V to the 10th Recap, part 1: Superlove

We’re ba-ack!

Nine of us made the arduous trek from Milwaukee, WI down to New Orleans to attend V to the 10th, the 10th anniversary of V-Day.  It was an exciting event, filled with humor, tears, information, and activism–and it blew my mind.

Here are some of the highlights of the event:

Superlove: Held at the Superdome, the place to which thousands and thousands of refugees were evacuated, three people died, and an unknown number of people were harmed by sexual and gang violence during Hurricane Katrina, Superlove was a free and open event, which anyone could attend.  It lasted for two days (though we were only able to see Superlove for part of Saturday’s events, due to traveling), and brought together thousands of people all interested in seeing an end to sexual violence.

One of the best parts of the Superlove event was how devoted the V-Day volunteers were to the Katrina refugees.  Anyone who resided in the Gulf was given free massages, aromatherapy, and salon treatments to help them relax and to be at peace in the Superdome, a place that had once been the opposite of peaceful.  It was lovely to see the residents of New Orleans able to have fun and be pampered during this one weekend, since so many of them are still in the midst of rebuilding homes, finding work, getting out of debt, and recovering from the loss of their loved ones.

But even though the environment was a friendly one, there was also solemnness and sadness surrounding the Superdome.  Walking through the concourses, it seemed unimaginable that tens of thousands of people had been stuck there for days, without water, food, or power, and under a leaking roof.

There was a similar blend of celebration and solemnity in the artwork as we entered the main floor.  The entrance was a sculpture in the shape of a ginormous pink (what else?) vagina.  It was pretty astounding, I have to say.  There was also a bra sculpture that was huge, impressive, and seemed like a lot of fun to play with.  However, there were also heartbreaking works of art, including a graphic artist’s depiction of her own rape when she was 18 and how now, 10 years later, she is beginning to recover and move on.  The atmosphere was hushed and contemplative, but was also able to inspire serious and thought-provoking discussion.

Surrounding the stage was a timeline of The Vagina Monologues’ journey, an exhibit made by Vagina Warriors from all across the nation who put up the media they created for their own productions of TVM, a red tent for storytelling, and a memorial for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.  There was a lot to see–again, a lot of funny and happy things as well as the heart wrenchingly painful.

We were also able to catch Dr. Mukwege’s discussion with Eve Ensler about sexual violence in the Congo.  Dr. Mukwege has devoted his life to survivors of sexual violence and has been a tireless advocate for his patients.  His efforts are so impressive that he is not only featured in the new documentary The Greatest Silence, but is the recipient of the inaugural Denis Mukwege Award, which Eve Ensler presented to him during the play that evening.  Dr. Mukwege has seen some of the worst violence imaginable, but he has stuck with his cause, and he is truly someone to admire.  I am very glad I got to hear him speak in person.

Following his talk, we went to the Advocacy Lounge, where many advocacy groups were handing out information about their causes, including Planned Parenthood, the Katrina Warriors, and SAFER.  We were able to meet Nora, one of the main bloggers for SAFER (Students Active For Ending Rape), who was familiar with our website!!!  (The blogosphere is a small, small world, ladies and gentlemen.  Join it–you won’t be sorry!)  Here’s a photo of our exciting meeting:

SAFER does great work training college students to do advocacy work, so we were very glad to have met Nora and the rest of the SAFER crew!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our V to the 10th Recap!