on why things matter

It's Wednesday, nearing 5 p.m., and for some odd reason I'm not rushing from my apartment for the train to head to Soho for a Vagina Monologues meeting. Probably because the performance was last weekend and it would be a little weird if we were still rehearsing. Nonetheless, after each year's show, I get this phantom-limb-esque feeling -- part of me still wants to look forward to something that has sadly come and gone.

But this year, added to that feeling is one of satisfaction -- a sense of accomplishment unlike one I've ever felt post-production. If you'd told my partner-in-vag, Dylan, and I two months ago that we were going to be producing and directing a production of The Vagina Monologues, organizing venues and ticket prices, coordinating schedules and rehearsals, pulling together an entire cast in less than three weeks -- I don't think either of us would have believed you.

But we did. Not only did we orchestrate a production in the time it takes most people to decide what they're having for lunch, it was a damn good one. Our actresses were incredibly talented, our sponsors were generous and Lady Luck was on our side when it came to finding venues and setting the dates.

As a textbook overachiever, I crave projects like this to prove to myself that I can still accomplish these types of feats. When I was a student, those projects presented themselves all the time. In the (highly overrated) real, adult world, there's typically not as much time for overachieving, amidst making ends meet and locating every item in a grocery store priced at less than one dollar. As I keep free-falling from my aforementioned leap, waiting for that net to appear, I find things that fulfill me are few and far between. For the past two months, this show has filled that void.

But the benefits to my psyche and quality of life are, of course, peripheral. Today at work I was reminded quite bluntly of why this show is such an integral part of my life, as I overheard a woman I work with say that a particular woman had "asked for it." She started to list off the reasons why this woman was at fault for her abuse, but when the first item on that list was that "she married him," I had to stop her.

I know there are plenty of folks, both men and women, who will never understand why this idea is so upsetting to me. But as a woman, as a human being, I believe that no person ever asks to be abused. Each year the proceeds from every TVM campaign are directed towards various charities and not-for-profits dedicated to the promotion of that very ideal. All of the money we raised (more than $1,000) will go to GEMS, the Girls Education and Mentoring Service, which helps to get girls out of sexual trafficking and reintegrated into normal life to reach their full potential. Follow the links for more information on GEMS and V-Day.


cheers,
elizabeth