This weekend I went to go see the annual production of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues that is performed and directed by USC students as part of Vday, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. There are a lot of very powerful events focused on the issue of violence against women such as Vday and Take Back the Night, both of which are held on the USC campus and draw a lot of student participation.
I have seen a couple productions of The Vagina Monologues and have not been a huge fan in the past. Some productions go too over the top and in the process of attempting to lift oppression on women, become hateful toward men. Also, sometimes the production focuses on the crass elements of the play for shock value rather than for the statements they have about the necessity of social change. But I thought that this production did a great job of creating an empowering theatrical work that was simultaneously touching and amusing.
Admission to the show was five dollars, and all proceeds went to a great nonprofit organization called A Window Between Worlds. A Window Between Worlds provides art workshops and supplies to battered women and children in over 74,000 shelters and transitional homes through the US. The goal is to bring healing through creative expression.
It’s a great tradition, and I’m very happy that the USC community actively works to end violence against women and children through participation in Vday and Take Back the Night!
