It’s time we had a talk. Okay? So let’s talk. Let’s talk about vaginas.

One of our most precious natural resources, vaginas have come under some scrutiny and misunderstanding ever since … well, since there have been women. It’s time that we set the record straight.

Now, we don’t have time nor do I have knowledge sufficient to explain the origin of the va-jayjay, but I think that’s fine. We wouldn’t want all of the mystery to disappear now, would we? But surely there must be someone out there who can at least offer insight and philosophical musings dedicated to the subject of this body part and its owners.

Enter Eve Ensler. Author, playwright and activist, Ensler is the craftswoman behind the Vagina Monologues, a play focusing on women’s unique lives and perspectives.

These stories can be about anything that women experience, though the theme remains the same:

Women, be proud of your vaginas!

Too often in our society have we let others dictate — and what an appropriate word that is for the situation — what women are and are not. In ye olden days, women were seen as the originators and propagators of sin, required to submit to men. Go ahead and say what you will about men submitting before God just as women submit, and therefore all is equal, but 1 Corinthians and Ecclesiasticus tell different stories.

“Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God … A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man,” 1 Corinthians 11:3-8 New International Version.

“All wickedness is but little to the wickedness of a woman … Of the woman came the beginning of sin, and through her we all die,” Ecclesiasticus 25:19-24 King James Version

As I recently wrote, religion is a complex subject, and I’ve even made some friends from attending the Christian worship group Salt Company. Still, it’s worth noting there is misogynistic language in the Bible.

Fast forward to the Victorian times. We find that not only are women evil, but frigid. It was once said by an etiquette teacher of the era that when it comes to a woman in the bedroom, “her highest duty is so often to suffer and be still.”

Even as recently as the late 1800s and on into the mid-1900s, regulations such as the Comstock Law prevented the sharing of birth control information such as condoms or “the pill.”

And of course, today we have our Rush Limbaughs, inventing clever language to steer the conversation on gender their own way. Hence, a feminist suddenly becomes a feminazi, and any woman who dares to point out the sexual dichotomy and the discrimination therein must simply be a jealous ugly chick.

Another man by the name of Henry Makow, creator of savethemales.ca and  —

somehow — a holder of a Ph.D, in English literature, wrote, “A woman who seeks power will not receive love from a man. She cannot love. He cannot love her. This is the dilemma of feminists today.” This is a sentiment I’ve heard echoed by some men today, and that’s fine — to each their own opinion and all that.

Oh, did I mention that Makow also believes that the world is ruled by a satanic cult conspiracy? Man, if I were a guy against feminism I know I would absolutely love to be in the same thread as these guys. They’re just so intelligent!

This isn’t to say men don’t have their problems or women are automatically right in everything they do. Just look at Ann Coulter or Hillary Clinton. I wouldn’t call either of these women role models. One can be called a sleazy liar and the other one a backstabbing manipulator — I’ll leave it to you to figure out which description goes with which woman.

Yes, men have their own lives and are complex in their own unique, special way. We should be willing to learn a bit about each other. Education isn’t a one-way street, and Ensler’s Vagina Monologues are a testament to that. The show is entertaining, yes, but it’s the reactions after the show that prove to be the most important.

It’s the discussions had with our significant others, friends and family that spark the fire within and turns the wheel of education, allowing for a society of growth and change. Our society still has a long way to go before we can claim true equality.

For proof of that, look no further than our Constitution, where gender equality is still sitting on the sidelines. Yes, the United States, supposedly the greatest and most modern country in the world, has blocked the Equal Rights Amendment ever since its introduction in 1923.

By comparison, Germany’s constitution lists equal rights between men and women in Article Three. Interesting — suddenly the term “feminazi” seems like a pretty good and decent title to hold. After all, the Germans are the ones with equal gender treatment, not us.

So men, support your local women and their vaginas, won’t you? And women, be proud of who you are! We are so much more than our chests, our makeup, our hair, and all of that bull. Stop living like “Sex & The City” is a documentary and just be yourself! Unabashed, brave, strong … a woman!

I’m sure you’ve guessed at a suggestion I may have for you to show your appreciation for all that is woman by now, but I’ll just spell it out to be loud and clear:

The Vagina Monologues will be presented Iowa State this Wednesday through Friday at the Memorial Union, at 7 p.m. each night.

Go to it. Go and learn a thing or two, donate to a good cause and appreciate the vaginas in your life.

— Sophie Prell is a junior in pre-journalism and mass communication from Alta.