The Seattle Times is more uptight than, well, the subject of The Vagina Monologues. The paper refused to put in an ad for a local production of the girl power play by Eve Ensler because the image, a heart made out of labias, wasn’t “appropriate for their audience.” (But we’re pretty sure that well-informed newspaper readers already know about the vag.) The cherry on top of this story: the upcoming performances are sponsored by two reputable institutions, the National Council of Jewish Women and The Museum of History and Industry. The ad has been in other publications as well as put on display around town without complaint. The Seattle Times’ refusal to print the ad has left Rabbi Yohanna Kinberg of B’nai Torah bewildered: “We have it hanging in several different places in our Temple.” The show will go on, as scheduled, despite the prudish press. It’s just sad and ironic since the purpose of the play is to openly and honestly discuss the va-jay-jay. [Ad Week]

Yesterday we had a post about a vagina shaped couch. Today we discovered that New Orleans will be the site of a special 10th Anniversary performance of The Vagina Monologues because, says playwright Eve Ensler, “we should celebrate New Orleans, cherish it, protect it, just as we do our vaginas, and make sure it goes on and on.” Awesome. For those two days (April 11-12), the city will become “The Vagina Capital of the World”, as the Louisiana Superdome gets decked out “with a big vagina entrance.” The Vagina Superdome will be the setting for performance events, parties, parades, workshops, wellness and education programs, speakers, and even spa treatments, which will be free to residents of New Orleans and the Gulf South. Okay, we think all of this is pretty cool, and we get that the hurricane-ravaged city needs some TLC, but we agree with Feministing when they say that all this excessive vagina talk is making the word a lil’ hokey. Whatever, we’d still totally go. [VDay.org via Feministing]