A few minutes past midnight on Valentine’s Day, Megan Churchward stood under red and pink gel lights and read a list of thoughts she had about womanhood while walking home alone late at night.
Churchward was one of 18 members of the Bloomington community who chose to deliver a speech as part of the “Personal Monologues” event Saturday at the Bishop.
The event, which was sponsored by the IU Feminist Student Association, encouraged volunteers to speak about their bodies and femininity.
“I resent the stigma of being a feminist,” Churchward said. “I resent the self-doubt, the self-consciousness. But most of all, I resent that there is anything to resent about being a woman.”
When Churchward stepped down from the stage, the night’s host, Carmen Vernon, handed her a chocolate vulva from a black and pink Planned Parenthood tote bag as a treat for speaking.
“‘Personal Monologues’ is an extension of Eve Ensler’s ‘The Vagina Monologues,’” Vernon said. “It’s about self-empowerment.”
“The Vagina Monologues” and “Personal Monologues” were both part of the V-Day campaign, a movement started by Ensler to end violence against women through consciousness-raising events.
As part of the V-Day campaign, all of the profits from the FSA’s production of “The Vagina Monologues” were donated to Middle Way House.
Some volunteers at “Personal Monologues” improvised their speeches, while others referenced notes on their phone or read off of scribbled notes torn out of journals.
The first nine performers were all scheduled to speak, while the rest spoke in the open mic portion of the event.
Several young women and two men talked for almost three hours about menstrual cups, one-night-stands and physical disabilities.
“Personal Monologues” aimed to expand the narrative of what it means to be a woman from the stories in “The Vagina Monologues,” which Vernon said are mostly from a white, cisgender point of view.
“Personal Monologues,” she said, was an opportunity for all female-identifying people to embrace their bodies.
Senior Kajal Singh volunteered to speak about her experience as a woman of color.
She spoke about an experience she had when she was told that she was not a “real” minority.
“I thought that it was important to talk and tell my story, because as a woman and a minority, I have a different identity than some of the other people who spoke tonight,” Singh said.
She said she thinks it’s important to stand up for your own identity and experiences.
“My piece of advice to everyone is to tell your story,” Singh said.
