The Vagina Monologues: Storyteller Event #1

After much begging from my friend Allie and recommendations from Professor Goenka, I decided I would go see The Vagina Monologues, hosted by the student organization Students Advocating Sexual Safety and Empowerment, a.k.a. SASSE. It was a cold Friday night in February, and since I’m a big fan of theatre I thought it was something I should experience. Before the performance, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’d heard many things about the show, ranging from that it had an intricate plotline to that it was people actually dressed up as vaginas. When I actually went, I was very surprised by what I experienced. Instead of a traditional show as I’d expected, The Vagina Monologues was really only tied together thematically, meaning there was no plotline. It really was just a series of monologues featuring women talking about their identities as women, their perceptions of womanhood, and occasionally, just about their vagina in general.
I must admit, after about twenty minutes into the show, I began to feel a little uncomfortable. The audience was mostly composed of females (I’d say about 90%) and the show got me thinking about some issues that, as a man, had never really crossed my mind before. The event really turned out to be thought provoking and deep, with a little scattered humor including monologues about the “C” word and over exaggeration for comic effect. All in all, I left feeling a little bit more educated than I was when I’d entered, and a little more entertained.
I think the only criticism I might have for the show was its length. A few of the monologues seemed to be sort of similar to each other, and it might have been more effective to simply cut them out to have a tighter, more powerful show. Despite the length and the small level of discomfort I experienced, I would recommend that all men see The Vagina Monologues, if only to educate themselves a little more on female nature and to get them thinking about the kind of respect a woman deserves.