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The Vagina Monologues were Well-Received at BSU
Archive
“I bet you’re worried,” it was spoken after the crowd hushed in anticipation of its arrival.
“We were worried,” the actress said, “about our vaginas.”
“The Vagina Monologues,” an Off-Broadway play by Eve Ensler features the words and viewpoints of over 200 women who were interviewed about their bodies, their self-esteem, sex and their vaginas. The production was presented by the Boise State Women’s Center as part of the national V-day College initiative.
The Feb. 17th night performance at the Special Events Center sold out, and the Feb. 18 encore filled the room to near capacity, touching over 400 women and men alike about the subject of vaginas.
The play was divided into sections pertaining to different issues such as hair and happy facts to the “Little Coochi Snorcher That Could.”
The audience roared its approval with actress EvyAnn Neff’s line, “I call it Cunt, I reclaimed it,” and when she called out, “tell me, tell me cunt,” women and a few men cheered and hollered “cunt” in response to a name that once served as oppressive and vulgar.
There was nothing oppressive and vulgar within the walls that surrounded the “Monologues.”
“I have never heard that word [vagina] as many times in my life as I did tonight,” said Rae Thomas, who came to see the play.
Another audience member, Magdalena Ruby, said, “I absolutely loved it. It was wonderful, very well done. Honest, blunt. I hope this helps to start education, open honesty about what the truth is.” Men even appreciated the content and context of the play.
Patrick Rodriguez said, “I just liked to see the woman’s perspective of her body. Being a guy, I never got to look at it from any other than my own.”
The audience was in tears, from laughter and from heartfelt moments.
Besides reviewing the slang terms for vagina (nappy dugout?), what it could wear (A big sandwich board that says, ‘I am God’), and what it smells like (strawberry-kiwi tea?), serious issues were presented as well. Topics such as rape, mutilation, menstrual cycles and birth gave a broader perspective to women in the audience knowing that those words belonged to other women, were spoken through women, and received by women as well.
Jan Frieze, one of the actresses, summed up the play and womanhood alike by saying, “we go through the shit and still come up smelling great.” Now is that a reference to the kiwi tea?