V-Day
Posted
by
WinterWomen
on Friday, February 14, 2014
 When I lived in South Florida many years ago, I was fortunate enough to be part of an organization that ended up being a part of my life forever. I was working for a pottery studio at the time, and one of my fellow acquaintances asked if I would do a mural for a big production called “The Vagina Monologues." I know what you’re thinking, the vagina WHAT?? The first thought that came into mind was, “do they need me to paint a bunch of vaginas?” Before I agreed to paint the mural, I wanted to learn more about The Vagina Monologues, what it was about, who is the audience, and why it had the title it did.
I learned that The Vagina Monologues was a nationwide play written by Eve Ensler in 1996. The play is made up of varying number of monologues read by a varying number of women. Each of the monologues focuses on an aspect of the feminine experience, such as sex, love, rape, birth, and so on. As the play became popular in the states, Eve Ensler started a movement to stop violence against women in 1998 called V-Day, and The Vagina Monologues is the cornerstone of the V-Day movement. Participants would stage the performance during February 1st through April 30th to raise money for rape crisis centers and shelters for women, as well as similar resource centers for women.
After hearing about The Vagina Monologues and V-Day, I knew I had to be part of this movement. I gathered my team of five, who worked day and night for three straight weeks to create a beautiful 25’ x 40’ backdrop for the play. This mural meant a lot to myself and my team. We all either knew someone or had our own personal experiences of domestic violence. With that being said, our mural focused on emotions, and whether it was of pure joy or sorrow, we knew we had to represent what V-DAY was all about.
On the day of the play, February 14th, we were all very proud of what we’ve accomplished. As the curtains came up, our long hours and hard work was displayed for everyone to see, and at that moment, we all smiled and knew we were part of the movement. When the play came to a close, it was a standing ovation and the fellow acquaintance that asked me to paint the mural came out and thanked everyone for being a part of V-Day. The Vagina Monologues raised over $50,000 for Women In Distress and the PACE center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
If you would like to be a part of the movement or go to a local event, check out www.vday.org
Categories:
Things We Love
Tagged: Valentine's Day, V-Day
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