Joshua Willis, Campus Carrier Staff Reporter
One out of three women will be raped or beaten in her lifetime.
This is over one billion women and girls. And this issue is not just a “third world problem” that can be easily or comfortably ignored (not that it should be). No, violence against women occurs everywhere from Tulsa, Okla. to Timbuktu. It can happen in the house across the street as well as across the globe. The women affected could be your friend, your sister or your mother, not just those unknown faces and names that occasionally appear in the headlines.
To combat this epidemic, the global activist movement known as V-Day (the ‘V’ stands for Victory, Valentine and Vagina) was created. V-Day attempts to increase awareness about violence against girls and women and raise money and revitalize the spirit of existing non-violence organizations through the production of The Vagina Monologues, Eve Ensler’s award-winning play.
Berry College once again joined the cause this year when EMPOWER and the Women’s and Gender Studies program sponsored a production of “The Vagina Monologues” directed by senior Ashley Harzog. All proceeds benefited the Women of W.O.R.T.H. Clinic of Rome.
Berry students and faculty performed “The Vagina Monologues” at 11 p.m. last Friday and on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. to packed audiences. The staging in the Krannert Underground was simple yet effective with white Christmas lights and flickering candles acting as the main lighting. Dressed in black and red, each actor performed an individual monologue. The themes of these pieces ranged from sexual repression (“The Flood,” performed by Christina Bucher, associate professor of English) to gang rape (“My Vagina Was My Village,” by Shari Bissoondatt) to birth (“I Was There In the Room,” by Julia Jordan). Regardless of their differences, each monologue stressed the importance of sexual and personal freedom as symbolized by the vagina in women’s lives. The results were funny, touching and, at times, disturbing.
Bucher enjoyed performing her monologue and felt the experience was an important one.
“I love my monologue. It’s not in my own experience, but I can imagine it. I think it is both funny and poignant. [‘The Vagina Monologues’] is fun and important. I’m the adviser of EMPOWER, but I didn’t feel obligated; I [performed] because I wanted to.”
For freshman audience member Kacee Culpepper, her first experience seeing “The Vagina Monologues” was a life-changing one.
“I went to go see ‘The Vagina Monologues,’ because, despite having heard of it many times, I had never had the opportunity to go. I thought it was wonderful. The performance contained thoughtful, humorous, powerful stories that will stay with me for the rest of my life.”
When asked why “The Vagina Monologues” and V-Day itself is so important, director Ashley Harzog pointed out current events in the media.
“The Steubenville rape case is a prime example of why ‘The Vagina Monologues’ and V-Day are important. The media has shown sympathy…towards the rapists, who will receive one to two years of jail time…less time than someone convicted of pirating music could potentially face,” Harzog said.
She also felt that not enough people appreciate the bravery of women survivors worldwide.
“No mention is made of the [Steubenville] victim or her courage to proceed with the prosecution of the rapists,” Harzog said. “We do this show for her and women like her who have been the victims of violence. V-Day is a global movement to end violence against women and girls. Awareness of these issues is an important step in ending the violence.”
This was Harzog’s third and last year directing the show. She offered advice to future directors and performers.
“My advice for future directors is to focus on the cast as well as the show as a whole,” Harzog said. “The relationships that I have built with the women I’ve worked with over the years are so precious to me. I know those women will continue to make an impact and empower other women.”