The aspects of feminine experiences came to life at The Powerful Voices Project’s production of “The Vagina Monologues.”
The performance at Santa Rosa Junior College in Newman Auditorium April 17` portrayed the unspoken world of female sexuality through monologues based on real women’s experience on sex and abuse.
Playwright Eve Ensler wrote “The Vagina Monologues” based on her interviews with women of all ages. Her purpose was to bring out women’s issues through self-expressed monologues.
“It’s very inspiring to have a lot of [people] step forward and support this kind of movement for all kinds of women who are violated and raped,” audience member Alexander Gonzalez said. “It’s better to hear the outreach. It’s very inspiring and hopefully it will move a lot of people.”
The show touches on subjects such as sex, love, birth, assault, rape and transition. The show portrayed the vagina as a symbol of female empowerment, and as a way to embrace individuality and self-love.
Though the show is about female empowerment, men were not left out. During the monologue, “My Destiny/Self-Love Revolution,” narrator Dianna L. Grayer called the men in the audience down to the stage. Grayer gave them advice: always help by taking action when another “brother” is doing wrong.
“I really appreciated the men joining us,” Grayer said. “I want them to be able to take action. [No more] silence on these issues.”
According to The Powerful Voices Project, approximately one in four women in the U.S will experience sexual assault. The Powerful Voices Project’s goal is to enhance the conversation around sexual assault and its survivors. They create short films enlightening the strength and resiliency of sexual assault survivors.
“The Powerful Voices Project is the opportunity for women who’ve been sexually assaulted to come forth and have their stories told about them surviving and thriving,” Grayer said. “It’s a beautiful organization. This is a huge way to be empowered after being sexually abused. To come forth and tell the world you’re thriving.”
Student Molly Beneke has seen the show before and once performed in it herself.
“Each time there is a new spin people bring to it,” Beneke said. “I’m really liking the theme of this specifically about self-love.”
The show is full of intense moments. When talking about abuse, a bongo drum was used to demonstrate how painful a women getting hit was. Every hit of the drum made you feel as if you were the one experiencing the abuse; you were the one feeling weak and defenseless. It put the audience in the women’s shoes.
The show inspires and brings awareness to end violence against women and to speak out against sexual assault. It empowers and celebrates strong and confident women to tell their stories in an artistic way.
