Last night in the HUB-Robeson's Alumni Hall there was a lot of talk about "down there."
What it would wear, what it would say if it were happy, if it were angry or if it were terrorized.
What would your vagina say?
Last night was Penn State's third annual performance of Eve Enslers's The Vagina Monologues.
The monologues are based on over 200 interviews of women of all color, religions and ethnicity between the ages of 6 and 76.
Students packed into Alumni Hall sitting beneath the stage and along the windowsills. The Vagina Monologues will be performed again at 8 p.m. today in the Alumni Hall.
Admission is free, but people are asked to bring donations of toiletries and clothing for the Centre County Women's Resource Center. Items such as soap, toothbrushes and feminine products are appreciated by the center.
The show was dedicated to any woman who has ever been sexually assaulted or thought her body was imperfect, said Michelle Yates (senior-women's studies).
On every chair, red signs were placed which read, "Rape Free Zone." Audience members were encouraged to hang them up around campus today.
Recent incidents in Brumbaugh and Snyder halls involving sexual assault were also addressed.
"The administration does very little considering the resources Penn State has available," Yates said. "We have to make a stand and show the Penn State administration that students want to stop violence here."
After almost an hour of delay, introductions and a reading from Ensler's book, The Vagina Monologues: The V- Day Edition, the monologues began.
"I don't want anyone to be uncomfortable with vaginas, because then you're uncomfortable with women," said Katelyn Belyus, co-director of the event. "I don't want anyone to be uncomfortable with women we're half of the population."
The Vagina Monologues spurred V-Day, which is also Valentine's Day. It raises awareness to violence committed against women and children around the world.
Despite the delay in the beginning, the audience seemed appreciative of Ensler's experience in being dubbed "The Vagina Lady."
The first monologue addressed how women secretly love to talk about their vaginas, despite the fact that vagina "never sounds like a word you want to say."
So they said it over and over again about 200 times throughout the presentation.
In between monologues, information regarding issues like genital mutilation was quoted from books or newspapers.
One of the most moving pieces regarded a Bosnian woman who was raped by six men who took turns for seven days, using foreign objects such as a rifle, sticks and the end of a broom.
More humorous monologue related to menstruation and vaginal examinations.
Jeans, an evening gown, something washable, a red bow, an electric shock device to keep out unwanted strangers what would your vagina wear?



