Credo: Famed playwright Eve Ensler
By: Tiffany Maleshefski
Special to The Examiner
February 15, 2009
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| Eve Ensler, author of "The Vagina Monologues," says she was born into feminism and because of feminism, and the word has only grown in importance during the course of her life. (Courtesy photo) |
SAN FRANCISCO — Eve Ensler, author of “The Vagina Monologues” — which have been translated into more than 45 languages and performed in more than 120 countries — and the creator of the V-Day campaign to stop violence against women, tells us what feminism means to her, how writing is her refuge, and why respect is a higher priority for her than being liked. Ensler will share the stage at the Herbst Theatre on Feb. 19 with Dr. Denis Mukwege, the winner of the 2008 United Nations Human Rights Prize.
What are your thoughts on the word “feminism”? Some say the word has developed a negative connotation. Do you agree or disagree? I was born into feminism and because of feminism. To me, it meant equal rights for women, equal pay … it meant having a voice, being independent, questioning social arrangements and structures. Now, it means to me many more things: stopping violence against women, the empowerment of women, respecting the earth, acknowledging racism and ending war, respecting women’s bodies. I don’t know about language. Feminism. Does the word get in our way or bring us together? If the word is not working for people, then maybe it’s time to find another word. On the other hand, women gave their life, time and energy for a word, and fought for our rights and dignity and our jobs — and fought for the rights of women to speak out. The women who are against feminism wouldn’t even have a platform today if there hadn’t been feminists.
What is the most powerful thing a woman can do for herself? I think we need to trust our experiences, to trust what we see and know, trust our instincts. When we feel like we’re being ridiculed or undermined or repressed, to trust that. When we see injustice we need to speak out. We need to opt for being respected rather than being liked, being great rather than being good.
Who has left the biggest impression on you as you’ve gone through life? I think my Aunt Beattie. She was really very nurturing, and she had a wonderful apartment in New York City. She made chicken-liver sandwiches, and was my refuge. Aunt Beattie was very nurturing, but also very forceful. She showed me how two kinds of women could live in one being.
Where, or to whom, do you turn to in dark times? My friends. I turn to music, definitely. I turn to literature. The thing I turn to most is my writing.
What’s something about you that people would find surprising? That I’m shy and I don’t like parties. That I love men. Well, some of them.
What is the most pressing issue for you right now? The situation of women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I have traveled for 10 years and visited many of the rape mines of the world, but the sexual atrocities committed against the women and the girls in the DRC is nothing short of femicide. We need to fight to end these atrocities and this form of violence toward women.
