“Boo!” responded the crowd.
“To our faces!” Elise continued.
Signs shook in the air with fury. The crowd became louder, “Boo!”
“He told us that men were smarter, stronger, and more capable than women!”
“End the Manarchy! End the Manarchy!” chants began to arise from among the audience.
“And what did we do about it? Did we sit back and take it?”
“No!”
“Did we cower to the man?”
“Hell no!”
“No! We took matters into our own hands!”
“Yes!” screamed the crowd.
“And we booted him off campus! Literally!”
At this, the crowd went wild. Hoots and hollers filling the air.
The cheering was so loud Elise had to wait for it to die down before continuing, “And now, the manimal known as Dr. Gordon B. Hendrixson is banned from our college! And we’re working to get him banned from colleges across the country!”
The screams and shouts increased to nearly deafening decibels.
“All because concerned Vaginist women like you stood up to him and told him enough is enough! We will not put up with sexism anymore.” she said. Elise paused, lowering her pitch and slowing down before continuing, “A few months ago, my boyfriend cheated on me with my sister.”
“Boo!”
“And you know why? You know the reason he gave me? He said, ‘What was I supposed to do? She was begging me for it!’” Elise’s voice cracked, and she wiped a tear from her face.
The crowd once again went wild: “You got this Elise!” “You’re so strong!” “What an ass!”
Encouraged, Elise continued, “And that explanation of why he broke my heart sums up how men think these days. They act and think as if they have no control over their sexual desires, they act as if they shouldn't be expected to control their urges. They think women are the ones who entice them and coerce them. If a woman dresses like a slut, then she is inviting men to sleep with her. If a woman does invite a man to sleep with her, it’s her fault that the man cheated. It’s bullshit, ladies! I’m done! You’re done! Let’s end this!”
“Let’s end this!” screamed the crowd.
“I was raised among men just like Dr. Hendrixson,” said Elise. “Men who thought they could boss us around, tell us what to do and we’d cower in fear before them and obey. But I learned soon enough that no man is worthy of our respect. Oh, sure, some men hide behind big words and good manners but the truth is that men are animals!
“What is the Vaginist Movement about? Some people ask me. Well, I’ll tell you what it’s about—the Vaginist movement is all about realizing that no man is worth bowing down to. We are about bringing down the oppressive structures that hold us back and getting what we deserve. We deserve to be heard and we will no longer be silenced.” Her face glistened, hair waving wildly around her face as she moved ecstatically with purpose. “Not tomorrow! Not ever!”
Riotous cheering ensued, “Hey, hey! Ho, Ho! Misogyny has got to go!”
Elise waved to and smiled at the adoring crowd. An intoxicating feeling of power took over her body. She looked at Lyn, who was standing at the side of the stage, clapping elegantly and smiling at her. Elise took a final look at the wailing crowd then replaced the mic, blowing a kiss to her audience. She walked off stage feeling vindicated, and Lyn promptly whisked her away.
Chapter 5
Spread wide open
“You can put stickers over your nipples if you want,” explained Elise to a group of girls she had approached to tell about the upcoming topless protest march.
“How big can they be?” asked the shortest, but largest-chested of the girls.
“They shouldn’t be bigger than your nipples. Anything larger kind of defeats the purpose.”
The girls giggled and told Elise they’d think about it. Elise had been walking around campus talking to every woman she saw about their next rally. This one’s aim was the normalization of the female body.
“It’s time to finally overcome the stigma of female nudity once and for all because men have no right to tell women to cover up. Men should learn to tame their animal natures rather than trying to dictate to women what we can and can not wear.”
Her message had been received with enthusiasm. Most of the girls she spoke to responded with high fives and words of encouragement. Few, however, would commit to actually protesting. Elise began feeling a touch deflated.
Frustrated at the lack of support, she decided to head off-campus and consult Lyn.
The Foundation’s Vaginist office was buzzing with activity when Elise strode in.
