Friday night, the Gender Studies Department at Mississippi State University hosted their annual rendition of the Vagina Monologues. Their efforts raised $407 in donations for the Starkville domestic violence shelter.
The MSU rendition of the Vagina Monologues featured Eve Ensler’s 2002 Vagina Monologues, in addition to pieces discussing current issues. 
One new addition addressed violence against the transgender community, which created a more inclusive tone around the performance and made relevance to a work over a decade old.
The inclusion of a monologue on abuses related to the #metoo movement was also important, and connected past to present day issues. 
Despite a few big changes being made to the performance, a controversial piece promoting a relationship between an underage girl and an adult woman was still included. The purpose of the piece is to positively display relationships between women, but the age gap makes the monologue very problematic.
While many of the monologues focused on exposing the sexual abuse against women, this piece came across more as a predatory relationship, rather than something romantic.
Were the tables turned and a 16-year-old girl explored her body with an adult man, the relationship depicted would have been seen as manipulative and abusive.
In regards to the performances themselves, there were heart-wrenching and emotional monologues given throughout the night. Unfortunately, some of the most powerful monologues from the original performance fell flat and were delivered in a somewhat apathetic manner. 
One monologue, in particular, lacked the emotion and passion which brought me to tears in the original. The performer blankly read off of a piece of paper as she described the desecration of her body and mutilation of her genitalia. The horrific experience of this woman was not given the justice it deserved and was stripped of all empathy. 
In contrast, one performer whose monologue detailed the anger of vaginas was overflowing with power and rage as she took the stage. The performer put her self completely into the piece, and the words not only spoke for one woman but for all women. The power projected from this monologue radiated throughout the auditorium and sent chills through the air.
Laughter spread throughout the audience, as another performer reenacted a variety of orgasms and her experiences with making women moan. By the end of her monologue, this performer had fallen to the ground in order to capture the character she was playing. Even the other performers on stage could not stop from laughing, having to compose themselves before the next piece.
It was performances like these that redeemed the rendition of the Vagina Monologues and created an empowering atmosphere. Yet, the performances where the women did not even bother to memorize their lines was insulting to the Enseler and the women who the monologues were based on. The stories told were personal, intimate and sacred, so watching them be butchered was beyond insulting. 
These stories need to continue to be shared with the world and become a part of normal conversation, but they also need to be told by people who can accurately express the importance and depth of these topics. 
While it is amazing the university provides a platform for the topics included in the Vagina Monologues, it is important for people who are performing and listening to these pieces to not become numb to the content and understand the gravity of these horrific circumstances.