On February 27th and 28th something amazing is happening: the University of Utah is holding performances of the Vagina Monologues. Don’t let the name scare you away, because this will be one performance you won’t want to miss.
The Vagina Monologues: they’ve been described as the feminist’s right of passage. But as soon as most anyone hears the word vagina, they subconsciously cringe. Though this reaction is a tad immature, it’s natural. Our society has raised us to fear of the word. It is for this reason that the Vagina Monologues are not just for feminists, but for everyone. They serve as a creative way to break down the taboo surrounding the word, and educate viewers on the subject of violence against women.
While the Vagina Monologues are a creative way to educate the public, they’re also a beautiful piece of art. The show is composed of an assortment of monologues that have been based off of interviews conducted by author Eve Ensler, with the real women of New York City in the 1970’s. The countless women’s stories unveil the horrific truths of rape, female genital mutilation, battery, incest, and even sexual slavery. Giving a voice, or rather several voices, to the cause, audiences can expect an emotional roller coaster. From the hilarious highs of on stage orgasms, moaning, tampon rants, and the unconstitutional laws against vibrators, to the almost unbearable lows of rape stories, horrifying statistics, and the inequality surrounding vaginas, there is bound to be a piece that will emotionally affect each audience member.
The monologues have been performed worldwide since their production in 1994, and grow more powerful and more popular with each passing year, but their performance is about more than feminism and education; each annual performance contributes to the V-Day Campaign, which seeks to end violence against women. Not only do the Vagina Monologues raise awareness about many issues facing women, each production donates part of the proceeds to the V-Day Campaign. V-Day not only raises awareness of the violent crimes committed against women, it enables people worldwide to join in the activist movement to end the violence.
Recently, Westminster College’s own production of the Vagina Monologues donated part of their show’s earnings to Utah’s Rape Recovery Center. Donations from productions such as these have benefited the fight against the violence on a local level, funding anti-violence efforts in their own community, and enabling improvement at a national standing.
I cannot stress enough the importance of this show’s production on every college campus. I cannot beg hard enough for every student to do their part and go watch their university’s performance. I cannot yell it loud enough: VAGINA. It’s not a scary or bad word. It’s just a body part, let’s get used to it.
The University of Utah is embracing V-Day and aiding in the movement by putting on our own production of the Vagina Monologues. Be prepared to laugh, cry, and become enlightened about the vagina on February 27th or 28th at the University of Utah’s performances, and do your part to raise awareness for V-Day this year!