In response to Friday’s performance of “The Vagina Monologues,” Gregory Hawthorne III has since written, produced, performed and reviewed his new work, “The Manginalogues.”
Hawthorne, who goes by “Trilby” in certain circles, mostly on the internet, was shocked when he went to the performance of “The Vagina Monologues” and noticed that it exclusively portrays women’s stories.
He remarked that “there’s just not enough representation of men in the media. I mean, sure women exist, but how am I supposed to feel validated as a man if speaking roles fall below 80 percent male.”
Hawthorne also expressed concern about the lack of representation for Men’s issues in “The Vagina Monologues.”
“They talk about rape and female genital mutilation, but when do they ever mention domestic violence against men or false rape accusations?” asked Hawthorne as he prepared a series of autographed programs for what he assured us was a small but spirited fanbase. “Obviously if these topics aren’t present in every single conversation, feminists don’t really care.”
When asked why there weren’t any representations of gay men or transgender men and the struggles they face in “The Manginalogues,” Hawthorne told us, “I mean, it’s not that I mind gay men as long as they’re not gay in front of me. But ‘The Manginalogues’ is about real men’s issues like violence against men and higher suicide completion rates amongst men, so obviously gay and trans men don’t enter into it.”
A review of the piece, which Hawthorne wrote himself, was ultimately positive. He really thinks he captures the spirit of male struggle, along with having a really catchy title. In the end, however, he says, “I’m my own harshest critic.”