Brittany Robinson
Staff Reporter
Pull out your planner and flip to the month of December. Now take your pen and save the date December 2 at 7:30pm because you will want to be in Alumni Hall. Why? There will be a premiere of McDaniel’s show “Tales of the Clit.”
The show’s title makes it sound like it will be similar to the “Vagina Monologues.” However, sociology professor and the master mind behind this show, Sara Raley said, “‘Tales from the Clit’ [will] be completely different from the Vagina Monologues.”
Raley said there were three main differences between the two productions. The first difference is the “Vagina Monologues” is “a corporate production developed by Eve Ensler that is focused on raising awareness of violence against women whereas the purpose of ‘Tales from the Clit’ is to celebrate women’s sexuality and foster a more open dialogue about issues related to women and sexuality both on our campus and in the culture at large,” said Raley.
The second major difference is “Tales from the Clit” will feature original material. “[‘The Vagina Monologues’] are written by Eve Ensler. ‘Tales from the Clit’ will feature originally written material performed by both the women and men of McDaniel College. This means that the men and women involved in this production will be performing and expressing their commentaries on women’s sexuality, not performing something written by someone else as is the case with the Vagina Monologues,” said Raley.
The final major difference is men will perform in “Tales from the Clit,” unlike “The Vagina Monologues. “Every time I finish with the ‘Vagina Monologues’ and ‘Cocktales’ productions, I bemoan the fact that there is no female equivalent to ‘Cocktales’ (where men and women on campus talk about issues related to men and sexuality). Tales from the Clit is basically an attempt to address this gap,” said Raley.
Raley also went on to explain the reasoning behind the performance’s title. “It has “clit” and NOT vagina in the title because I find it frustrating those discussions of women’s sexuality is so vagina-centric, meaning we focus on women’s vaginas even though the clitoris is widely regarded as the primary powerhouse of women’s sexual pleasure. This topic will be the focus of my performance in ‘Tales from the Clit’ this year,” said Raley.
However, this show is not meant to criticize the ‘Vagina Monologues.’ “The Vagina Monologues is a fantastic production that I strongly support. I’ve been involved with it since my first year at McDaniel,” said Raley.
The show is already getting a good response. According to Raley, when she mentioned the performance to her sexuality in sociology class during this past spring semester, her students seemed to like the idea of this being a show.
If you are interested in being a part of this show the meetings are every other Wednesday at 4:30pm in the sociology suite (room 228) in Lewis Hall.
The show will take place in Alumni Hall on December 2 at 7:30pm. Be on the lookout for flyers and e-mails with reminders and ticket prices.
