As usual, you win for the most eloquent and beautiful ranting of the season. I'm not sure how I missed this the first time it came around, but I'm glad you linked to the Carnival so I could find it. :D

In addition to my typical stance of "What Dora Said," I'd add that I think the author is having problems defining the line between 'offensive' and 'shocking'. Yes, there are parts of VM that are shocking to someone who isn't accustomed to open discussion of female sexuality. That's exactly why they're important. I had the same reaction you did to the first time I saw the play. Until that's not the reaction that women have the first time they see it, this play is exactly what we need.

Incidentally, I'm going to have to disagree with what you and Kari have been discussing about bodies, in general, being disgusting. As much as women need to get a grip and accept our bodies as they are, so do people in general. I may get irritated with some of the less-pleasant aspects of my body (and other bodies, for that matter), but as far as I'm concerned, that's largely because society has trained us to think that way. There's too much (Christian) morality tied up in the view of the body as soiled or inherently bad/dirty/disgusting for me to accept it as a natural reaction, and that strikes me as something we need to very consciously work against.