Spring Break
Valentine's Day more than gifts, expectations
Dr. Kathy Greaves
Issue date: 2/11/09 Section: Forum
Given that Valentine's Day is this Saturday, I thought I'd put in a plug for the play "The Vagina Monologues" being performed here at OSU this Thursday and Friday. "The Vagina Monologues" is a compilation of 200 interviews with women talking about their sex organs. New York author Eve Ensler had asked women from a mix of age, race and social backgrounds questions that delved into issues of female sexuality. Ensler then produced her work as a one-woman, New York City stage show in 1996. Because of its huge success, the play has been performed nationwide every year on or around Valentine's Day, and this year is the 10th anniversary of the play being performed at OSU.
OSU's performances are part of "V-Week" (Feb. 9-13), a week-long schedule of events that focus on empowerment, advocacy and education about preventing violence against women. The monologues strive to empower audience members and raise awareness about the experiences of women inherent with their sexuality, bodies and social position.
I also want to point out that "The Vagina Monologues" is not just for women. For men who want to better understand women in terms of their menstrual cycles, their vaginas and their individual senses of sexuality, I highly recommend they see this play.
With that said, I thought today's column would focus on Valentine's Day - the holiday I could quite possibly dislike the most.
I just wanted to point out some of the major pitfalls to this holiday. Some say I am anti-Valentine's Day, but in actuality, I see myself as a realist with three really big problems with this holiday.
The first problem I have with Valentine's Day is the way it makes people who don't have a partner feel. For those of you without a partner on Saturday, you are probably painfully aware of what I am talking about.
Our society is set up in such a way that single people feel like losers on Valentine's Day. Those individuals with a partner are making plans for the most romantic evening of the year, frantically searching for the perfect gift and dreaming about what the partner might surprise them with. And there you are, single, alone, no date, no gift to buy, no gift to receive.
OSU's performances are part of "V-Week" (Feb. 9-13), a week-long schedule of events that focus on empowerment, advocacy and education about preventing violence against women. The monologues strive to empower audience members and raise awareness about the experiences of women inherent with their sexuality, bodies and social position.
I also want to point out that "The Vagina Monologues" is not just for women. For men who want to better understand women in terms of their menstrual cycles, their vaginas and their individual senses of sexuality, I highly recommend they see this play.
With that said, I thought today's column would focus on Valentine's Day - the holiday I could quite possibly dislike the most.
I just wanted to point out some of the major pitfalls to this holiday. Some say I am anti-Valentine's Day, but in actuality, I see myself as a realist with three really big problems with this holiday.
The first problem I have with Valentine's Day is the way it makes people who don't have a partner feel. For those of you without a partner on Saturday, you are probably painfully aware of what I am talking about.
Our society is set up in such a way that single people feel like losers on Valentine's Day. Those individuals with a partner are making plans for the most romantic evening of the year, frantically searching for the perfect gift and dreaming about what the partner might surprise them with. And there you are, single, alone, no date, no gift to buy, no gift to receive.
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