Lost Flamingo Company will present their fifth annual performance of The Vagina Monologues tonight in Baker Center Ballroom.
The Vagina Monologues was written in 1996, after author Eve Ensler interviewed more than 200 women about their sexuality.
They're all sorts of different experiences
stories little rants and sermons about women's issues and experiences. These stories aren't just made up said Sarah Stevens, director of The Vagina Monologues, who added that every scene focuses specifically on the vagina.
Each year, a new monologue is added to the show to highlight a new social concern. Tonight's spotlight monologue is Baptized and focuses on femicide occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Ensler wrote the monologue after going to the Democratic Republic of Congo and meeting an 8-year-old girl named Noella, Stevens said. Noella had been raped by militia for two weeks, got a fistula and couldn't contain her bladder movements. When Ensler went to hug her, she peed on her.
It's about that movement of something so gross
but it was one of the most moving experiences of her life
Stevens said. That's what she talks about and the tragedy over there that no one knows about
that no one seems to see or pay attention to.
Aside from raising awareness about women's issues, sophomore Anecia Johnson said The Vagina Monologues also works to empower women and helps them embrace their sexuality.
I come from a really conservative family
and being in this show helped me become more comfortable with myself and it was liberating
like it's okay to talk about your vagina
said Johnson, who is performing in the show for the second time. It's just a part of who you are and a part you need to explore.
Although The Vagina Monologues tells the stories of women all around the world, the show was not created to exclude men.
I think it's important that people know that the show is not about man-hating
Kim Brack, assistant director, said. It's about vagina-loving. There's a difference between loving your vagina and hating men.
The Vagina Monologues opens tonight in Baker Center Ballroom, and will be performed Thursday and Friday in Baker Theater. All shows start at 7 p.m. and the proceeds will go to My Sister's Place, a battered women's shelter in Athens, and the women of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
