Vagina Monolgues seek to put an end to violence against women

"The word itself makes some men uncomfortable," states Maude Lebowski in the Coen Brothers' 1998 hit, The Big Lebowski. "Vagina."

The Dude replies, "Oh yeah?"

"Yes. They don't like hearing it. And find it difficult to say," explains Maude. "Whereas, without batting an eye, a man will refer to his 'dick' or his 'rod' or his 'Johnson.'"

Although the Lebowski's presentation may be a bit crude, it is exactly this fear and stigma associated with the female form that is tackled in Eve Ensler's acclaimed play, Vagina Monologues.

The play, which has made a phenomenal impact on women's issues and theater since its unveiling in 1998, is set to open tonight in Cohen Auditorium and in colleges and theaters all around the country for its annual "V-Day" performance.

The production is a compellation of monologues inspired by more than 200 interviews conducted by Ensler. The intent of the monologues is not only to tackle squeamish topics about vaginas, but is also aimed at putting an end to violence against women worldwide. Venues participating in V-Day -- a global movement to end violence against women and girls -- are asked to donate ten percent of money raised by the event to the organization's annual "Spotlight" cause, while the rest of the proceeds are given to a charity aimed at ending violence toward women of the organizer's choosing.

Those involved in the project believes it serves as an artistic voice for many women who would have been otherwise forced to remain silent. The show's organizers feel the script offers a unifying intimacy among women with diverse ethnic, social, and geographical origins.

"I wanted to convey a sense of comfort and intimacy throughout this play. I believe that The Vagina Monologues is about home," director Sarah Hecht said. "Every single monologue in the play refers to home either directly or in the abstract."

For this production, Hecht took advantage of her artistic license and visually expressed her "home" theme by calling on inspiration from a work of art from the 70's called "The Dinner Party" by feminist artist Judy Chicago.

The play's set imitates the piece's triangular table. On the table are place settings representing influential women throughout history, and each plate is an artistic representation of a vagina.

"Chicago's work illustrates women from varying cultures, backgrounds, and centuries coming together to celebrate womanhood," Hecht explained. "Chicago said of her work, 'Men have 'The Last Supper,' women have dinner parties.'"

Those involved in the V-Day organization believe that open discussion of the body is a means to go beyond just the physicality of what it means to be a woman. "This is a play about speaking through the body, not detaching from it," she said. "I tried to start with the physical connection, and move towards the words -- working from the inside out."

This year's V-Day Spotlight charity focuses on the women of Juarez, Mexico, Tufts senior and Monologues producer Liz Shultz said. "In the past decade, over 300 women and girls have been killed or disappeared in Juarez, which is across the border from El Paso, Texas."

Shultz expressed the gravity of the situation involving women in Juarez by explaining that "despite the fact that these murders have persisted over the past decade, there has not been significant progress in providing protection to the women of Juarez or in bringing the perpetrators to justice."

With only ten percent of the show's proceeds going to women in Juarez, this year's Tufts production team -- which included Shultz, event organizer Zo‰ Hastings, and Hecht -- was faced with the decision of which local charity would receive the remaining donations. The group finally decided on the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC), a local charity offering hotline crisis counseling, adolescent and family services, support groups, medical advocacy and legal advocacy to victims in the Boston area.

The organizers chose this particular charity, which served over 8,500 women, men and adolescents last year, because of trouble within the organization. Severe cuts in funding have "caused many centers around Massachusetts to curb their services dramatically or to close down all together," Shultz said.

And while charitable contributions constitute a significant portion of V-Day's impact, the Vagina Monologues has more to offer than monetary donations.

The magnitude of these ideas -- whether communicated through words, the body, or both -- will be expressed both by the script's poignancy as well as its humor. The event's organizers hope to extend the play's discussion by hosting an open forum this coming Monday at 7:30 in Barnum 104. For the forum , they want to offer an outlet to safely exchange ideas. And we are all mature college students here, so there shouldn't be any giggling... well, maybe a little. Hehe, vagina.