Washington University students modernized the 1994 episodic classic The Vagina Monologues last week to include gender fluid audiences
Students at Washington University have omitted the word 'vagina' from their production of the 'The Vagina Monologues' to be more inclusive of LGBT+ audience members.
Stating that 'having a vagina and being a woman are not mutually exclusive', the students have instead renamed the show 'The [Blank] Monologues', hoping to broaden the show's politicized messages of sex, relationships and domestic violence, to transgender audiences.
20 different performers - consisting of students, staff and members of the local community - took to the stage to share experiences of sexuality, body image, and other themes in the school's Student Center Ballroom, on February 15 and 16.
The contemporary take on the classic 1994 episodic play included performances from the original script, and eight original monologues written by Washington students.
The School's new take on The Vagina Monologue included excerpts from Eve Ensler's (above) and eight original monologues written by college students (pictured: Eve Ensler and Salma Hajek during 'Vagina Monologues' V-Day Benefit Production, in Mexico City, May 9, 2006)
Washington University (pictured) has followed the lead of a number of other Universities across the country, who have sought to prevent the show's political themes from being diluted
'In adapting this show to become more gender inclusive, this year’s audience members, regardless of how they identified, were able to more strongly connect with the impactful monologues,' the school said in its student newspaper.
'This move was deliberate and effective, as more students than ever felt deeply affected by the words spoken,' the article continued.
Washington University has followed the lead of a number of other colleges around the country, who have sought to realign the messages of Eve Ensler's original manuscript.
At Whitman College, in 2015, students renamed their performance 'Ground Breaking Monologues', and the same year students at Southwestern University canceled their show all together, believing it wouldn't be inclusive to all women because it was
