Cross-posted @ Choice Words
It’s that time of year again! It happens every spring: shades of pink and red, bouquets of flowers, chocolate… vaginas? That’s right- it’s V-Day ! Eve Ensler, international activist and author of The Vagina Monologues , started the V-Day Organization as a way of combating violence against women and girls. Through V-Day, she has made many of her plays, including the Monologues , available to campus and community groups for free. In return, groups producing her plays must donate all of their proceeds to local charities that work to end violence against women and girls.
I am proud to say that I have just concluded my fourth year of active involvement in the V-Day movement. I work at a college in Illinois, and part of my job is to increase civic engagement on campus. A few months ago I decided that one great way to achieve that goal would be to bring The Vagina Monologues to campus. The show is a wonderful way to raise money for local charities (in this case, our beneficiary was the local chapter of Take Back the Night ) while simultaneously raising awareness of the issues that contemporary women face.
I participated in the show as an undergrad, and this year’s experience was very different from any I had while in college. At BGSU, The Vagina Monologues was an entirely student run project. Students acted, directed, booked space and equipment, sold tickets, and made chocolate vaginas to sell on campus to promote our work. At the college where I work now, I was shocked- and a little dismayed- on audition day when only three students showed up! As a result, I found myself with a cast comprised primarily of staff (including my boss!), faculty, and active community members. In fact, I was the second-youngest woman in the cast. Most of my fellow actors were old enough to be my mother- or even my grandmother.
For me, working with an inter-generational cast truly demonstrated the power that The Vagina Monologues has to bring people closer together. It was inspiring to see women from diverse backgrounds an different walks of life come together to talk about the issues we face in contemporary America. As has been my experience performing the Monologues in the past, many new friendships were formed.
I noticed that having an older cast also drew an older audience. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how much support we received! With the exception of one phone call from a “concerned taxpayer,” everyone with whom I talked was excited to see the show. Those who had never experienced it before were excited to see what all of the hype was about. We even had a group of red hat ladies in the audience during our final performance!
I also noticed more men in the audience this year, which is wonderful to see. Maybe some of them will be moved to become V-Men . In an effort to include more male allies in the fight to eradicate violence against women and girls, the V-Day team has launched a new campaign. Borrowing from the format that has made The Vagina Monologues so accessible to women and men of all ages, Ensler is asking men to share stories about how misogynist violence has affected their lives.
Systematic violence against women is a societal epidemic. However, communities all across this nation are coming together to do something about it and I believe that The Vagina Monologues and the people at V-Day are helping to unite us. If a play whose primary themes are female sexuality and violence against women can achieve success in a conservative county in Illinois, I have faith that the rest of the country cannot be too far behind.
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At my old school, the primary holdback factor for the show auditions was that most of the monologues were erotic vignettes about lesbians, as in 7 out of 10 or more. I have no idea how the show works myself or whether my school was altering it on their own steam or going from a national annual update, but my friend was the casting director and complained to me a great deal about the "gaying" of V-Day affecting her ability to get readers (she was bisexual herself and very active in LGBT clubs and movements on campus).
Before anyone screams heteronormative bigotry, just remember that exclusion of heterosexuals to the benefit of homosexuals isn't really helping anyone. Women who partner with woman are still in an incredible minority, and while their experiences are valuable they do not always connect with the majority of women. So the question is, do we overvalue one life story simply because it IS a minority story?
When you are considering the normally shunned department of vaginas and sex I think this becomes more difficult, because all women are oppressed in this arena. Saying "well I'm MORE oppressed than you" may not win a lot of support, and is ultimately divisive...
You went to BGSU as in Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green Ohio? If so, who are you? I worked on BG's TVM my entire 4 years in undergrad.