Lauren Bana/Staff Writer
When people say, hear or read the word “vagina” it commonly makes them feel uncomfortable, but when people say, hear or read the word “penis” the reactions are not accompanied by discomfort.
People tend to think the word “vagina” is gross and should only be spoken aloud when describing anatomy in a classroom or a medical setting.
It’s almost the same when seeing the image. Everyone has seen that familiar penis drawing that has been scattered across high school campuses on the walls, desks and even students’ class binders.
The strange thing is that no one ever sees vagina drawings dispersed across campuses.
I remember drawing a picture of a vagina as a response joke towards my guy friend, who recently drew tiny penises all over my algebra II binder, but he didn’t laugh. He thought it was gross and ridiculed me for having drawn such a gross thing on his binder. I was so confused about that. It didn’t seem right.
I recently discovered an article on vice.com that interviewed 20-year-old Petra Collins for designing a shirt for American Apparel that displayed a line drawing of an unshaved, menstruating vagina being masturbated.
According to the article, the image on the Internet alone disturbed both the men and women who were commenting on the shirt.
It is shocking to see that sort of thing in the first place, but it seems to me that we are all so conditioned to feel that these images of female genitalia are disgusting when we should remember that they are natural bodily functions.
When shown to University students, they were shocked at the idea of spotting another student walking around campus wearing that shirt.
Ana Zambrano, junior biology major, said, “It’s going to shock people, like it shocked me, for sure. Now, I wouldn’t personally buy the shirt and wear it, but if people feel comfortable advertising that, it’s their right to express.”
This is not a typical reaction, but I felt it was the most logical. Women especially should not feel so offended by a drawing of their own natural bodily functions, but it’s understandable to feel that it’s a bit much for someone to walk around and publicize it in such a way.
Senior anthropology major, Seth Sirgany, said, “I don’t think anyone would want to see a shirt advertising human genitalia anywhere – on- or off-campus. It has nothing really to do with a discomfort with our anatomy, there are just limits to public display of certain bodily functions.”
In my opinion, this is a more typical reaction that he has wholeheartedly decided that the shirt should not be seen in public.
I feel that these sorts of things are always going to be slightly overwhelming in a society that downgrades the female sex, but this shocking act might be a necessary push in the direction for society to view women as more resilient than people think.
Nowadays, our society has been trained to see these things as disturbing.
Women have been indirectly, or even directly, taught to shave leg, underarm and pubic hair simply because it has been deemed “unladylike.”
It is a common stipulation that is strictly enforced on women and never applied to men.
I personally feel that if someone wanted to wear this shirt in public, they have every right. Especially if it’s someone who is going to use the attention to express the need for people to embrace the body’s natural states.
lauren.bana@fiusm.com
Source:
1. “CHATTING WITH PETRA COLLINS ABOUT HER MENSTRUATING-VAGINA SHIRT,” via vice.com
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