Remembering V-Day
pt. 2

A young nun defends
The Vagina Monologues

By Sr. Mary Eve

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Sadly, the Church will be unable to engage in a similar dialogue with those who perform, find meaning in, and relate to The Vagina Monologues until it comes to terms at the experiential level with the sacredness of each and every part of the male and female body. The polarization of the sexes that is so deeply imbedded in Catholic thought needs to be reassessed. Perhaps the most damaging has been the characterization of women as either “virgin” or “whore”, epitomized in the Church’s on-going comparison of Eve and Mary. Throughout the centuries, women have been continually reminded that they are intrinsically a cause of sin and ruin for men just as Eve was the cause of Adam’s ruin, and therefore, the human race. The Virgin Mary, on the other hand is presented as the New Eve, whose cooperation with the Blessed Trinity in our redemption completely reversed the effects of Eve’s choice.

A Childish Notion

To compound that problem even further, many theologians have taught that Mary’s virginity not only applies to Jesus’ conception, but also to His birth. In other words, some still cling to a belief that Mary did not deliver Jesus vaginally as every other mother delivers a baby and that her hymen remained intact. Though not a dogmatic or official teaching—as is the virginal conception of Jesus—this childish notion has embedded itself into Catholic imagination and theology and continues to have an impact today. An early written source for this belief is a second century text which the Church never accepted as authentic called The Protoevangelium of James. In this text the tale is told that as Joseph is returning with a midwife to Mary, they together witness a miraculous birth. The midwife has to ensure for posterity’s sake that Mary has indeed not delivered the baby vaginally, so, much like Thomas did to Jesus’ wounds, she examines Mary to make sure that her hymen was intact.

So Mary’s womb was worthy to carry the Son of God but her vagina couldn’t be the path that brought him to birth?  Somehow the Son of God was not born the way that He Himself had ordained human beings to be born? If a woman’s vagina is penetrated by anything, including a baby, she loses her virginity?

This idea might be laughable today were it not still being taught. A friend of mine who is pursuing a masters degree in theology at a seminary in the United States was incensed a few months ago to hear her theology professor reiterating this teaching. I had a similar experience when a Monsignor smugly remarked to me that the recently released film The Nativity did not show a “Virgin birth.” Scripture, on the other hand, does not even hint at an unnatural or miraculous birth. Rather, according to Scripture scholar Raymond Brown, the very phrase that Luke used in Luke 2:23—“Every male child who opens the womb…”—suggests a normal birth.

Model

Since the Virgin Mary is the model of virginity, this teaching has also had a detrimental effect in the understanding of virginity for women religious. The teaching that Mary’s virginity included the fact that absolutely nothing penetrated her vagina, not even the Son of God, meant that in order for women religious to preserve their virginity, nothing could penetrate their vagina—no tampons, no device to deliver medication to kill a vaginal yeast infection, no gynecological examinations. To this day, there are some older sisters who refuse to have pap smears because they truly believe that they would lose their virginity. This conception of virginity fosters an unhealthy attitude which encourages women to alienate themselves from their own bodies.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to present Mary as a model to women who fully experienced the blessing of motherhood? Can we fully accept the fact that Jesus was human in every way that we are, as the book of Hebrews tells us, and that this included the fact that he experienced a birth just like we do? This alone would give women the message that every part of her is sacred, most especially those parts of her body that actively participate in God’s creative plan, because not only were they created by God who proclaimed that everything He made was good, but that God Himself touched them intimately.

Dialogue

I wish our model for encountering this controversy was more in line with Jesus’ encounter at the well in the Gospel of John. When a “promiscuous” Samaritan woman approaches Him, what does Jesus do? Without any props to emphasize His divinity, He dialogues with her, asks her questions, touches her most delicate and painful reality—her sex life. Something about how Jesus addresses her deeply touches her. His demeanor communicates profound respect for everything about her. Women who have been used by men are sensitive in picking up the most subtle cues aimed at them but Jesus’ cue so thoroughly transforms her into an apostle that she goes back to her hometown and tells everyone about the new man in her life! She’s so convincing that they all welcome Jesus as their Messiah in whom they find the wellspring of eternal life. In John’s telling, Jesus is not afraid to come close to us in our most profound vulnerability to heal and save.

Taking our cue from Jesus, if the Church stopped protesting the Monologues and instead started engaging women in an honest, healthy and mature dialogue perhaps The Vagina Monologues would no longer be necessary. Until then, I’m afraid we women will have to remain content with a monologue and pray that someone is, at the very least, listening.

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Our readers' reactions and Sr. Mary Eve's responses

Sr. Mary Eve, 36, writes under a pseudonym.  She is a member of a community of Catholic sisters who are known for their more traditional living of religious life. She has served in various forms of ministry in several cities in the United States and has carried out extensive research in the area of the history of women religious, the history of the concept of women in western thought, and other issues regarding women’s contribution in the Catholic Church and in society in general.

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