Senior Lisa Goodman saw The Vagina Monologues, playwright Eve Ensler's Obie award-winning play, off-Broadway in New York. Three women - barefoot, clad solely in black, perched on stools a few feet from Goodman's seat - spoke frankly and openly about their vaginas. Goodman, already signed on to produce a version of the play for Tufts, felt that this sort of dialogue would be just what women on campus needed.
"When you stay silent about something, nothing gets accomplished. It's kind of like, if you own your body, you reclaim yourself, and stand up for yourself," Goodman said.
For Goodman and others honoring V-Day today, being able to talk about their vaginas and bodies is an integral part of the fight to end violence against women. Rather than celebrating Valentine's Day, V-Day pushes romance aside and puts the focus on women's safety and personal issues.
V-Day began in 1998 as a product of The Vagina Monologues. A group of women founded V-Day to demand an end to violence against women. V-Day puts Valentine's Day on hold until violence stops; the group also declared that when violence ends, V-Day will be known as Victory Over Violence Day.
The V-Day College Initiative invites colleges to mount their own productions of The Vagina Monologues on or around Feb. 14 to raise money and awareness for violence against women. According to Goodman, over 250 colleges and universities are participating this year and over 50 cities throughout the world will also launch productions of the play.
The proceeds from the college events are given to organizations in the schools' communities that work to stop violence against women. The Tufts group will donate their proceeds to Emerge, a domestic violence crisis center, and Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. The production is sponsored primarily by the Women's Center, along with other academic departments and culture centers.
The Jackson Jills will perform in "Vulvapalooza", an event in the lobby of Balch Arena Theater preceding Sunday's production of The Vagina Monologues. Local charities will also be tabling side by side with games such as "Pin the Clit on the Vagina" and a silent auction offering vibrators - donated from Hubba Hubba and Condom World - as prizes.
Goodman hopes that these activities along with the information available at the event will encourage women to speak more openly about their bodies. After becoming involved in the production, Goodman said that she has no qualms about screaming "vagina" across the academic quad to crew and cast members.
"[The play is] really an experience," Goodman said. "It's basically listening to stuff you think about but never heard out loud before."
And according to supporters of V-Day, this lack of discussion on issues surrounding the vagina hurts the movement to stop violence against women. In addition to discussing the more pleasant aspects of women's bodies, the play confronts issues such as genital mutilation, rape, and molestation.
Sophomore Erin Dwyer, one of the play's directors, got involved because she felt that seeing The Vagina Monologues was "definitely something the campus needed."
Violence, Dwyer said, will not stop "unless people can talk openly about it and are aware of it. When you stop talking about things, they get put into a closet."
The play not only addresses the community at large but has also changed the perspectives of its own cast and crew. "I have so much more confidence in myself. I'm so much happier about myself," Goodman said about her involvement with the play. "I don't think twice about saying 'vagina'."
Potential cast members also held some of the insecurities that Goodman has shed. Dwyer recalls that many audition applications often held some surprising answers to a question asking about conflicts - that is, scheduling conflicts. Some of those trying out interpreted this to mean personal conflicts, so instead of reading about class times and job obligations, Dwyer found that some of the auditioning women felt uncomfortable with the play's issues and their own bodies.
"So many people came in and you would never think so much is going on under the surface," Dwyer said. "There are so many layers to what we're doing, having people on campus think about it, talk about it."
Another layer to the V-Day event is the participation of men. Goodman and the rest of the crew were concerned about attracting male students to their audience and to the issue of violence, but they actually received a warm response. "It's surprising how many guys are into this," she said, adding that this is significant to the cause.
"You can't stop violence against women without the guys," she said.
Emerge also takes the male perspective into account with its counseling offerings. "They're not just blaming the man," Dwyer said, explaining that the counseling sessions for male offenders suggest that violence can be discussed and resolved.
In order to continue addressing violence, the college initiative continues beyond this year as well. With the first V-Day initiative underway, Goodman hopes that a tradition has begun. "[The event] is going to happen every year now," she said. "We're supposed to do it annually."
Goodman and others will pursue the creation of a club that will continue to perform The Vagina Monologues and other V-Day events annually, in hopes of getting Senate funding and increasing student participation, which is already enthusiastic.
"People just jumped at it. There's a lot of interest on campus," she said.
The Vagina Monologues will be performed on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 8:30 p.m. in Cohen Auditorium. Tickets are $7. Vulvapalooza, a free event, will begin at 7 p.m. in the lobby of Balch Arena.
