By Kelly Corbett
Correspondent
Valentine’s Day is much more than a day to nibble on heart-shaped chocolates and spend time with loved ones. This past weekend, Feb. 14 through 16, the College once again hosted Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” in the Mayo Concert Hall.
Valentine’s Day, better known as a “global movement to stop violence against women and girls,” according to the show’s program, presents “The Vagina Monologues” annually in celebration.
Mary Lynn W. Hopps, the director of WILL at the College, kicked off this year’s show by explaining that the V in V-Day stands for “Victory, Valentine and Vagina.” She further explained that the monologues were based off of over 200 interviews from women.
Although the women were reluctant at first, the secret was unraveled that “women secretly loved to talked about their vaginas,” Hopps said.
The monologues delved straight into the world of vaginas, from hairy vaginas, to angry vaginas, to vaginas that preferred men and vaginas that preferred women.
It explored the variety of names we refer to vaginas as, such as “twat” in New Jersey and the “conj” at the College.
Although vaginas were put under the spotlight throughout the night, even the male audience members who lack this fancy lady part were laughing along and enjoying the show.
The audience was enlightened with what a vagina would wear if it got dressed. Some of the answers included a “tutu,” “silk kimono,” “only Armani” or “something machine washable.”
They were also delighted with what a vagina would say if it could talk, such as “slow down,” “embrace me” or “enter at your own risk.”
In “The Flood” monologue, senior nursing major Santina Mazzola took on the role of a 72-year-old woman, who in all her years had never seen her vagina. The elderly woman had compared her vagina to a cellar, stating that “sometimes you hear the pipes down there,” but “the door stays closed.” She reflects on an earlier time of her life when she met Andy, and how the cellar flooded. After that embarrassment, she kept the cellar shut.
The laughter continued with history and secondary education dual major Devin Dimmig, who presented the monologue “Because He Liked to Look at It.” She told the audience the story of Bob, who was very boring and ordinary but “turned into a hungry beast” when he finally saw her. Bob had kept pestering to see “her.” However, the audience soon learned that “her” wasn’t just a pretty face.
On a more serious note, sophomore communication studies major Becky Celestina, in a very emotional performance, portrayed a Bosnian woman who loved her vagina until she was brutally raped by soldiers in the monologue “My Vagina Was My Village.”
As the night came to an end, the cast and directors of “The Vagina Monologues” honored Dean Rifkin, the dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, as a “Vagina Warrior.”
To end a hilarious and heartwarming night, audience members were asked to stand and “break the silence” if they knew anyone who had been sexually abused or beaten. As members of the audience rose, they illustrated how much work still needed to be done to end the violence against women and girls today.
Proceeds from the show will go to the Cherry Hill Women’s Center in order to bring us one step closer to ending violence against women and girls.
