The Vagina Monologues

Eve Ensler, creator of Vagina Monologues. Photo credit:Vday.org

Eve Ensler, creator of Vagina Monologues. Photo credit:Vday.org

By Janelle Thompsom, Courtesy of The Women’s Center

The Vagina Monologues took place this past week and was a smashing success!  The Women’s Center and its Program Coordinators, junior Lulu Morin and sophomore Timna Gonzalez, did a fantastic job with this event. I went to the Friday night performance with a couple of friends, and found the student performances to be comedic, stirring and passionate.

Some of the most memorable vignettes were “A Six Year Old Girl Was Asked” in which a child discussed the clothes that her vagina would wear, “The Woman Who Loved To Make Vaginas Happy” which featured expressive moaning and had the audience in tears and “My Vagina Was My Village” a somber account that gave a voice to a rape victim before and after her assault.

Every performer wore red and black in recognition of the V-Day campaign, and Terri Hamrick, CEO of Survivors Inc. of Gettysburg, came out to express her gratitude for Gettysburg College’s fundraising efforts.  Ten percent of the Vagina Monologues’ proceeds will go towards the V-Day campaign, which advocates for the end of violence towards women and girls.  The remaining funds will be donated to Survivors Inc., an organization here in Adams County that has made it their mission to provide free counseling services to adults and children who have suffered from sexual assault or domestic abuse.

Many thanks go out to the Vagina Monologues co-directors senior Sarah Fodero, senior Emily Lindholm, junior Emily Zeller, and junior Devora Ashkenazy.

Thanks also go out to students who showed their support by attending the show, performing or purchasing Vagina Monologues merchandise.

Without a doubt, this event is an important one for students to get involved in. The fact that one in three women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime is a grim statistic that reminds us of how prominent violence against women is. Twenty to twenty-five percent of women will experience a sexual assault or an attempted sexual assault while she is enrolled in college, according to research done by the American Association of University Women.

Eve Ensler’s work with The Vagina Monologues is about celebrating the female form, and breaking down barriers so that to prompt open discussions about womanhood. Her monologues have reached out and captured audiences for their frank honesty, their humor, and their weight.

This year’s show left us all with something to think about. The prevalence of abuse across the globe can only be combated by individuals like us; students and teachers who understand that we have influential power in the larger scheme of things, and who harness that power towards something positive.

Author: AnnaMarie Houlis

Share This Post On

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *