The Valentine’s Day Monologues

When we hear “V-Day,” most of us think of Valentine’s Day. However, in a very modern and relevant way, it means much more than bouquets of roses and candy hearts. V-Day also signifies a global movement to end violence against women and girls.

On February 12 and 13, Loyola held its annual Vagina Monologues event. The Vagina Monologues is a lauded, ultra-progressive play that “introduces a wildly divergent gathering of female voices, including a six-year-old girl, a septuagenarian New Yorker, a vagina workshop participant, a woman who witnesses the birth of her granddaughter, a Bosnian survivor of rape, and a feminist ‘happy’ to have found a man who “liked to look at it.”” Author Eve Ensler conducted over 200 interviews with women and girls of all ages and ethnic backgrounds across the United States. She asked them questions, like “What would your vagina say if it could talk?” and “What would your vagina wear?”

As I sat in the Mundelein Auditorium listening to 28 Loyola women give their renditions of The Vagina Monologues, I wasn’t quite sure how to feel. At times, the speeches were uncomfortable and awkward, yet at other times they were funny and completely relatable. Apart from the emotions, The Vagina Monologues push the audience to think critically about the lack of conversation on organs in the female anatomy and the social ethos of sexuality.

Over the years, the V-Day movement has raised over $100 million dollars and is performed in 167 countries. It campaigns to educate people about the issues of violence against women and highlights the efforts to end it.

Definitely don’t miss out on The Vagina Monologues when it returns to the Loyola stage next spring.