The ladies of the NEIU Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance want to talk about vaginas and they want you to listen. Come March, NEIU will host performances of the acclaimed “The Vagina Monologues” at Recital Hall and El Centro.
Eve Ensler wrote the first version of “The Vagina Monologues” in 1996 and has revised and added to it since. The monologues are based on interviews conducted by Ensler from which she gathered anecdotes and personal feelings from women toward their sexual drive, relationships, and violence.
Initially, Ensler performed the monologues as a one-woman show. Today the material is presented at colleges all over the country to benefit anti-violence groups. As part of the V-Day movement, student groups put on performances of “The Vagina Monologues” and choose organizations geared toward helping victims of violence and abuse receive the profits.
The Monologues are honest, unapologetic and often profoundly funny. They question the negative connotations of words like “cunt” and “pussy”. They range in mood and gravity as they tell stories of rape, childbirth, pleasure, anger, confusion and female mutilation. They seek to provoke thought by shocking audiences, sometimes even by making them uncomfortable.
The fact that conversations about the female experience can upset and embarrass people should disturb us in and of itself.
Ang Schab, one of the performers, described her ultimate goal for these shows. “It’s all about trying to get power into the word and make it not so taboo,” she said. Several of the cast members remarked that most women don’t talk about their vaginas, many don’t find the conversation necessary or even appropriate. They hope the performances will incite more dialogue so women will be able to converse candidly about the subject and be empowered to speak up against violence.
Contrary to popular belief, the show is not exclusively for women. Men can find truth and hilarity in the monologues as well. The aim is not to idolize the vagina as the be-all and end-all of womanhood, but to illuminate the fact that sexuality and identity are inextricably linked.
Some critics (male and female) have bashed “The Vagina Monologues” for excessive use of vulgarity, and for glorifying promiscuity and the orgasm. This, to me, misses the point altogether. The monologues endeavor to redefine vulgarity and to do away with the negative subtext of female sexuality. Ensler suggests that sex is an ordinary, commonplace thing and an integral part of a woman’s identity, not a crude or “dirty” subject.
This is the third year NEIU will host performances of Ensler’s play. This time the beneficiaries will be Impact, an organization that strives to reduce instances of violence by teaching self-defense and prevention; Young Women’s Empowerment Project, which focuses on harm reduction and providing guidance to young women in the sex trade industry; and the Quetzal Center, which offers support to abuse victims.
Performances are March 2 and 3 at Recital Hall on the main campus and March 4 at the El Centro campus, all beginning at 7:15 p.m. Tickets are $7 and will be sold in advance at Village Square or at the door on the night of the performance.