The Vagina Monologues raises money to support sexual assault victims

The Students for Choice Club presented The Vagina Monologues with three performances Feb. 23-25 at the Fulton Library.

Each monologue was acted out by one of 20 female cast members, the youngest being an eight-year-old girl. The monologues themselves were as distinct as the women who portrayed them, ranging from light and comedic jokes about orgasms to emotional stories of rape.

The Vagina Monologues is a theatrical piece written over 20 years ago as part of a movement to start a dialogue about violence against women across the globe, according to Keli Byers, a junior sociology major and the producer for this year’s event.

“The monologues range from talking about genital mutilation to female liberation through their sexuality. It’s about normalizing the word vagina in our vocabulary so that we can talk about our bodies without feeling ostracized from society,” said Byers.

The event is purposely placed around Valentine’s Day and is coordinated with other performances of The Vagina Monologues on college campuses throughout the country.

At the end of the performance, director Rebekah Myers Dunford called on the audience and cast to stand if they had experienced violence in the workplace. Dunford asked audience members who had experienced, or knew someone who was a victim of sexual, emotional or domestic abuse and violence to stand as well. Everyone in the nearly-full library auditorium stood as Dunford asked the audience to help stop violence against women.

Along with programs, the organizers handed out a coloring page with word c*** on it, in conjunction with a part of the play all about reclaiming the word.

“At first you’re just like ‘uh, did she just say that word?’ but that’s the point of it, so it was good,” said Jessica Brooksby, a senior English major. “I think it’s uncomfortable because you don’t say those words, you don’t think about those kinds of things and there’s painful stories and experiences, but they need to be talked about.”

Jenny Rood, a senior English major, said that it was a nice shift to hear words and stories being used to empower, instead of thrown around in a derogatory manner.

The event was organized by the Students for Choice Club, with all ticket sales helping to raise money for different organizations each year. This year all proceeds went to The Center for Women and Children in Crisis, which also acts as Utah County’s Rape Crisis Center.