The way to fight back against Republicans who ban you from speaking after using the word “vagina” on the House floor? You perform “The Vagina Monologues,” naturally.
Massive crowds gathered today on the steps of the Michigan capital to watch State Rep. Lisa Brown and about 10 other female lawmakers give a dramatic reading. The congresswoman was silenced after uttering the word “vagina” on the floor last week while debating an anti-abortion bill.
“I have not asked you to adopt and to adhere to my religious beliefs. Why are you asking me to adopt yours?” Rep. Lisa Brown demanded. “And finally Mr. Speaker, I’m flattered that you’re all so interested in my vagina, but no means no.”
That got her barred from speaking the next day. Michigan House Speaker James Bolger said in a statement that she “failed to maintain the decorum of the House of Representatives.”
Apparently, it remains taboo to mentioning the female lady parts. Brown defended her use of “vagina” as the appropriate bodily term in an op-ed for the The Detroit News. “I used that word because we were debating a women’s health issue. Vagina, by the way, is the correct medical name of a part of women’s anatomy lawmakers want to regulate,” Brown wrote. “My statements were within the rules of the House and were clearly appropriate in relation to the bill we were discussing.”
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