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Pussy Power

The Vagina Monologues was the catalyst for a groundbreaking movement raising awareness of domestic abuse. Madeleine Reiss talks to the women behind V-Day UK

'We were worried about what we think about vaginas, and even more worried that we don't think about them. We were worried about our own vaginas. They needed a context of other vaginas... a community, a culture of vaginas. There's so much darkness and secrecy surrounding them... like the Bermuda triangle. Nobody ever reports back from there,' says Eve Ensler, the author of The Vagina Monologues.

Ensler was inspired to write the play after hearing a woman speaking derogatorily about her own vagina. Over the years that followed she interviewed women of all nationalities and ages about theirs. 'I talked to over two hundred women… At first women were reluctant to talk. They were a little shy. But once they got going you couldn't stop them,' she says. And The Vagina Monologues was born.

Once the show was staged, Ensler was struck by the audience's reaction; women would flock to tell her of their own 'vagina' experiences. As a result, she joined forces with a group of activists and the movement called V-Day was born. It aims to raise awareness of and end violence against women as well as raise money for the V-Day Fund, which supports local and global organisations working to put a stop to the violence.

For seven weeks each year, starting on Valentine's Day, the campaign gives groups of women the chance to produce their own versions of The Vagina Monologues. These performances not only raise awareness of abuse but raise money for local charities dealing with violence against women. Events culminate in a big V-Day bash in April - a celebrity event which features the best of the local performances.

For those involved with the first V-Day UK, it was a real labour of love. Sponsors and agents who were approached to get the first show off the ground hastily retreated, muttering about marketability of the 'V' word. Vaginas, it seemed, would not sell.

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