“I’m here to see Lyn,” she informed a young secretary who Lyn had hired from the university just a few weeks before.
Familiar with Elise already, the secretary flashed her a big smile and nodded her through to Lyn’s office. “Go right in, Elise.”
Lyn was on the phone speaking in hushed tones with her back to her door. Elise cleared her throat.
Lyn jumped in her chair and spun around. “Oh. Elise—I wasn’t expecting you!”
“No problem, I can wait outside.”
“It’s just one of the stars du jour of the Vaginist movement. I’ll call you back when I’m done,” Lyn said into the phone, her voice suddenly loud and exuberant. Once she’d hung up the phone, she looked at Elise expectantly. “Darling, how can I help you?”
“Hi, Lyn. I didn’t mean to interrupt your call,” said Elise apologetically, as she took a seat in front of Lyn’s desk.
“Not at all.”
“I need some advice. I’m having trouble getting girls to commit to the topless rally. They’re all keen when I first tell them about it, but when it comes to signing up, not so much. They keep telling me they’ll think about it, taking my card, and then not getting back to me.”
Lyn sat back in her chair thoughtfully, crossing her arms across her chest. She tapped a high-heeled foot as she pondered. “I have an idea,” she announced, leaning forward, elbows resting on her desk. “Let’s rent a large hotel suite this weekend. We’ll invite a bunch of girls for a pajama party. We’ll supply lots of food and drinks. Once they’ve spent time around one another, they’ll probably be more open-minded.”
“That’s a great idea, Lyn. I think that could work.”
“Great. Look for a decent-sized hotel room and send me the details for me to book. I’ll get Steph to design flyers and Alexis to spread the word across social media.”
“Wow, awesome. Thanks, Lyn!”
“No, Elise. Thank you,” Lyn deflected Elise’s appreciation with a wink.
“I’ll check out hotels and send you some ideas in a few hours, so we can firm up time and date details, okay?”
“Sounds good,” Lyn replied with a smile.
“Get in, hurry up!” Elise called out through the open window as Bella slammed the trunk of her car closed.
They’d been running around all morning, prepping for the pajama party set to begin in a few hours’ time.
“I’m going as fast as I can,” Bella replied, scurrying to the passenger seat.
“Sorry. There’s just a lot more to do than I thought,” Elise explained, looking at her to-do list. “Next, booze.”
“Booze! Right. That’s one way to get girls to take their tops off.” Bella giggled.
“We’re not going to get them wasted, just ... you know ... more social.” Elise was giggling too.
“So no tequila shots, then?”
“No tequila shots.”
“Boring,” Bella whined, pouting.
Elise shrugged as she pulled out of the parking lot. “We don’t want anyone saying we got them wasted and took advantage of them.”
“I know, I know.” Bella rolled her eyes playfully as she rummaged through the items in the backseat.
They’d been given a sizable budget from The Foundation for their event and had passed the morning spending it. The backseat was filled to the bri
m with extra pillows, inflatable mattresses, teddy bears, cute pajamas, and snacks. There was more in the trunk, too.
“Do you think everyone will come? I’m nervous.”
Bella looked at Elise meaningfully. “Dude. Free booze, food, and entertainment in a swanky hotel? We’re talking about broke college girls here. Of course, they’ll come.”
And it turned out that Bella was right.
Later that evening, the hotel suite was swimming with young women clad in skimpy pajamas, many holding stuffed toys, and some sporting sleep masks on their foreheads. The suite Elise had found was perfect. It had four super king-size beds, which were big enough to sleep four girls each, plus it had plenty of floor space for inflatable mattresses. There was all kinds of comfy seating too. Fun music blasted from the sound system, and Lyn was in the kitchen area serving up mimosas. Girls danced, champagne glasses in hand, in the living room, on the beds, on the patios. So far, the event was a success. Elise smiled to herself. It had been a great turn out. There were almost thirty girls in attendance, and the night was young.
