Eve Ensler makes me stand up & cheer.
Do you know her? Of her?
She's this amazingly energetic, creative force who advocates all over the world for an end to violence against women & girls. She's a visionary who empowers other people with her actions, choices, and relentless campaigning. She says the word vagina (out loud! in public! on tv!) without flinching. She says the word cunt as if it's not poisonous. Didn't I tell you? This woman kicks ass!
(See what I mean? Standing up and cheering already...let me continue.)
Ensler is the brilliant playwright who wrote and created THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES, this crazily honest, heartbreaking, make-you-wince-and-laugh-out-loud-at-the-same-time play about women's sexuality. (If you haven't seen it / heard of it / read it, check your local listings for an upcoming performance; it's performed every year between February 1 and April 1 in communities all over the world.)
Here's a peek at Eve & glamorous pals getting ready for the 10th anniversary performance of THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES. One of the things I love is that although Ensler's life is so wrapped up in dealing with violence against women & girls, she is bubbly and light. Yes, she can be sharp, direct, and serious, but she isn't swallowed by the sadness she encounters. Instead she counters it (and all the forces that create & support it) with her unflagging determination and belief in all things woman. Watch...you'll see what I mean.
I could go on and on about Ensler (and here's one more link for you), but instead I want to know, What woman makes you stand up and cheer? Why?
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*Ensler's new book I Am an Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around the World will be released on February 9, 2010. It's a collection of over 30 fictional monologues of girls all over the world (including a Masai girl from Kenya unwilling to endure female genital mutilation; a Bulgarian sex slave, no more than fifteen, a Chinese factory worker making Barbies).
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