When it was founded in 2004, the magazine produced two issues and generated nationwide publicity. Resurrected in 2008—in what Garland calls a more “literary” form—the magazine has since published two more issues, with another to arrive in April. According to Garland, H BOMB enjoys freedom from editorial interference by the college: “Harvard has not tried and isn’t going to try to censor what we produce.”

As a relatively new publication, production costs have been an obstacle. To offset expenses, the current newsstand price is $10. The staff face further challenges in securing advertising from businesses reluctant to endorse explicit content, regardless of its artistic and intellectual quality.

And H BOMB strives to keep its quality high. It solicits all types of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and artwork that reflect an interest in gender, sex, or sexuality. “The editorial board seeks out really cool and challenging material,” said Garland.

Nevertheless, he’s only mildly satisfied with the magazine’s reception on campus. “A lot of people appreciate it and are really passionate about it,” he said. “But a lot of people write it off as another iteration of smut produced by college kids.”

Garland added that the sexual politics of Harvard are complicated: “[The university has] pockets of really radical approach to sex and sexuality, but is also the site of incredibly reactionary and conservative thought.” Garland, who co-chairs Harvard College Queer Students and Allies (QSA), considers it the mission of H BOMB to combat this sexual shame. “The more people talk about sex,” he said, “the more comfortable they’ll be with it, and the healthier their sex will be.”

The theatrical equivalent of the “Vaginas of the Harvard Community” is, of course, “The Vagina Monologues.” The annual Harvard student production of the play is co-sponsored by the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (OSAPR) and the Women’s Center. This year’s show took place on February 11 in the Agassiz Theatre.

M. Amelia Muller ’11 is no stranger to Harvard theater. She appeared in the 2008 Freshman Musical, and in the last year, served as set designer for both “Big River” and “The Flies.” But this semester? “I wanted to do something that scared the crap out of me a little bit,” she said.

“The Vagina Monologues” is a series of—you guessed it—monologues, based on hundreds of interviews playwright Eve Ensler conducted with women of all ages and backgrounds. First performed in 1996, the play has garnered worldwide fame. The monologues unpack a cultural history of sex, rape, and female empowerment, with the universal catalyst being, naturally, the vagina.

In February, Muller gave voice to “The Little Coochie Snorcher That Could,” a multi-part monologue from the point of view of a victim of childhood sexual abuse. Muller played the 16-year-old version of this woman; three other actresses portrayed the same character at younger ages. Of these, Muller had the longest part, and she found it was anything but easy.

“I had to get comfortable with what I was talking about,” she said. But by opening night, Muller was ready. “It seemed totally natural to be up on stage talking about coochie snorchers.” She credits the support she received from the show’s audience and cast members, whom she now considers close friends.

To those who might be offended by “The Vagina Monologues,” Muller said, “in a lot of ways, that’s sort of the point. You have to be willing and open to be a bit shocked, and then think afterwards about why you were shocked. What the show reveals to you is all these different ways to appreciate your body, and what you’re capable of as a woman.”

Of all the monologues, “Coochie Snorcher” is especially controversial because it describes the teenager’s sexual awakening at the hands of a 24-year-old female neighbor—technically statutory rape. Not all respond well to it. Rachel L. Wagley ’11, Co-President of True Love Revolution—an undergraduate organization which promotes premarital abstinence on campus—expressed her group’s distaste for the production in an e-mail: “[This play] trivializes the legacy of women who have achieved great things with their intellect, dedication, and creativity by reducing them to the sexual. The Vagina Monologues glorifies perversion—including the rape of a 13-year-old child...” Wagley refers to an unrevised version of the script, where “Coochie Snorcher” was originally three years younger.

Muller would disagree. “When it comes down to it,” said Muller, “[the monologue] is about a girl learning that pleasure is natural, and understanding that her body is a good thing.”

Sarah A. Rankin, Director of the OSAPR, assesses openly sexual art based on its purpose or intent. “It’s not that the erotic is bad per se,” she said. “Who’s telling the story and how it’s being depicted is very important.”

A co-sponsor of the production for three years running, OSAPR provides the “The Vagina Monologues” student staff with funding, publicity, and a supportive organizational structure. Rankin acknowledged that “The Vagina Monologues”—the proceeds from which were donated to the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center and Haiti relief—is sexually graphic. “[But] the intent of the show is to give women a voice,” she said.