Rare Twat. Coochie-Snorcher. Punani. Cunt. Down There. Whatever you want to call them, vaginas were the topic of discussion in a recent campus performance of Eve Ensler’s “Vagina Monologues.”

Performed to a sold-out crowd, the play returned to the University campus for the first time in two years. Organized by the V-Day Initiative, a global project to end violence against women, the play aims to bring women’s issues to the forefront.

This year’s performance was co-sponsored by the GLBT-SA, the LGBTQ Office, Feminist Students United and Project Dinah. All proceeds went to the Orange County Rape Crisis Center, the Family Violence Protection Center and the V-Day organization’s annual spotlight campaign.

The play reinforces the common experience of women moving from shame to empowerment by learning to be proud of their bodies. By discussing previously taboo issues such as women’s orgasms and menstruation, the play successfully challenges the secrecy surrounding women’s sexuality.

Monologues such as “Because He Liked to Look at It” highlight the tension women often feel between their bodies and sex. The character talks about how she was ashamed of her vagina until she met a man who loved vaginas. “My Angry Vagina” is one woman’s rant about how her vagina is treated like a problem needing to be cured by tampons and gynecological stirrups.

“The Little Coochie-Snorcher That Could” tells of one woman’s introduction to sex by an older woman in her neighborhood. After years of feeling that her “coochie-snorcher” was doomed, she is awakened by the interest of an older woman who makes her feel truly beautiful.

Compiled from interviews with hundreds of women about their vaginas, the play seeks to cut across such lines as class, age and race to tell stories about women’s bodies. Ensler’s goal in writing the “Vagina Monologues” has been to end violence against women. The less shame that is attached to women’s sexuality, the more women can assert their sexuality as a part of their person.

The monologue “My Short Skirt” received the biggest reaction at the Feb. 11 performance, as it explored the relationship between women’s bodies and their experiences. The character explains the following: “My short skirt is not an invitation. My short skirt has nothing to do with you.”