In this piece, Lauren gave a brief oral history of social control theory, stressing that informal social control is executed by a series of sanctions and punishments. The dialogue was directed towards gender theory, addressing the potential problems of such a strict system. The dialogue itself was split into six sections, the final of which confronted the audience asking if progress is being made. Between each part of dialogue, Lauren completely cubmerged her head in a tank of water for as long as she could hold her breath. When she came up, she immediately began speaking again, visibly in pain from her previous actions.
Water was used to symbolized women and femininity, as it often is in literature. Waer possesses great power, and people constantly (unsuccessfully) try to control it. The submerging was done to represent the pressure and punishment to which both society and individuals are subjected. Ultimately, the individual punishes herself for these imposed social laws, but the tank serves as a reminder that such pressure is put into place by outside forces and gives a graphic image of struggle.
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