I think Ensler’s purpose is to raise awareness of women in general. It is to raise women to a higher standard – the standards of many years ago. Not in the sexual sense but in the more liberal sense of every day living. Women are still underpaid and overworked. Men still make more money than women doing the exact same job. I think these are things that Ensler really wanted to raise awareness about.
Obviously, she also wanted to raise awareness about domestic violence. Violence against women is at epidemic proportions. Until reading this book, I truly believed that female mutilation had seized to exist. I was wrong. Children – female children – are being mutilated still today. Male children are “worshiped.” Examine China, only one child per family, and the females have no worth. Female babies are still being left on roadsides to die. They are being put in orphanages simply because they were born with a vagina. This is violence against women from the time of birth. What will the Chinese do without women to bear their sons? Will they revert back to the baby-making machines of years ago? Maybe they will. Is this any less offensive than the genocides against the Jews? I don’t think so. Our generation of world leaders have become complacent in these areas. Babies are being killed merely because of the vagina and no one is standing up ready to fight for them.
Is Ensler successful in touching emotions in her writings? Oh, most definitely, yes. If more people would see this play or read this book, maybe some of the atrocities against women would be recognized as such and laws and rules of simple consciousness would be increased. It would be wonderful to see an end to all violence whether against women, children or men. This book makes you think that we haven’t come all that far in humanity. We continue to hurt and destroy one another without a single ounce of remorse for doing so.
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