Smells Like Snowflakes

I saw The Vagina Monologues for the first time last night. I absolutely loved it! It was put on by students of SSU and was a benefit to raise money for the Women's Resource Center. I wasn't sure what to expect. The performance began with the curtain being raised slightly to about thirty pairs of feet, all bound with red fabric. The curtain raises higher, and we see the womens' hands, also bound with red fabric. The curtain is raised all the way, and the women are blindfolded and gagged with the same red fabric. It was quite startling image. But they quickly broke free from their "bonds" and launched into the monologues. All the women stayed on the stage the whole time, lounging on pillows or in rocking chairs. The majority of the performers did not have their monologue(s) completely memorized, consulting their script as needed. It was a very casual and fun performance, with lots of audience participation. The other women on stage cheered and clapped along with the audience. The monologues themselves were funny, sad, thought-provoking, and inspiring. Some of my favorite moments were: "You have to love hair to love the vagina", "Slow down!" (what your vagina would say if it could talk), I Was Twelve, My Mother Slapped Me (memories of first periods, performed by The Vulva Choir), and "snowflakes" (what a six-year-old thinks a vagina smells like).