Once Elise was sure everyone had arrived, she picked up the mic and stopped the music. Everyone turned to look at her. “Welcome to our first Vaginist pajama party, ladies!”
They all cheered, many raising their glasses in the air.
“Are you having a good time?”
High-pitched squeals indicated they were.
“Great! Next, we have a special video for you. We’ll be showing it in the living room in five minutes, so refresh your drinks, get a spot, and get comfy.”
The hour-long documentary explained how old societies forced women to cover up their bodies as a method of control. It was a way to make women feel ashamed of themselves and guilty for provoking men. Covering up the body told women they were property, rather than free human beings. The narrative was interspersed with images of slaves in chains being loaded into ships; clips from black-and-white movies of witches being burned at the stake; sepia-toned cowboys riding on horses and whipping cattle.
As the documentary progressed, the colors became more vivid, focusing on the 1960s bra-burning, 1970s flower power movements, and the power-dressed women of the 1980s. By the end of the documentary, the message was clear: Free women were compelled to throw off their clothes just like the slaves in previous decades had thrown off the shackles of slavery.
“The time has come,” said the seductive, confident female voice narrating the documentary, “for women to shed their shame and bare their beautiful bodies to the bright, blue sky.”
Wide eyes were glued to the screen from start to finish. Elise, Bella, Alexis, Steph, and Lyn, who were all sitting together at the back, smiled at one another. Their audience was eating up the message. A few girls even wiped tears from their eyes near the emotional end.
When the credits began scrolling up the screen, Lyn stood and walked in front of the TV as the audience applauded.
“Thank you ladies,” she began. “And thank you to everyone for being here. Can everyone gather around in a circle, please?”
They obeyed, forming a circle with Lyn at the top.
“You know, it took me a long time to overcome my own body negativity. I grew up with three brothers, and they were always teasing me for having boobs and a vagina. I learned to cover up and shut up. It wasn’t until I went to university and met a wonderful group of friends who encouraged me to be free that I finally overcame my body negativity.
“We would sunbathe topless together on the university campus. I felt totally comfortable because they didn’t make a big deal about it. A penis or a boob was the same as an arm or a leg. It wasn’t weird because we didn’t make it weird. Once we started doing it, others joined in. Soon, so many people were sunbathing topless they had to pass a new campus rule allowing women to be topless. We were resigned to only certain areas, but at least we got our way.”
Many of the girls smiled and nodded their heads in understanding.
“Now, I get that many of you are apprehensive about going topless in public. Would anyone like to tell us about their insecurities? I shared first, now it’s your turn.”
A girl with black hair wearing a pink silk teddy raised her hand. “Well, my boobs are different sizes.”
Another hand shot up. “My mom always told me that ladies cover up. It’s ingrained into me, I guess.”
And another. “My family is super religious. I’m lucky I’m allowed to show my hair, let alone my tits.”
Elise had been so enraptured listening to Lyn and the women’s responses she hadn’t noticed Bella and Alexis taking their tops off. The next thing she knew, they were topless and dancing in the middle of the circle, their arms over their heads, their boobs jiggling beneath them.
It didn’t take long for other girls to join them, dancing topless in the circle. Elise went to put the music back on. She then unbuttoned her pajama top, let it fall to the floor, and joined in. Soon, everyone was topless, and no one seemed self-conscious in the slightest.
The next morning, the girls were served croissants and coffee while they chatted about what a fun night they’d had and how special it had been to spend time among such a great group of women. They agreed that they felt uplifted, empowered, and liberated.
Elise smiled to herself once again. She had no doubt they’d join the topless protest.
The day of the topless protest arrived. Bella, Elise, and Alexis had been waiting anxiously in the women’s locker room, where they had arranged for everyone to meet. But no one else had shown up.
“Screw it. Let’s just go,” suggested Elise reluctantly, clutching her hand-painted sign that read ‘My Body, My Rules!’ “Maybe we’ll get people to join in when they see us.”
Just as they were getting ready to head out, two girls who had attended the pajama party showed up to join the protest.
