i [{♥}] vaginas

I popped my Vagina Monologues cherry (pun intended) last Friday, and it was nothing short of awesome and empowering. I'll have to admit that I wasn't exactly aware of what the Vagina Monologues were prior the show--I just got handed out a flyer that said "I [{♥}] VAGINAS" and was intrigued enough to want to know what it was all about.

So in essence, the Vagina Monologues is actually an episodic play written by feminist Eve Ensler based on her 200 interviews with womyn, where the subject matter was well, vaginas and all the mystery shrouding it. What I saw last Friday was based off of that, as well as original pieces written by the students performing it.

I was pretty much--metaphorically speaking cause I'm lazy and was enjoying the comfort of my seat--on the edge of my seat with every piece. The entire play revealed so many raw truths about the different aspects sexuality revolving women, and did so through evoking so many emotions. One minute I'm dying at how many different words or "euphemisms" Berkeley has to make the word "vagina" more conversationally acceptable (Sather Gate, Dwinelle Annex, Late Night) and the next I'm critically analyzing just how fucked up society can be that the word "vagina" is more taboo than "penis." I have so much respect for the lovely ladies that not only made this evening happen but found themselves up there, expressing real feelings and vulnerabilities out to the rest of the world. It's not easy to share those things--hell it's not even easy to bring them up to casual conversation, let alone to a crowd of a thousand, three nights in a row. It's not easy to talk about sexuality and sexual assault and everything in between--which is why shows like these really make a matter. It's a movement, and it's really empowering.  Really, my feels made full-circle. This show is reaaaaaaaaallly not to be taken for granted and I'm definitely not missing a year of it while I'm here.