A US politician who was barred from speaking in the State House after using the word "vagina" during a debate on abortion legislation has delivered a unique response - performing The Vagina Monologues outside the Michigan Statehouse.

Michigan State Representative Lisa Brown performed the show on Monday alongside 10 other female politicians, with the play's author Eve Ensler flying into Michigan to "take back the capital" and perform with the legislators.

vagina monolouges

We will not be silenced: Female politicians perform the Vagina Monologues on the state capitol steps


According to estimates around 2,500 people attended the event, with the crowds chanting "vagina! vagina! vagina!"

Ensler told AP: "We're talking about the silencing of women, we're talking about censoring people for saying a body part," she said. "Half of these people who are trying to regulate vaginas, they can't even say the word."

supporters

Lisa Brown addresses supporter


She said the silencing of Brown, who said of an anti-abortion bill she was "flattered you're [Republicans] all so concerned about my vagina. But no means no", was about the silencing of women.

vagina

Barb Byrum, D-Onondaga, reads her part during a performance of "The Vagina Monologues

Republican representative Mike Callton told The Detroit News her comment was "so offensive." "I don't even want to say it in front of women. I would not say that in mixed company."

Republican Jim Stamas banned Brown, along with her Democrat colleague Barb Byrum who said "vasectomy" during the debate for violating the decorum of the House.

Brown has accused her censors of being "unable" to say the word vagina while legislating on abortion.

"Shouldn't we be able to discuss body parts if we're going to pass laws about them? Am I really to believe that my opposition is undone at the mere mention of a woman's anatomy?..

"They don't want to hear us, and when we speak out anyway, they try to shut us down."

Brown told AP on Monday evening: "I've heard from a lot of men. It's not just women who are speaking out."

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  • Sen Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, greets the crowd during a performance of "The Vagina Monologues" with Democratic state Rep. Lisa Brown, 10 other lawmakers and several actresses on the Michigan Statehouse steps, draped with a letter "V," Monday, June 18, 2012, in Lansing, Mich. Brown, who says she was barred from speaking in the Michigan House because Republicans objected to her saying "vagina" during debate over anti-abortion legislation, performed "The Vagina Monologues" with a hand from the author Eve Ensler. (AP Photo/Detroit News, Dale G. Young)

  • Rep. Barb Byrum, D-Onondaga, reads her part during a performance of "The Vagina Monologues" with Democratic state Rep. Lisa Brown, 10 other lawmakers and several actresses on the Michigan Statehouse steps, Monday, June 18, 2012, in Lansing, Mich. Brown, who says she was barred from speaking in the Michigan House because Republicans objected to her saying "vagina" during debate over anti-abortion legislation, performed "The Vagina Monologues" with a hand from the author Eve Ensler. (AP Photo/Detroit News, Dale G. Young)

  • Supporters gather for a performance by Rep Lisa Brown, D-West Bloomfield, of "The Vagina Monologues" with 10 other lawmakers and several actresses on the Michigan Statehouse steps, Monday, June 18, 2012, in Lansing, Mich. Brown, who says she was barred from speaking in the Michigan House because Republicans objected to her saying "vagina" during debate over anti-abortion legislation, performed "The Vagina Monologues" with a hand from the author Eve Ensler. (AP Photo/Detroit News, Dale G. Young)

  • Eve Ensle, author of "The Vagina Monologues," speaks during a performance of her play by Democratic state Rep. Lisa Brown, 10 other lawmakers and several actresses on the Michigan Statehouse steps, Monday, June 18, 2012, in Lansing, Mich. Brown, who says she was barred from speaking in the Michigan House because Republicans objected to her saying "vagina" during debate over anti-abortion legislation, performed with help from author Ensler. (AP Photo/Detroit News, Dale G. Young)

  • Rep Lisa Brown, D-West Bloomfield reads her part during a performance of "The Vagina Monologues" with 10 other lawmakers and several actresses on the Michigan Statehouse steps, Monday, June 18, 2012, in Lansing, Mich. Brown, who says she was barred from speaking in the Michigan House because Republicans objected to her saying "vagina" during debate over anti-abortion legislation, performed "The Vagina Monologues" with a hand from the author Eve Ensler. (AP Photo/Detroit News, Dale G. Young)

  • Rep Lisa Brown, D-West Bloomfield, center, reads her part during a performance of "The Vagina Monologues" with 10 other lawmakers and several actresses on the Michigan Statehouse steps, Monday, June 18, 2012, in Lansing, Mich. Brown, who says she was barred from speaking in the Michigan House because Republicans objected to her saying "vagina" during debate over anti-abortion legislation, performed "The Vagina Monologues" with a hand from the author Eve Ensler. (AP Photo/Detroit News, Dale G. Young)

  • Supporters gather for a performance by Rep Lisa Brown, D-West Bloomfield, of "The Vagina Monologues" with 10 other lawmakers and several actresses on the Michigan Statehouse steps, Monday, June 18, 2012, in Lansing, Mich. Brown, who says she was barred from speaking in the Michigan House because Republicans objected to her saying "vagina" during debate over anti-abortion legislation, performed "The Vagina Monologues" with a hand from the author Eve Ensler. (AP Photo/Detroit News, Dale G. Young)