“I wasn’t sure about this at first but then I realized how important it was,” said one of them.
The girls all removed their tops and headed bravely into the hallway. Eyes darted straight for their bare breasts. As the topless girls marched confidently from the athletics center and emerged into the sunlight, Elise felt a thrill of excitement overcome her. Never had she imagined baring her breasts in public, but here she was, her fellow Vaginists by her side, taking her stand for freedom and liberty. Many people cheered. Some got their phones out to video the scene.
Steph, in a bikini top and miniskirt, ran up to Elise, Bella, Alexis, and the two other girls. She smiled, undid the string to release her breasts, stood tall, and joined the march in lockstep as they paraded and promoted their cause up and down the main thoroughfares.
“Hey, let’s go to the field and hang there for a bit,” suggested Bella after a while, apparently in no hurry to put her top back on.
Elise agreed, and the group soon sprawled themselves out on the grass topless with just their shorts or tiny skirts or bikini bottoms on. They spent the afternoon sunbathing, laughing, and chatting idly, not caring about onlookers.
People stopped and stared. Different groups of guys even came to sit by and linger. A few tried to strike up conversations. But the girls weren’t interested in flirting or talking. They wanted to be on display, but not ogled.
Two of the girls, fellow protestors, came over to Elise, crouching beside her. “Elise, this is starting to get a bit creepy. They’re taking videos. I’m scared my Dad’s going to see if they post it online. What should we do?”
Elise understood the girls’ concerns. Some of the guys were acting creepy, and Elise wouldn’t have wanted her dad to find her topless online either. Yet she wasn’t going to give in and suggest that anyone cover-up now. Lyn was counting on her to make this a success. They’d already spent so much money on the pajama party and marketing for the rally. What would a true Vaginist woman do, Elise wondered.
Finally, she spoke, “If they want to look, let them see everything!”
Elise stood up, undid the zipper of her shorts, and slipped them down
with her panties in one swoosh. She stood there completely naked. People’s eyes widened, and sure enough, they got out their phones and started taking videos. Men began to crowd around her. Elise felt a rush of blood all over her naked body. She had never felt so validated as a Vaginist or an activist before. Her heart was racing and her head spun with pride.
The girls, seeming to feel more comfortable now, returned to their sitting positions on the lawn.
Elise smiled wide as she found herself sitting back down on the grass with them, spreading her legs and using her fingers to push her labia apart, completely exposing the pink inner parts of her vagina to the onlookers and letting them take as many pictures and videos of her hairy, unshaven pussy as they liked.
Chapter 6
Girly boys
“Men cum almost every time they have sex,“ Katia Shishenko’s voice echoed off the walls of the small room, “women cum ten percent of the time, at best.” Her shiny brown hair was tied into a low ponytail, and she adjusted her glasses as she shot a look at each one of the fifteen female students to emphasize her point.
It was a Tuesday morning, and Elise was attending a special Gender Sciences group discussion entitled What’s Stopping You From Hooking Up?
“Unless we treat Orgasm Inequality with the same urgency as we treat any other kind of stigmatization, men will continue getting away with their selfish, sexist disregard for a woman’s pleasure.”
Elise smiled. She couldn’t believe how much her life had changed. Just three months ago, she was an oppressed woman in a restrictive, closed relationship with a misogynist. Now she was a rising Vaginist star in a group discussion on Orgasm Inequality.
The topless protest they’d put on a few weeks ago had done wonders in changing her fellow students’ attitudes towards the Vaginist movement. All those photos of Elise and her fellow protestors topless had been well worth it. The ones of her spread eagle with her hairy beaver on display had caused a sensation. They’d turned up in the most unlikely places, including in tasteful newspapers, a local magazine, and some student blogs. Though Elise had later wondered if her full-frontal display may have been a bit much for some people, she had been pleasantly surprised to see most women lauding her a crusader for women’s rights. It also had just enough shock value to bring welcome male attention to the cause.
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