Eve Ensler
Eve Ensler was born May 25, 1953 (Gemini Season!) and she is known as an strong activist and feminist who advocates and shows her passion through playwrighting and performing. She is best known for the Vagina Monologues but also has a new book called The Apology, In the Body of the Work: A Memoir, and other books, films, and plays.
Ensler was awarded the Isabelle Stevenson Award at the 65th Tony Awards in 2011 for her work in the theater community through volunteering and her work for social change through her creating of the non-profit V-Day.
Ensler has worked with many different people addressing issues of violence against womxn and girls. She has protested to have the Mexican government to re-investigate the slayings of hundreds of women in Ciudad Juárez in 2011. She has also went to Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban to support women and work with them to create programs and events.
Ensler is still alive today and advocating and fighting for womxn rights.
The Vagina Monologues is a play compiled of real womxn stories that Ensler received interviewing different womxn about the experiences they face. This play explores all aspects of womxnhood as in consensual and non-consensual sexual experiences, reproduction, vaginal care, body image, genital mutilation, sex work, other topics. These things are told by womxn from different ages, races, sexual identities, other differences. Although some monologues are heavy in topic, there are light-hearted ones as well. This show was brought to life in 1996 and premiered in New York by Ensler herself.
Ensler wrote the first draft of the monologues in 1996 and since then there have been several revisions to the play to add more womxn voices. The interviews first began just as casual conversations with her friends then they begin to turn into a chain of referrals to other womxn.
Ensler wrote this because "women's empowerment is deeply connected to their sexuality." She said that she is "obsessed with women being violated and raped, and with incest. All of these things are deeply connected to our vaginas." So she decided to write the Vagina Monologues to "celebrate the vagina".
