Advocating for a global polylogue on vaginas : a transnational feminist critique on the vagina monologues

Abstract

The Vagina Monologues (TVM) and V-day's popularity and recognition is testament to the positive influence it has on people who are concerned with advocating for the end of violence against women. However, TVM and V-day cannot yield the same results across various communities and regions worldwide as intended because cultural differences influence the way women approach their vaginas and feminism. Negating cultural circumstances and assuming a universal sisterhood of oppression, Ensler presents a romanticised notion of women’s liberation for the world. The effects of Ensler’s lack of attention to the cultural differences manifests in the various adaptions of TVM both within and outside of USA. Hence, this paper takes a transnational feminist perspective to argue that the multiple adaptions of TVM and international responses to vaginas suggest the inability of TVM and V-Day to free up women (Ensler xxxi). The international response to TVM shows that, while it made a contribution to feminist discourse, a global polylogue on vaginas is a necessary progression of contemporary feminist consciousness.