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Can you guess what it is? During a recent phone interview, Jann Arden is nothing if not helpful - "Is it (expletive deleted)?"
Yikes - that's it, sister. You will hear it several times during The Vagina Monologues - a series of poignant and funny vignettes that explore female private parts and a whole lot more - and in fact may be called upon to chant it along with the entire audience. It's OK. It's healthy, Arden says, who stars in the touring production of the acclaimed off-Broadway play based on Eve Ensler's best-selling book. It runs Nov. 6-11 at the Myer Horowitz Theatre.
The piece in question is designed to "reclaim" said forbidden word.
"It's a word that men turned around to be a bad thing and it's not at all," Arden says. "It's like 'bitch.' It's so weird how these words are taken. Whenever it's used, it's used in this downright outrageous way. And women should not be hurt by being called that at all because it's our word. I love it. I think (EXPLETIVE DELETED) is a great word."
As a series of stories based on real interviews, The Vagina Monologues seeks to redress some of the repressive taboos associated with the female anatomy. While men are proud of their penises - even giving them nicknames and discussing them in polite company, or at least in polite locker-rooms - many women are brought up with a sense of shame about their own bodies. They are taught to whisper when referring to the mysterious "down there," if it is even discussed at all.
Encourages openness
Arden suggests the world would be a better place if women - and men - were more open about their sexuality.
"I just think we'd be a healthier society, a society that wouldn't be teeming with rapes and sexual assaults," she says. "It's about cultural suppression. There's a lot more raping in North America than there is in Europe, and it's about openness.
"It's sad the way we've been de-sexualized, disallowing younger people to understand growing up. You're just taught that it's really dirty. Don't touch there. Don't do that. And women especially. It's very typical for a woman to be blamed for her own rape. Those stereotypes still exist. Well, did you say something to him? Did you dress a certain way? Did you have a drink with him? Still, they say half of women who are sexually assaulted don't come forward. That's terrible."
While there are sorrowful moments, there's also plenty of humour in The Vagina Monologues, which is perfect for Arden's wit and flair for improvisation.
Men invited
And despite the subject matter, this play isn't just for women. Men are welcome to attend. If they dare.
Says Arden, "I think men feel like they're being allowed to sit under the card table listening to the girls on a Saturday night, talking about their privates. Men leave with grins on their faces, like, 'maybe I can be more of a help to my girlfriend and be more supportive.' "
Then, again, aren't the Oilers playing every night the play runs? Coincidence.
Arden, who's busy promoting her new Greatest Hurts CD in Canada and at the same time trying to work her last studio album, Blood Red Cherry, in America, says she'd like to concentrate on both music and acting on the theory that "enthusiasm goes much further than talent." It helps that she has both. While a deal with some bigwig agent in L.A. fell through because he also wanted a cut of her music - what an expletive deleted - Arden has become an actress in demand. The singer was chosen for The Vagina Monologues above dozens of candidates. She recently made her big-screen debut as a busybody real estate agent in White Lies, which played at the Calgary International Film Festival - "which I know is an oxymoron," she says.
"My parents went to see it and my mom went, 'Well I've seen worse.' I'm pretty proud of that."
No word on what mom thinks of her daughter's work in The Vagina Monologues.
Tickets to the show are $50 and on sale at Ticketmaster (451-8000).