The Power and Mystery of Naming Things

I believe in the power and mystery of naming things. Language has the capacity to transform our cells, rearrange our learned patterns of behavior and redirect our thinking. I believe in naming what's right in front of us because that is often what is most invisible.

Think about the word vagina. I believe that by saying it 128 times each show, night after night, naming my shame, exorcising my secrets, revealing my longing, was how I came back into my self, into my body. By saying it often enough and loud enough in places where it was not supposed to be said, the saying of it became both political and mystical and gave birth to a worldwide movement to end violence against women. The public utterance of a banished word, which represented a buried, neglected, dishonored part of the body, was a door opening, an energy exploding, a story unraveling.

When I was finally able as an adult to sit with my mother and name the specific sexual and physical violence my father had perpetrated on me as a child, it was an impossible moment. It was the naming, the saying of what had actually happened in her presence that lifted my 20-year depression. By remaining silent, I had muted my experience, denied it, pushed it down. This had flattened my entire life. I believe it was this moment of naming that allowed both my mother and I to eventually face our deepest demons and deceptions and become free.

I think of women naming the atrocities committed against them by the Taliban in Afghanistan, or women telling of the systematic rapes during the Bosnian war, or just recently in Sri Lanka after the tsunami, women lining up in refugee camps to name their nightmares and losses and needs. I have traveled through this world and listened as woman after woman tells of being date raped or acid burned, genitally mutilated, beaten by her boyfriend or molested by her stepfather.

Of course the stories are incredibly painful. But I believe as each woman tells her story for the first time, she breaks the silence, and by doing so breaks her isolation, begins to melt her shame and guilt, making her experience real, lifting her pain.

I believe one person's declaration sparks another and then another. Helen Caldicott naming the consequences of an escalating nuclear arms race, gave rise to an anti-nuclear movement. The brave soldier who came forward and named the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison was responsible for a sweeping investigation.

Naming things, breaking through taboos and denial is the most dangerous, terrifying and crucial work. This has to happen in spite of political climates or coercions, in spite of careers being won or lost, in spite of the fear of being criticized, outcast or disliked. I believe freedom begins with naming things. Humanity is preserved by it.

正名的力量及神秘 － “我相信”系列

    （译注：坦白地说，翻译这篇文章，确实用了点儿勇气。作为女性，能切身地体会到文中涉及的禁锢、痛苦和压力，以至短短的翻译过程，都很郁闷。但是，我也相信，正是因为艰难，才更有必要让它公之于众。谢谢彼岸发现了这篇文章。）

（彼岸注：Eve Ensler是颇具争议的”阴道的独白“的剧作者，该剧已被翻译成35种语言，仅2005年就演出到2500场。Ensler也是V-Day的创始人，领导着一场终结针对女性暴力的全球运动。 Ensler在该文中说：”在公众场合大声说出一个被弃绝的字眼，它代表着身体里一个被埋葬、被忽略、被诋毁的部分。而这，正是一扇大门的开启，一种能量的爆发，一个故事的展开。“ 如果你对上面所说的某个词比较敏感，请跳过该文。但我认为Ensler在该文中所传达的讯息是很有力量的。）

 

正名的力量和神秘

    我相信正名自有一股奇力。语言能够洗荡我们的内心，重新定义暨知行为的模式，调整、更正我们的思维。我相信正名，为那些就摆在面前却一再被忽略的事物正名。

    想一下vagina（阴道）这个词。我相信，就是在128次地、每场演出中大声说出这个词，就是通过夜以继夜地，说出蒙在我身上的耻辱，解开我头脑里痛苦的魔咒，表达我内心的渴望，我重新捡起了自我，站了起来。（原文：回到了自我，回到了我的身体）正是在那些被认为最不合时宜的场所，反复地、大声地说出这个词，给世界带来了一场风起云涌的终结针对女性暴力的运动。在公开场合说出一个被摒弃的，一个代表着身体中某个被埋葬、被忽略、被垢辱的部分，是一扇大门的打开，是一种力量的喷涌，是一段心路历程的展现。

    当我终于作为一个成年人，跟我的母亲坐在一起，谈起并且指明那些童年时候父亲施加给我的人身和性侵害，那是一个无法想象的时刻。然而就是在母亲的面前，我说了出来，说了出来那些实际发生的事实，打碎了压在我身上20年的枷锁。在过去，我一直保持沉默，将噩梦埋在心底最深处，一次次企图忘记它，一次次把翻起的痛苦咽下，我全部的生活都被这个噩梦吞噬。我相信，就是在勇敢说出的那一刻，母亲和我最终直面了我们内心深处最可怕的恶魔和欺骗，而重获了自由。

    我在想，阿富汗的妇女说出塔利班给她们身上实施的暴行，波斯尼亚战争中遭受强奸的女性说出她们的经历，或者就是斯里兰卡，海啸过后在难民营中排起长队的妇女说出她们的梦魇、所失和需要。我走遍世界，倾听一个又一个女性向我诉说她们的故事，约会时被强暴，被硫酸烧伤，阴部被割，被男友毒打，被继父骚扰。

    诚然，这些故事都难以置信的痛苦。但是我相信，当每个人，第一次，把她的故事说出来的时候，她就打破了沉寂，由此突破了她的隔绝与孤立，融化了蒙在她身上的耻辱和内疚，真实化了她的经历，而最终减轻了她的痛苦。

    我相信一个人的宣白像星星之火，然而最终必成燎原之势。Helen Caldicott 说出了核武器军备竞赛升级的后果，催生了反核运动。Abu Ghraib监狱里勇敢的士兵说出了发生在里面的侵害，从而带来了大规模的调查。

    说出真相、为之正名，突破禁锢和反对，这是最最危险、恐怖、艰难的工作。但是不论政治气候和压迫如何，不论事业进展还是失败，不论被批评、孤立还是厌恶，该说的必须要说出来。我相信自由始于正名，人性藉此得以传承。
 

（有些句子表达得不好，欢迎指正，谢谢）