Community Corner

'100 Men Rise: Why Are Vaginas Important To You?' Video Goes Viral

Connecticut College senior Alia Roth had no idea that the video she made as part of a campaign against gender violence would have everyone talking about vaginas.

A Press Release from Connecticut College

A Connecticut College senior asked 100 fellow students – all men – why vaginas are important to them. The resulting video, posted to YouTube, is a powerful, provocative and sometimes awkward 8-minute piece that has sparked conversations about vaginas, women, sex and consent on college campuses across the country and even across oceans.

Watch the full video on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPJ2gTUDTqU

Find out what's happening in Waterfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The men’s answers alternate between funny, sweet and empowering. Responses include “Because vaginas have the power to save the world” (4:14) and “Spent some time in a vagina in '92 — it was homey” (1:18), for example. Another often-quoted answer, “Vaginas remind me of Sunday morning breakfast” (2:40).

Buzzfeed says the “endearing and uplifting” video “forces us to think of women and vaginas as something more than sexual objects,” while the Huffington Post says “… we love that these young men were willing to share, on-camera, what vaginas mean to them outside of sex.” The now-viral video has also been reported by Jezebel, Cosmopolitan UK and several other media outlets. 

Find out what's happening in Waterfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“I had absolutely no idea it would be this successful,” said the video’s creator, Connecticut College senior Alia Roth. The initial goal of the project, she added, was to raise awareness about Connecticut College’s production of the Vagina Monologues and get men involved in the effort.

Roth says she is receiving emails and Facebook messages from students at colleges and universities across the country who say their campuses are buzzing with excitement about what they can do now to get men involved or how empowering it has been for their women’s groups to see so many men standing up for women.

“As an activist, I am constantly trying to think of innovative ways to reach those who may not pay attention to these issues – and get them to care,” said Roth.

Roth has been invited to present at the “Speak Up to Take Rape Culture Down” conference at Harvard University Nov. 2. The College's production of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues is Feb. 22-24, 2014.

 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here