SHENECA SHARPE
Staff Writer
V-Day presented another spectacular performance of Eve Ensler’s “Vagina Monologues.” With 19 years of monologues under its belt, V-Day continued to spread awareness of domestic violence and sexual assault.
All proceeds went to the Salvation Army ANEW Center located in Jamestown which continues to support women who are the survivors of domestic and sexual violence or women who continue to experience such tragedies. Many community businesses such as Facial Expression Day Spa and Red Bird Tattoo sponsored the event. Student clubs own such as STEPS and FredASSIST both had tables giving out informational pamphlets, condoms and things to support sexual education and health.
The Vagina Monologues feature the stories of women all over the world in hopes of inspiring other women to share their own. With 29 students reciting the monologues and with Zoe Kiriazis acting as Vagina Monologues creator Eve Ensler, it was a night filled with laughs, tears and hopefully some open minds. (Editor’s Note: Kiriazis is a Staff Writer for The Leader.)
“The Vagina Monologues is important for Fredonia because it is still relevant even 20 years later. 1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men will be raped in their lifetime. That’s scary. And we have to talk about it… all the beautiful and ugly realities women have to experience. Although the show is focused on people who are vagina holders, cisgender men can also absolutely in some way or another [perform] these monologues and find support from all of us at V-Day at Fredonia,” said Kiriazis, a senior in arts administration and theatre major.
With this being Kiriazis’ fifth year in the production of The Vagina Monologues, acting as Eve Ensler was a moment of mixed feelings. Especially when it came to the moment where people in the audience had the option to stand up if they were raped or sexually assaulted, knew somebody that was raped or sexually assaulted and who is willing to do something about it in their lifetime.
“I felt so many things. I was excited to help present the show, watch my fellow cast members perform and give the voices back to the survivors of all that we represented at each performance,” said Kiriazis. “I was the most nervous for the last moment of the show when survivors stood in solidarity with one another. To see those stand, regardless of gender, for the first time, as the person inviting people to stand up, was an amazing moment to experience. I know that performing as Eve was the most rewarding feeling in my life. It showed me why I will continue to fight for my fellow survivors for violence against all people to end.”
Even though there were veterans like Kiriazis, some freshmen decided to be a part of this cast in their first year of college. One of those new members was Cassidy James, a freshman majoring in early childhood education with a concentration in social studies and psychology.
“As this was my first show, I did not expect to get the amount of admiration that we as a cast had received. Unfortunately, there are some people who do have negative views of us and what we stand for. However, there were even more people who were so supportive and appreciative of us, which outweighs the negativity,” said James. “Aside from the show itself, I didn’t realize how many amazing relationships I would form throughout this process. My fellow cast mates hold special places in my heart as we have been working together towards this goal since August. Lastly, I am extremely proud and excited to say that as a cast, we have raised over one thousand dollars for the ANEW Shelter in Jamestown for women and children who have escaped domestic violence.”
There was a mix of how light or heavy the monologues would be. To give the distinction between the two there would be a red light on the stage which meant that there would be possible trigger warnings in that specific monologue. If a person felt like it was necessary for any reason to leave the MPR to take a breather, that was completely fine.
One of the light monologues was called “Hair.” It starred Emily Green who acted the part of a woman who had a husband who despised pubic hair so much that he became unfaithful. In the end the wife realized that “you have to love the hair in order to love the vagina” and anybody who feels differently does not deserve it.
One of the heavier ones was “They beat the girl out of my boy… or so they tried” which starred James, Green and Haley Menze. The monologue dealt with the realities of life as a trans person and the difficulties (sometimes including sexual harassment or physical abuse) that come along with it.
The Vagina Monologues once again gave a thought-provoking performance of what it’s like to be a woman in a male-dominated world. It showed the issues that women face all over the world and how similar yet how different they are. If you did miss this year’s Vagina Monologues then keep a look out for next year on their 20th anniversary of performing it on Fredonia grounds.