
      [[[True…so address that to those countries. That’s not happening here…don’t !@#$%ing blame me. I get blamed for slavery. Neither I, nor my ancestors are to blame for it….but I am judged by my skin color. Now you !@#$%ing judge me by my sex.

      Well guess what…try !@#$%ing paying double for auto-insurance (even though accidents are now 51% female caused / 49% male. Yes…pay $2,500 with a clean record, joint homeowner’s policy and watch female friends who are on their third car (the other two totalled) in two years pay $1,000.

      Try growing up being read “Girls are made from sugar and spice and everything nice” and that you’re just something !@#$%ing slime.

      Deal with a girl throwing hot coffee on you and trying to punch you because of an argument and even though you never threw a punch – you get the main blame because you’re a boy.

      It’s also fun to be bitched at because you held the door open for a woman and therefore are a bigot. And then being slandered about how there is no chivalry and you suck because you don’t hold the door open.
      ]]]

      Oh, and let’s see…

      “You women wanted to work. Unfair that you had to stay home. WTF? It was the biggest gift a man could ever give a woman he loved. Well, welcome to our world. Yes, many disrespected the role but most did not. (And in my case, I think it’s best when at least one parent (mother OR father) can stay home. So now…you can work!

      So why the !@#$% do us men have to pay alimony in divorce cases. Go out…get a job and don’t loaf on your ex-husband’s account.

      ***********************************************

      All this is just to point out how much crap us males get too. And the fact, that a lot of women want their cake but don’t want to pay for it. You want equality – fine! But let it be equal…that means not only do you get the rights and priveledges but also the responsibilities and the loss from consequences!

      Cause frankly, to the white male….we get walked on constantly…

      So unlike everyone else, I do take offense…cause I’ve had to deal with this sexist and racist crap for much of my life. And a few years ago I decided to not take the crap anymore. I will fight tooth and nail for equality and equal rights and equal respect. But don’t trash me or judge me based on my sex or race and then tell me I can’t do the same.

  10. I’m sorry, but to women everywhere in the world, EVERYDAY is penis day.

    The Vagina Monologues discusses issues that affect women everywhere in the world : childbirth, rape, discrimination against women in favour of men in places of employment, abuse. Of course men are raped. Of course men are abused. Of course men are the victims of reverse discrimination due to their sex.

    But none of this happens NEARLY so much as it happens to women, even in what some call “civilized” countries. You never hear about the systematic oppression of a country and its people through the rape of men who are then forced to bear the children of their oppressors.

    Sorry, hit a little too close to home. I didn’t mean to rant at you; I was just trying to explain WHY these women (1 in 4 of which have been raped themselves by men they trusted or knew and many of which who have been abused by a significant other, usually male) were so upset about this.

    V-Day is important for so many reasons. It gives those of us who have been raped and abused a chance to see that the world could be different if we as women could only but band together against the oppression.

    Ugh. Again, I didn’t mean to rant at you. *hug*

  11. thank you for introducing me to the word “yoni.” i’d never encountered it before, and it seems like a word i should have known already. 😉

  12. thank you for introducing me to the word “yoni.” i’d never encountered it before, and it seems like a word i should have known already. 😉

  13. I think I have a photo of the penis mentioned….

    I will have to re-post it online

  14. I think I have a photo of the penis mentioned….

    I will have to re-post it online

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