Part 5 Summary

"The Little Coochi Snorcher that Could" In her introduction to this monologue, the author describes her work with women described as homeless "so we can categorize and forget them", women who have almost all suffered incest or rape as young girls. She expresses the theory that for these women "home" is a scary word, and that the unconditional welcome of most homeless shelters is the first true home they've found. She describes how this monologue is based on the story of one woman who escaped her past and the shelter system by falling in love and developing a relationship with another woman in the same shelter.

The speaker of the monologue is a "Southern Woman of Color". In a series of short, vivid, verbal snapshots, she portrays a series of negative, painful experiences about her relationship with her vagina, including rape by a...