Why I Do This, Year after Year after Year - Until the Violence Stops

 

For Seven of the last Eight Years I have been involved with the VDay Movement here in Bakersfield.

I have seen others come and go, appear in the presentation of the Vagina Monologues once and then opt out for a variety of reasons.

I have stayed and stuck it out and showed up and I will continue to show up as long as the opportunity is there because every year, we touch different people and open up other voices. We give more people the chance to be heard. To speak. To listen.

Is the show perfect? No. What show is?

I had with one of my close friends about this. She couldn't understand why I continue to do VDay. She can't imagine doing a show that isn't about putting another notch on my creative belt. I think our conversation helped her to see VDay isn't about ME or MY PERFORMANCE or what monologue I "get to" perform. VDay isn't an ordinary show. It is a MOVEMENT. It isn't about ego or comparison or "whose year of VDay was the best year." It is about Ending Violence. It is about being heard. It is about women changing the world for the better.

Does there tend to be drama involved? Yes, usually. When we are more conscious, we even get to talk about the drama, the unfolding, the barriers to transformation that have been thrown in front of us due to cultural expectations.

Hell, I wrote my own "V-Word Monologue" and haven't published it anywhere because I am not sure I am ready to be that publicly transparent yet, even with the responses I got last night from the people who heard me present it.

I was reminded in a fresh way yesterday as Cameron and I painted this sign how important it is we work for both individual and cultural change so there will be no more victims of sexual violence. The cycle must stop. I believe grassroots efforts are the best.

Which is why I do this year after year after year.

Until the Violence Stops.