The purpose of the Vagina Monologues is to heal women through giving them a voice and an audience to hear their stories.,”

I was incredibly disappointed to read the Viewpoint that was printed in the Tribune, "Vagina Monologues insults women's dignity." I don't think there could be a title that is further from the truth.

The purpose of "The Vagina Monologues" is to heal women through giving them a voice and an audience to hear their stories.

It is vital for women to have the opportunity to share their experiences and inform other women.

The Viewpoint stated that "From a standpoint of sexual violence awareness, the play has little to offer victims of violence or those who care for them."

Having worked with women who are survivors of intimate partner violence and rape, I have to completely disagree.

One of the best ways to heal and forgive is to share your story.

By having the opportunity to talk to others and be in a safe space of women who have shared experiences, this is a productive and beneficial step in the journey of healing and recovery.

To say that women need modesty in telling their stories is to pressure women into a gendered silence that has kept women embarrassed and quiet for far too long.

Perhaps the stories that the women have to tell are not pretty or polite, but they are true. They happen to far too many women every day in every country, and they need to be heard.

Though the monologues are not each representative of one individual woman, they are true compilations of several women's stories, and not fabricated or unrealistic.

It is not the goal of "The Vagina Monologues" to reduce a woman to only her vagina, but rather to acknowledge that a woman is a person unto herself and deserves to be seen as more than just a pleasure object for men.

There are several monologues that discuss healthy relationships and positive views of males.

It is not a male- or penis-bashing production; rather it is an elevating of the feminine.

It is a recognizing of the inhumanity of abuse and the necessity for action.

I suggest that people take the opportunity to educate themselves and see the monologues and learn their background before writing them off as un-Christian. In my opinion they are the true embodiment of the Church's social justice teachings.

They offer hope and voices to thousands of women who yearn for equality and justice.

In a country where a woman is sexually assaulted every two and a half minutes and four women die every day because of domestic abuse, how can we afford not to take a stance?

Ainge is a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences.

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