Ali Rei
Opinions Editor
On March 3, I had the pleasure of going to see “The Vagina Monologues” at the East Greenwich Odeum in East Greenwich, RI. Part of the play’s cast was Rhode Island College’s very own Dr. Mary Baker, a professor in the Anthropology department who actually introduced me to this play in the first place. As someone who is an advocate for self love and women’s rights, I knew I would enjoy this play, but after it was over I was left with overwhelming feelings of love, empathy, appreciation and a sense of community. You might be wondering how a singular play could produce such an emotional reaction; let’s talk about it.
“The Vagina Monologues'' is a play based on 200 interviews with women who were asked to share their views and experiences with their vaginas, sex, sexuality and more. Such a masterpiece was written by playwright V (formerly Eve Ensler), a Tony Award-winner who is also a performer and an activist. According to her website, the play has been published in over 48 languages, as well as performed in over 140 countries. The birth of the “Vagina Monologues” also inspired V to create “V-day”, a global activist movement that aims to end violence against cisgender and transgender women, as well as those who are nonbinary and or have fluid gender identities.
Not only does this play serve as a powerful reclamation for women of their vaginas, it also unsilenced hush hush topics and words women are ashamed and afraid to speak about. Through humor, compassion and authenticity derived from the stories of 200 women, “The Vagina Monologues” does a fantastic job at dismantling the various emotions that come with talking about the experiences of being a woman. Some parts will have you dying laughing, some will have you bawling your eyes out and some will fill you with so much appreciation for your vagina and womanhood. By the end of the play I realized that all of the emotions I felt during the performance were emotions I felt with and towards being a woman.
If you ever have the chance to go see “The Vagina Monologues”, I highly recommend it. I extend this recommendation to more than just women, as it’s perfect for everyone regardless of whether or not you have a vagina. Since this play did touch on some triggering topics such as sexual violence, available therapists wearing colorful boas were seated throughout the audience. In my opinion, which I think was shared by the audience, this play is the perfect combination of an effort to spread awareness and an invitation for those with vaginas to reflect on their relationships with their reproductive system and themselves. Hearing about the experiences of other women and their vaginas, both joyful and sorrowful, helped me redefine my relationship with my body and identity. Overall, “The Vagina Monologues” allowed me to come to terms with the fact that even though being a woman comes with many challenges, I am beyond proud to be one.
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