Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies - Project Peg Statement About the Award

Statement About the Award by Katie Carroll '09

Project Peg is so grateful to be recognized as Women of the Year. The award has been a wonderful surprise and we are truly honored to be the 2009 recipients. Thank you to every student, faculty, and staff member that has contributed to the spirit of Peg over the last four years. Additionally, the mentorship and guidance of Dr. Jocelyn Boryczka and Dr. Marti LoMonaco have been vital as Project Peg grows, and we are so appreciative of their support and encouragement.

One of the special elements of Project Peg is its artistic focus. Being a member of Project Peg means being a citizen artist. Everything we do, theatrically or otherwise, we approach from a place of activism. Women of the Year has shown us that we are asking the right questions and encouraging the most provocative conversations as citizen artists on this campus.

Statement about the Group, including Founder

Project Peg is a coed student organization devoted to exploring issues of gender diversity through creative art and theatrical performance. The group was founded in the Fall of 2005 by Darci Fulcher '07, in her effort to find a creative platform to explore body image with her seven closest friends. Project Peg has expanded over the last four years to now count over 100 students and alumni as members or supporters. Since its inception in 2005, Project Peg has:

• Devised and presented several performance pieces dealing with issues such as body image, gender stereotypes, and feminism
• Held consciousness raising discussions
• Won 2 Brinkman Student Diversity Grants and now Women of the Year

This year, the group explored the issue of sexual violence and sex trafficking in various ways. Project Peg worked to fundraise a holiday drive for Operation Hope in Fairfield last December. Project Peg has also become an international presence, working with the Somaly Mam Foundation to sell bracelets made by former sex slaves, girls ages 4-8, in Cambodia. The group also ran several floor programs with freshmen women to begin dialogues about sexual violence and feminism.

Theatrically, Project Peg:

• Had the honor of working with Soroptimist International to perform Tempest Production's "Body & Sold" by Deborah Lake Fortson in New Haven in November
• Had an encore performance of "Body & Sold" in the Wien Experimental Theatre at the Quick Center, sponsored by the Politics, Sociology, Peace and Justice and Catholic Studies departments as well as the Center for Faith and Public Life, in February
• Had ties (unofficially) to the Jamie A. Hulley Arts Foundation V-Day benefit production of The Vagina Monologues in January
• Worked with the Vagina Warriors and performed truthful monologues for Take Back the Night in April

All of Project Peg's work culminated on Women's Day, which was on March 25 of this year and co-sponsored by the Women's Studies department. Women's Day was in the Lower Level BCC and featured all types of visual artwork from students across campus. Students were invited to add their own artwork to the walls and sign the group affirmation, "You Have the Right to Remain Silent - But Don't. I pledge to arrest violence against women."

Guest performer Ms. Dale Allen performed a portion of "In Our Right Minds," a show that explores the sacred feminine and the right side of the brain. Later in the afternoon, the student group "For Colored Girls who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Wasn't Enuf" performed a short preview of their April 18 opening performance.