I am performing in the monologue "Crooked Braid," which is about woman in the Oglala Lakota Nation on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. According to the opening of the piece, the average annual rate of rape and sexual assault among Native American women is 3.5 times higher than all other races. 3.5!!!
"Crooked Braid," in our cast, is performed by 5 people, all telling a different part of the story. My part is empowering, and I'm very grateful for that, but other people's parts are heart-wrenching. And some of the other monologues like "Hey, Miss Pat" and "My Vagina was my Village" make me cry every time I hear them. I'm really excited for the performances and am so glad to be a part of this.
Also, I finally told my dad about it. He actually was speechless for a minute (a first for him), but then he was just like "okay, what is that??" When I explained what it was, he changed the subject. We haven't talked about it since. I still haven't told my mom. She just isn't really okay with being open about sexuality in any way--especially about saying vagina in public, but I'm going to tell her before Friday. My sister is cool with it, although she did ask me very candidly if I was a lesbian. I replied "No, I'm not a lesbian, but I don't see a problem with it either way." I think my entire family would understand my pro-gay rights stance more if I were a lesbian, because they don't seem to understand that I don't have to identify as a lesbian to be pro civil rights. What do people not get about believing that All
Okay, so that was a bit of a rant. Sorry. But the main point-- Come see Vagina Monologues this weekend! Friday's show is sold out already, but I'm performing Sunday as well. Or come support the other cast on Thursday night or Saturday night!
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