V-Day (movement)
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V-Day, February 14, is a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls started by author, playwright and activist Eve Ensler. It has been co-ordinated by a 501(c)(3) organization since 1998 which allows royalty-free performances of The Vagina Monologues to be held for charity every February 14. Ensler has been quoted as saying that it was women's reactions to the play that inspired her and her colleagues to launch V-Day. The 'V' in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine and Vagina.
For most people, however, the term 'V-Day' is still meant as a short, less romantic way of saying 'Valentine's Day' (as in the greeting 'Happy V(alentines)-Day') as they are not aware of the feminist activist meaning.
In 1998, a non-profit charity, "V-Day", was incorporated with the intent of using performances of The Vagina Monologues to raise money to benefit female victims of violence and sexual abuse. Since its inception, the movement has expanded its use of art and activism to include screenings and reading — most notably of the documentary Until The Violence Stops (2004) and the compilation A Memory, Monologue, A Rant, and a Prayer. Marches and festivals that have been held as part of the movement include UNTIL THE VIOLENCE STOPS: NYC (June 2006), and the ten-year anniversary V TO THE TENTH at the Louisiana Superdome and New Orleans Arena in 2008.
Beginning in early 2001, V-Day activities expanded to the international stage, with V-Day hosting leadership summits for women in Afghanistan and a gathering of activists in Rome. V-Day also launched the Karama program in the Middle East and coordinated community briefings on the missing and murdered women of Juarez, Mexico. In some societies where censorship forbids performances of The Vagina Monologues, events revolve around other works developed by V-Day, including the book A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer, an anthology of writings about violence against women. V-Day included the first ever all transgender version of The Vagina Monologues in 2004, with a performance by eighteen notable transwomen under the mentoring of Jane Fonda and Andrea James of Deep Stealth Productions.
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