If USM women’s vaginas could dress up and talk, they would wear diamonds and stilettos and say things like “wrong hole!” and “slower!”
The questions that spawned these responses were asked to those who attended the annual production of The Vagina Monologues, sponsored by the Women’s Resource Center and the Student Senate.
The show was performed on both campuses during the week of Valentine’s Day, and featured 17 women, young and old, from USM and SMCC.
The event is done as a fundraiser, and this year supported Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine, the state’s oldest rape crisis center.
In 1996, activist playwright Eve Ensler conducted interviews with women about their vaginas. Armed with this information, she wrote The Vagina Monologues, a series of monologues presenting the issues women face concerning their vaginas.
“My Angry Vagina” deals with one woman’s frustrations concerning gynecological tools, tampons, and douches. USM’s production featured Mary Ann Benson, a staff member in career services.
Highlights of this year’s performance included the cast shouting “cunt” in unison whilst running around the lecture hall, as well as an amusing demonstration of different types of women’s moans, performed by former student Lyndon Cudlitz in “The Woman Who Liked to Make Vaginas Happy.”
The humor of these and many of the monologues is part of the show’s appeal.
“My favorite part was ‘My Angry Vagina,'” said sophomore Chris Arsenault. “I had no idea that so many things poked and prodded women in their vaginas.”
Many of the monologues are humorous, but some touch on more serious issues.
“My Vagina Was My Village,” performed here by senior Erin Doyle, deals with the rape of women in Bosnian refugee camps.
In between monologues, the audience was presented with various facts dealing with vaginas or information discovered through the interviews.
Some were lively, such as the audience responses to what one’s vagina would wear or say.
Others presented the audience with surprising statistics and information concerning female genital mutilation.
When she first wrote it, the play was Ensler’s one-woman show, but it eventually took off, with famous actresses performing monologues at shows. It even won an OBIE Award, an honor given to the best off-Broadway shows.
As it continued to spread, colleges across the country began to organize their own performances of the play. It even spawned the global movement known as V-Day, which takes place every year on Valentine’s Day.
The movement’s goal is to generate awareness of violent crimes against women, including rape, incest and sexual slavery.
Activities on this day include performances of The Vagina Monologues, with profits benefiting local anti-violence associations.
V-Day is observed by people in 120 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and North America.
This year, the tenth anniversary of V-Day, it was celebrated with more than 3800 benefit events. The movement has raised more than $50 million so far.
A new monologue in this year’s version of the play was “The Wetlands.”
Performed by Emily Fehrenbacher, USM’s campus organizer, it calls post-Katrina New Orleans the vagina of the United States: its grass-lined marshes and river banks forgotten and abused.
On April 12 of this year, V-Day’s anniversary will be celebrated in New Orleans to help raise awareness for the groups working to end violence in the Gulf South.
The event will take place at the New Orleans Arena and tickets are available online for $25.00 at www.v-day.org.