Fifteen women took the stage in Lee Hall Auditorium Tuesday night in a performance of the well-known “Vagina Monologues” to raise money and awareness for violence against women. The performance, which is a set of monologues focusing on all things vagina, is meant to empower women and create an outlet to talk about topics often considered taboo.
Erika Celeste, University Relations assistant marketing director and the show’s producer, said the number of people who attended impressed her.
“There were more than 200 people in the audience,” she said. “We only printed 100 programs, so it was a great surprise to have that many people turn out.”
According to Celeste, the monologues came about when playwright, performer and activist Eve Ensler traveled the world and came back deeply affected by all the horrific stories she heard from women. “She wanted to do something to change the world,” Celeste said. “She decided to write these monologues from about 200 interviews. She condensed them into 15 monologues.”
Year to year, some monologues stay the same, some change and some are optional each year, she said.
Senior communication major Simone Cottrell admitted she was unsure of what to expect when she decided to attend the event.
“A lot of the stuff is relevant- – things we don’t talk about, but we think about,” Cottrell said. “It was nice to hear other women talking about it out loud.”
English graduate student Lawanda Swan agreed that the production helps women realize they are not alone in the questions or thoughts they have about their bodies.
“There may be someone in the audience who says, ‘Oh my gosh. They feel the same way about their vagina that I do about mine; I’m not a freak,'” she said.
Swan read a monologue about a girl who suffered rape at an early age, but finds herself sexually in later years.
Other monologues included topics such as childbirth, orgasms and the sexual mutilation women in other countries face.
“I am a self-proclaimed feminist, and I’m all about empowering women and hearing women’s stories and struggles,” Swan said. “I’m not talking about the ‘Lifetime’ television empowerment – I mean the real stuff.”
Some of the monologues discussed same-sex relationships and contained explicit language.
Shaz Akram, international student program coordinator for the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, said she originally didn’t know how the audience would react to the graphic content many of the monologues included.
“They took it well. We thought we might have some Christian groups protesting or other groups, but there was no such thing,” she said. “It’s wonderful because that means people are interested in knowing different things.”
While the performance was meant to entertain, the main motive and inspiration for holding it goes much deeper. No admission fee was charged to viewers, but donations toward charities benefiting women were accepted.
“We raised $248,” Celeste said. “Ten percent of the money goes to the women of Katrina and Gulf South, and the other 90 percent will stay in our community and go to the Rape Crisis Center in Columbus.”
While the performance showcased a variety of women and issues, Swan said she hopes the audience took away a positive message.
“It’s different stages, different women and different backgrounds, but we all have the same common denominator: we’re women with vaginas. You either love it or you hate it, and hopefully you walk from this loving it and appreciating yourself,” Swan said.

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Bud Sorey