'Vagina Monologues' breaks down taboos

Proceeds from the event went to The Shelter and L.E.A.D. Institute.

By Megan Pearl

Published Feb. 21, 2010

MU's ninth annual production of "The Vagina Monologues" featured stories told by female students in an open exploration of the female experience through taboos, such as referring to the vagina as "cunt," "vajayjay," "monkey-box," "pussy" and "twat."

“Some may think that these words are shocking,” the Advisor of the Women’s Center Suzy Day said. “We talk about things that our culture sometimes deems as profanity or as taboo, but I think someday it won’t be considered that way. It will be okay for women to celebrate their bodies.”

This was not the first production of "The Vagina Monologues" in which Day has been involved, but it is the first time she has been the adviser for the event.

"I feel like the only time we, as a society, talk about women's bodies is to objectify them or talk about them in a bad way," Day said.

The production, hosted by the Women's Center on Saturday in Jesse Hall, aimed to speak about women's bodies in a celebratory and respectful way. It began with a strong tradition that on the count of three, everyone in attendance yelled, "Vagina!"

The concept originated in 1998 from playwright Eve Ensler. Ensler combined her interviews of hundreds of women of a spectrum of ages, cultures and countries to write the stories. It is one aspect of the V-Day movement to stop violence against women and girls worldwide.

"It's the same words, but each year it gets better and better," Women's Center graduate assistant Tracey Latimore said. "I think it brings awareness in a fun, interactive way."

Tables were set up in front of the auditorium to offer information about sex, violence and the opportunity to donate to The Shelter and the Leadership through Education and Advocacy for the Deaf Institute. All the proceeds from tickets and donations are donated to those local organizations.

The Shelter's most recently available statistics online from 2007 stated it provided resources for 2,174 victims of sexual assault or domestic violence through a hotline and 289 people with beds and various other services in the Columbia area. From 2000 to 2007, the number of sexual assault victims served by The Shelter has increased 1,008 percent.

Day said the statistics of sexual assault and domestic violence are lower than the actual numbers because many cases go unreported.

"The production helps the Shelter and L.E.A.D. Institute sustain themselves," Latimore said. "They count on this money and factor it into their budgets."

Day said they do not know how much they've raised in total, but the total is already more than last year.

The performances ranged from cases of abuse, whether domestic violence or rape, to the finale, "The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy," a skit analyzing different ways of expressing sexual pleasure. The purposefully comedic stereotypes imitated the "moaning" of women who are Jewish, Roman Catholic, the diva and the college student, among others. Two of the performers wore lingerie for the skit.

"I ended up being more worried that I'd fall over during the Jewish part or that I'd forget my Spanish during the Roman Catholic," senior Christina Andrade said.

This year, 73 women from MU performed the 21 stories — a steep increase from last year's 35 performers. There were also twice as many women who auditioned for a part in the production, Day said.

"The auditions are held in late October," Andrade said. "You audition with a piece you like and write down what you're comfortable doing and not comfortable doing, and then the advisers assign you to a part."

The Women's Center educates the cast prior to the production.

"'The Vagina Monologues' raise awareness not only in the community, but also to the cast," Day said. “We bring in speakers every rehearsal to educate the cast on various issues.”

The cast members wear red and black during the production to symbolize a number of different things, Andrade said.

"They can represent Valentine's Day," Andrade said. "They're the traditional colors of resistance and they're also very vaginal."