What is the one thing that could possibly improve a panoramic view of University of Denver’s beautiful campus? The answer is apparently vaginas.
In participation with Love, Sex, & Health Week, a remarkably talented group of ladies with DU’s theatre department performed Eve Ensler’s the Vagina Monologues this Valentine’s Day. These empowered women harnessed the monologues message of loving and accepting yourself, through loving and accepting your vagina. This included telling stories originally belonging to women of all ages and all sexual orientations. Through reclaiming the word cunt to basking in moans, these performances brought a new sense of pride to the word feminism and left everyone wondering: what would my vagina wear if it got dressed?
Judging by the responses and reactions from the audience, namely the row behind me, during the Monologues, vagina appreciation is brought to an all-time high when you’re getting to listen to women rant about how society mistreats vaginas with the “dry wad of cotton” that is tampons, the statement that a skirt is not an invitation, an adorable monologue of a 6-year-old describing her vagina wearing a backwards Mets cap, and informative happy vagina facts that state that the clitoris has the highest concentration of nerve endings compared to anywhere else in both male and female bodies. All in all, this increase in vagina appreciation shouldn’t be a surprise, besides “who needs a hand gun when you’ve got a semi-automatic?”
The monologues also spread awareness of sexual assault and degradation of women through accounts of transgender women being seen as “immigrants” of gender and treated as less than women, refugees in Bosnia and Kosovo being raped, as well as, the sexual assault of a 10-year-old. These are just some of the stories that work to bring awareness to the prevalence of sex crimes that exist in today’s society. DU’s Gender Violence and Prevention Staff hosted this event, and along with the Center for Advocacy, Prevention, and Empowerment (CAPE)’s 1 in 5 campaign, they are working to bring attention to abuse, both physical and mental, sexual or otherwise, and how to identify, as well as how to get help, when you are in an abusive relationship. This included supplying resources, both confidential and not, that can be found in and around the DU community, and can also be found on their website here.