Spring Break
Women talk about femininity and motherhood
by Matthew Brock
News | 4/1/08
Posted online at 1:56 AM EST on 4/1/08
/ Last updated at 1:33 PM EST on 4/1/08
A week after the performance of "The Vagina Monologues" on campus, female faculty and staff members put their own spin on the subject.
The "Real Life Vagina Monologues," held last Wednesday in the Polaris Lounge in North Quad by the Brandeis University Vagina Club, was part of the group's annual weeklong "VaginaFest" celebration.
The event took place over chicken fried rice, pad thai and vagina-shaped cookies, and featured Michelle O'Malley, director of orientation and first-year programs; Prof. Ellen Wright (PSYC); Marci McPhee, associate director of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life; and Director of Student Activities Stephanie Grimes.
Shana Lebowitz '10, who organized the talk, read from a list of questions about femininity, motherhood and vaginas.
She began the discussion by asking the speakers what sort of clothing their vaginas would wear. Responses ranged from McPhee's answer that her vagina already wears underwear; to O'Malley, who said that since her daughters are princesses, hers would wear a jeweled crown; to Wright, who said that naming and personifying one's genitals is really more of a masculine concept.
The discussion took a serious turn when it switched to the views of the panelists' families on sexuality when they were growing up. The different backgrounds of the four speakers provided a variety of stories.
O'Malley, who comes from a Catholic home, discussed how her mother never talked about sex and would not even use the word vagina.
"She bought the books, put them on the shelf and expected me to read them," she said. The parents of the other panelists were more open.
"Sexuality is not just having sex but who you are embodied as a female," Wright said.
The discussion went from motherhood to giving birth to how being a mother affects the woman's professional life.
Labor is the "most painful thing ever in the entire world, so don't let anyone tell you differently," O'Malley said. "Take the drugs as early as possible," she advised.
The "Real Life Vagina Monologues," held last Wednesday in the Polaris Lounge in North Quad by the Brandeis University Vagina Club, was part of the group's annual weeklong "VaginaFest" celebration.
The event took place over chicken fried rice, pad thai and vagina-shaped cookies, and featured Michelle O'Malley, director of orientation and first-year programs; Prof. Ellen Wright (PSYC); Marci McPhee, associate director of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life; and Director of Student Activities Stephanie Grimes.
Shana Lebowitz '10, who organized the talk, read from a list of questions about femininity, motherhood and vaginas.
She began the discussion by asking the speakers what sort of clothing their vaginas would wear. Responses ranged from McPhee's answer that her vagina already wears underwear; to O'Malley, who said that since her daughters are princesses, hers would wear a jeweled crown; to Wright, who said that naming and personifying one's genitals is really more of a masculine concept.
The discussion took a serious turn when it switched to the views of the panelists' families on sexuality when they were growing up. The different backgrounds of the four speakers provided a variety of stories.
O'Malley, who comes from a Catholic home, discussed how her mother never talked about sex and would not even use the word vagina.
"She bought the books, put them on the shelf and expected me to read them," she said. The parents of the other panelists were more open.
"Sexuality is not just having sex but who you are embodied as a female," Wright said.
The discussion went from motherhood to giving birth to how being a mother affects the woman's professional life.
Labor is the "most painful thing ever in the entire world, so don't let anyone tell you differently," O'Malley said. "Take the drugs as early as possible," she advised.
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