Michigan college event to ‘raise awareness of abortion rights, reproductive justice’
A “queer” abortion stories event in March at Kalamazoo College will encourage students to take action on “abortion rights and reproductive justice,” according to the event description.
The 2024 Abortion Monologues is a public “theatrical performance” hosted by Professor Karyn Boatwright’s “Feminist Psychology of Women” class. One of the goals is to encourage “action during this year’s elections,” the event description states.
The event will feature true stories “directed and performed as stylized monologues … to raise awareness of abortion rights and reproductive justice,” according to the organizers.
An annual event, this year’s Abortion Monologues will highlight “queer” and “particularly trans stories in response to the political landscape around reproductive and gender affirming healthcare,” according to the event post.
Past shows “only had voices representing cis gender men and women,” according to the organizers.
A spin off of the Vagina Monologues, the public event is scheduled for March 7 at the Michigan college. Partners include Boatwright’s class, the college’s Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement and Kalamazoo Planned Parenthood education team, according to the event description. Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in the U.S.
Students in Boatwright’s class have been collecting “stories from anonymous individuals regarding their experiences with abortion and reproductive freedom,” according to event organizers.
Their story submission form asks individuals to describe “what led you to that choice, any feelings you had or have regarding the abortion, and how the ability to have an abortion has affected (or not affected) your life.”
All stories are shared anonymously, and those that are not featured in the show will be archived for possible future use, according to the organizers.
Storytelling events that emphasize students’ personal experiences have become common on college campuses.
The Vagina Monologues were popular for a while with campus feminist groups and women’s studies departments, but many institutions stopped hosting the events a few years ago due to complaints that they were offensive to “women” without vaginas.
MORE: Berkeley H.S. ditches the ‘Vagina’ in ‘Vagina Monologues’
IMAGE: Kalamazoo College
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