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Sensible feminism has long argued that it’s merely a re-valuing of women’s distinct strengths that would resolve much of the vast inequity between genders. Writer and performance artists Eve Ensler’s work — from 1996’s body-positive Vagina Monologues to this February’s I’m An Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around the World — falls squarely in this line of steadfast reappraisals of women’s uniquely critical role on earth. In between, Ensler has tirelessly drawn attention to the female experience — even in the face of much public fluster over “period parties” and “vulva cookies” — leading a global consciousness-raising movement to end rape and abuse against women one essay at a time. Ensler’s piece de resistance is V-Day, her subversion of the romantic holiday where groups nationwide raise awareness about brutality against women through local performances of the Vagina Monologues and now A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer — a recent Ensler-edited collection of essays from Maya Angelou to Dave Eggers. Proceeds of this Vanderbilt production by the Margaret Cunningim’s Women’s Center benefit the Domestic Violence Hardship Fund.
Fri., Feb. 12, 7 p.m., 2010
Fri., Feb. 12, 7 p.m., 2010
