The Stanford Women’s Coalition (WOCO) is commemorating V-Day, an activist movement to end violence against women and girls, with two productions of “The Vagina Monologues” on campus.

“The Vagina Monologues” is a unique compilation of monologues that narrate an array of women’s vaginal experiences, including sex, love, menstruation, masturbation, orgasms, childbirth, female genital mutilation, rape and sexual assault. The play, written by American playwright, performer, writer and feminist activist Eve Ensler, was originally created to celebrate the vagina, women’s sexuality and women’s liberation. The play is now the main production of V-Day, Ensler’s international nonprofit organization, whose mission is to raise awareness about violence and sexual abuse against women and girls.

Through V-Day, people can receive access to “The Vagina Monologues” script in exchange for organizing a production of the monologues in their community and donating ticket sales from the performance to organizations that prevent violence and sexual abuse against women. Over the last decade, the play has become a popular production on college campuses across the United States, including Stanford.  

Ticket sales from Stanford’s production will benefit the Global Fund for Women, one of the world’s leading foundations for gender equality, which directly funds women’s human rights initiatives and grassroots women’s rights movements. The organization was founded by Stanford professor Anne Firth Murray in 1987.

Rebecca Aydin ’18, the executive producer of “The Vagina Monologues” and social media coordinator for the Women’s Coalition, selected the Global Fund for Women because of its Stanford connection and because of the profound impact of its work. Murray will introduce the organization before the start of at least one of the two shows.

Vanessa Zamy ’16, the director of this year’s production, believes that the play offers unique stories and perspectives that everyone should be exposed to.

“The Vagina Monologues is important because it gives people hope and it gives them an idea about the various vaginal experiences out there,” Zamy explained. “I want the audience to understand the diversity and range of experiences that people have with vaginas.”

Aydin, who first saw “The Vagina Monologues” with her mom and best friend in New York City, remembers how touched she was by the each of the stories.

“I was so shocked to be hearing about vaginas, literally out loud,” she said. “I hope that for the people seeing it for the first time, they have that sort of experience and that it is meaningful to them, whether or not they are in possession of a vagina,” she explained.

The production of “The Vagina Monologues” at Stanford has also provided many students with the unique and empowering opportunity of working with an all-women cast.

“It was really powerful being in a cast of women and feminists … people that want to talk about the experience of being a woman,” Aydin said.

Former director Noemi Berkowitz ’16 expressed similar feelings.

“It was really exciting for me to work with so many talented women in one room, which is something you don’t always see in theater,” she said.

Although “The Vagina Monologues” has been called a revolutionary feminist work, there has also been criticism in recent years regarding the lack of intersectionality among the different characters in the play. Within the collection of the monologues, the experiences of women of color and transgender women are significantly underrepresented.

Last year, Rachel Zilberg ’18, the director of the 2015 production, faced criticism among her fellow producers and other students on campus because transgender women were not represented in “The Vagina Monologues.”

Although Zilberg chose to continue with the production, it was important to her to openly acknowledge and address the flaws in the script as well.

“I suppose my way of dealing with it was trying to make that particular monologue [about trans women] as good and as hard-hitting as possible,” she said. “We also had an introduction before that show regarding some of the controversies so that we could show everyone we were being self aware about them.”

This year, an intersectional approach to the production of the play was a priority for Zamy and Aydin.

“We were very careful in the casting to specify what we wanted,” Aydin explained. “We said ‘female-identifying actors,’ which leaves it open to a wide range of the gender spectrum.”

In general, Zamy and Aydin worked to create a production that was diverse in all aspects of identity, from gender to sexual orientation to race.

While Berkowitz acknowledges that it is important to appreciate “The Vagina Monologues,” she believes that it is equally necessary to challenge the play and the status quo.

“We need to be asking questions: What parts of this [play] are still relevant? What parts of this feel like an outdated, lean-in, white feminism that is out of touch with the important issues today? What parts of this can we critique?”

Aydin and Zamy will to host an audience discussion after this year’s performances in order to facilitate such conversations.

Aydin hopes Stanford students realize that the show is important for all people.

“If you have a vagina, you like vaginas or you respect vaginas, which should be everyone on Earth, you’re going to like this show. It’s relevant whether you have a vagina or not,” she said.

WOCO will be hosting “The Vagina Monologues” at Roble Theater on Feb. 19 and Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m.

 

Contact Audrey Huynh at ahuynh14 ‘at’ stanford.edu