UCO Women's Outreach Center Hosts "The Vagina Monologues"

(Provided/Chrissy Kyles)
The University of Central Oklahoma Women’s Outreach Center and the American Association of University Women will host “The Vagina Monologues” at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 15 in the Radke Fine Arts Theatre.
“The show is funny, it’s cool, it’s educational and it puts on the topics that aren’t talked about,” said Raegan Griffin, secretary of AAUW at UCO. “I feel like it helps people understand what women are thinking.”
“The Vagina Monologues” were written by Eve Ensler in 1996, and it is meant to empower women. UCO’s adaptation will feature students, faculty and staff.
“Eve Ensler designed ‘The Vagina Monologues’ to be read on stage. So, the cast literally has the paper with them and they read on stage,” said Chrissy Kyles, graduate assistant for the Women’s Outreach Center. “She didn’t want the audience to be focused on the acting as far as the dramatics. She wanted to create an atmosphere that was as authentic as possible.”

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— UCO Women’s Outreach (@UCOWOC) January 25, 2018

 
This presentation is in collaboration with V-Day, a non-profit organization that works to end violence against women and girls.
“I think it’s important because some of the monologues that the cast members do are about sexual assault and domestic violence, and we’re a pretty high-ranking state in terms of occurrences of both,” Kyles said. “It definitely needs to be talked about because it’s probably happening to one of our students right now and we don’t even think about it. I think it’s really important to bring awareness to the issues.”
This is the sixth consecutive year that UCO will be presenting “The Vagina Monologues.” The performance is free, however, the groups will be accepting donations.
“All of the donations will be going to the YWCA in Oklahoma City,” Kyles said. “It’s Oklahoma County’s only certified domestic violence shelter.”
Kyles said that she hopes that the monologues inspire the audience to end violence against women and fight for gender equality.
“I want the audience to feel led to do something, whether it’s donate, volunteer their time or join an organization,” Kyles said.
Audience members can expect to hear monologues ranging over several different topics including birth, menstruation, rape, violence against women, body image, relationships, sex and love.
“Come with an open mind,” Griffin said. “If you were to ask what to bring, I would say bring an open mind because there’s going to be things said that you didn’t know about.”
For more information, contact the Women’s Outreach Center at (405) 974-3626 or at woc@uco.edu.