As of last night, the word "vagina" is no longer a dirty word.

In fact, it's a word that's being celebrated by women and men alike at Penn State, as proved by the packed auditorium at last night's performance of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues.

Like it says on the cover of the program, The Vagina Monologues is about celebrating women and their bodies. Based on interviews with over 200 women, each monologue is centered around one woman's answers to questions, or in some instances, many women's answers to the same question.

"Women secretly love to talk about their vaginas," one actress states during the introduction. "Mostly because they're never asked about them."

Speaking to an audience that sat amongst women's underpants pinned on the railings of the aisles, Penn State students along with several women from State College performed the monologues as if they were their own words. Dressed in all black, each woman was passed a red feather boa as she took the stage to disclose the true confessions real women have told about their vaginas.

The acts, ranging from funny to serious, reaffirmed the audience's attention when groans and laughter erupted after some of the more descriptive and outrageous lines.

Several acts drew rounds of applause, such as "Wear and Say" when two actresses took turns giving women's answers to the question, "If your vagina could talk, what would it say?"

"Slow down!" and "No, over there" were among the most popular lines based on audience reactions, along with, "Don't give up!"

Other laughter-filled acts including "My Angry Vagina" where a woman rants and raves about how things such as tampons, gynecological exams and thongs "piss her vagina off."

A serious moment calmed the crowd when two women performing "My Vagina was my Village," took the stage and began to speak.

"There is something between my legs. I do not know what it is. I do not know where it is. I do not touch it. Not anymore. Not since. . ."

The act, based on one woman's story about the raping of thousands of Bosnian women refugees, clearly sent a more solemn tone among the audience as they gave graphic descriptions of how her vagina had been tortured.

The Vagina Monologues were performed in various cities throughout the United States and over 500 college campuses last night, along with being aired on HBO, as part of Ensler's V-day movement, or Violence Against Women Day.

"Vaginas are becoming mainstream," said Alyssa Pinsker, the "Great-Great Grandmother of the Vagina Monologues" who originally brought the monologues to Penn State.

"I think that's the point of this," Pinsker said.

The Vagina Monologues will be performed at 8 tonight and Saturday night in 100 Thomas Building. There will be general admission seating, available for both performances, based on a first-come, first-serve basis.