It's time for women (and men) to be open about sex more !

I think both Ensler's Vagina Monologues and Diderot's Indiscreet Jewels are written as entertainment and satire to correct social ills. They entertain the readers with an unexpected topic of talking vagina but something everyone want to know. Also, both readings criticize the unopened society to talking about women’s sex activities or their genitals. Although men must have wanted to know what women think about their sex activities and genitals, I cannot doubt there must have been men’s pressure on women being chaste. The Vagina Monologues are written to break the restriction of men and to free women to talk about the genitals. I believe the Vagina Monologues has given a lot of chances to women to talk about it. On the other hand, the Indiscreet Jewels describes the men’s contradiction toward women’s openness toward their sex issues and shows the reality of their sex activities, but I think Diderot did not try to change this situation eagerly because even if women’s jewels talk about their adventures, women themselves do not and will not feel comfortable to talk about it. In other words, women are still under control of men about the topic. This is also the influence of the author’s gender as a man. In terms of correcting social ills, however, Diderot also tried to criticize the ruined society reigned by the King of France at that time, Louis XV. As the sultan, Mongogul, in the Indiscreet Jewels is only interested in “jewels’ amorous adventures,” Louis XV had a few interest in government and were devoted to his lovers, Madame de Pompadour and the Comtesse du Barry. Eventually, his failures of ruling the country contributed to lead the French Revolution. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/louis_xv.shtml)

I think the Indiscreet Jewels are more acceptable to other countries and cultures than the Vagina Monologues. The Indiscreet Jewels is written as novel and uses metaphor to describe women’s genitals, so it is much easier for the readers to read it, especially in public. By contrast, although the Vagina Monologues is written as monologue and is not played by a man and a woman in the play to describe a sex activity, it must be hard for some of the countries and cultures to accept the word, vagina. But in respect of usefulness, the Vagina Monologues is more useful to the contemporary world. As a lot of American women have been influenced by it and have become much more open to sex conversation and have gained pride of having the vagina, the Vagina Monologues has great potential to change the view of women in other countries and cultures toward their genitals.