Presbyterian College play teaches women to find strength through 'c**t chant'

Presbyterian College, a school affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), hosted a student production of The Vagina Monologues, a play that urges the audience to reclaim the word “c**t”, on February 12 and 14. 

Presbyterian College’s website says that its mission includes fostering an aesthetic appreciation of the arts and literature, acquainting students with the teachings and values of the Christian faith, and developing moral and ethical commitments in its students.

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The event page for the yearly production declares that the play “celebrates women’s sexuality and strength. Through this play and the liberation of this one word, countless women throughout the world have taken control of their bodies and their lives.”

However, according to the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute, a group that focuses promoting female leadership, The Vagina Monologues glorifies “lesbianism, prostitution, perpetual self-gratification, and orgasmic chanting as an exercise of empowerment.”

“There a lot of ways to celebrate women’s rights,” said Oran Smith, President of the Palmetto Family Council.

“But this is a particularly gratuitously gritty production, it has a way of talking about sexuality that I think is kind of a gutter way of dealing with it. It is not respectful of human sexuality in any way.”

One monologue, entitled “Reclaiming C**t,” encourages the audience to chant the word “c**t” repeatedly. Another monologue, “The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy,” describes an adult woman who finds her life calling as a lesbian prostitute.

When asked by Campus Reform how the play comported with the Church’s beliefs, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) said that it has “a long history of addressing violence and a strong policy relating to all forms of domestic violence.”

“Awareness and empowerment are key to addressing violence. . .[and] are also goals of Vagina Monologues [sic],” the Church said in a statement, noting that “God loves all people, and as the Scriptures teach us, has a special heart for those who are abused, neglected, and marginalized.”

“The Vagina Monologues represent the hardships and the joys seen by women. The play is not about bashing men, rather it is about celebrating women and the struggles they have lived through and rejoicing in the beauty of our womanhood,” said director DJ Wall said in an exclusive statement to the Presbyterian College student newspaper, The Blue Stocking.

Ninety percent of the proceeds from ticket sales went to Laurens County SAFE Home, which provides services for victims of domestic violence. The remaining ten percent went to the international V-Day organization, an “organized response against violence toward women” and “a fierce, wild, unstoppable movement and community.”