Elaine Benes was the Queen of her Castle.
And to some women’s health advocates, the iconic character from “Seinfeld” is also a trailblazer for her frank talk about sex, birth control and all things sponge-worthy on network television in the 1990s.
“Elaine was always my favorite “Seinfeld” character because I thought she was the smartest and the funniest,” said Elizabeth Yuko, a bioethicist and writer. “She talked about women’s health and women’s sexual satisfaction before it was part of the conversation.”
Yuko and Jennifer Armstrong, the author of “Seinfeldia,” plan to celebrate all things Elaine on Wednesday at a Planned Parenthood fundraiser they have dubbed an “Elaine Benes Appreciation Night.”
The event at the Spreadhouse Café on the Lower East Side will be an evening of Elaine discussions, clips from the show and an Elaine Dance Contest as well as raffles and gifts including sex toys from “Broad City,” whose female protagonists are Elaine’s “descendants” according to Yuko.
But Yuko said underneath all the fun is a serious message.
“Planned Parenthood does not give some sort of fringe medical treatment — for many women without medical insurance, it’s their primary care,” said Yuko, an adjunct professor at Fordham University. “Because of the Trump administration, this funding is under threat of being rolled back and a lot of people are concerned about what this future will look like.”
Whether Elaine was buying up the stock of contraceptive sponges, recounting tales of her diaphragm box popping out of her bag in the subway or participating in “The Contest” with Jerry, George and Kramer, she never minced words or apologized, Yuko pointed out.
Tickets are $30 to $50, and all proceeds from the evening will go to Planned Parenthood.
The spirit of Elaine will be alive and well at the event but the actress who portrayed her, Julia-Louis Dreyfus, won’t be part of the festivities. Her publicist said Louis-Dreyfus was not available for comment.
