‘The Vagina Monologues’ utilizes subtlety to help bring awareness to gender issues
“The Vagina Monologues” is a series of short stories based on real people and experiences that were at first intended to celebrate the vagina, but were later turned into a movement to end violence against women. The play was held on April 11 and 12 at the Wray Theatre.
The monologues ranged from serious to funny and romantic while tackling themes of rape, transgender issues, love, self-confidence and pleasure.
The show starred theater students as well as other students and even staff who, surprisingly, had no prior acting experience. It was a project that was put together in a matter of just two weeks by directors Angelica Arenas and Alfonso Carlos.
For the actors, it was awkward at first to perform these monologues since society sets boundaries on such personal and intimate themes. The actors began to feel comfortable when they realized the stories were relatable to their own lives. They now feel that this play opens the door for activism and encourages awareness of gender issues.
One story, for example, is about a woman who was never able to appreciate or even look at her own intimate body parts until she found the right man, who admired every part of her body and showed her how to admire and love her own body. Another story was based on the struggle one male had while growing up tortured and reprimanded for being all things feminine, believing he was supposed to be born a female.
The play does not try to push feminist rants, but rather, brings to light that social issues such as racism and sexism still exist today. Even co-director Carlos feared the title of the play itself would alienate the the show as a feminist brand, but worked hard so that the compilation would show how important it is for every individual to claim their own existence.
Cast member Dahlia Lechon said: “We want people to leave and not feel preached to, but rather that they’ve learned something. Nobody should be embarrassed to talk about these things. We want women to know that just because they are different in a certain way doesn’t mean they are inferior to anyone.”
The cast members and directors hope that the stories told in this play will contribute to improvement in relationships and overall communication between people. They want people to feel they should never be afraid to express thoughts or concerns regarding their self images and their bodies.
They also hope that it will create different platforms in which both men and women will have a change of perspective of each other and of sexuality. They would like for more couples to worship each other and for men to be able to give women their place in society.
This play turns a serious subject into something that is relatable to everybody, not just women, and does a great job of expressing thoughts that most people find difficult to discuss at all.
One of the biggest challenges that society faces is keeping an open mind. Especially in the Latino culture, where any discussion of intimacy is considered taboo. The actors and directors were able to successfully create a piece that makes these subjects more comfortable for audiences to listen to and talk about.
The theater department plans on making this show an annual event in hopes that it becomes a tradition at Rio Hondo. For information on the play or future auditions, contact Student Life & Leadership at (562) 908-3427.