Women and men of all ages waited in line outside Gerrard Hall on Friday and Saturday night to hear monologues about women and their vaginas.
A cast of 13 presented “The Vagina Monologues” to two sold-out audiences those nights. The shows benefited the Carolina V-Day initiative, a campus group dedicated to preserving women’s rights that is an extension of the national organization.
When the doors opened, patrons scrambled to find and save seats for others who wanted to buy tickets at the door. They soon realized the seats would go to those lucky enough to purchase tickets in advance.
They all bought tickets to hear about vaginas, a part of the female anatomy so taboo and unmentionable in global society that it is referred to by creative — and often vulgar — synonyms more often than its proper name.
“I really wanted people to hear an honest portrayal about how women feel about their vaginas,” said senior Erica Robinson, events coordinator for the Carolina V-Day initiative. “Because usually when it is portrayed, it’s not honest.”
“I think it’s something refreshing for women to hear that is honest and real,” she said. “Something they can come together and connect to. I know I did.”
Every year on or around Feb. 14, productions of “The Vagina Monologues” bring audiences together for 2 1/2 hours in a recounting of sexual expression, self-discovery, sexual abuse and oppression in open and uncensored dialogue.
At the beginning of the show, the cast, dressed in jeans, bikinis, skirts and shirts, marched through the aisles of an anxious and excited audience. Once they reached the stage, they began to humorously describe journeys of searching for their vaginas and ended the scene stating the names vaginas have acquired through time.
Expressive monologues “Hair” and “My Angry Vagina” received thunderous laughter and cheers from the audience, while those recounting experiences of sexual abuse ushered in a thick silence.
