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Having a Pair: Ovaries and Oratory
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Having a Pair: Ovaries and Oratory
Rivka Solomon (Ed.) That Takes Ovaries! Random House/Three Rivers Press: New York, 2002. Reissued 2006.
Review & Interview by Evelyn Hartogh
In the last four years over 300 That Takes Ovaries! Open Mike events have been held from America to India to Italy. Like the collection of stories edited by Rivka Solomon, women share their real life stories of courage, and Rivka collects more stories. It began as a glib remark at the end of a dinner party, where she substituted ovaries for balls, which raised a laugh and gave her an idea. Due to illness, Solomon was unable to embark on a book tour, so instead she began to administer Open Mike events all over America. The interest was phenomenal and soon the events went international. As 2006 draws to a close events are taking place during December in Italy, Australia and India, and Solomon is still collecting more stories.
The That Takes Ovaries! movement revisits the traditions of oratory and story telling in groups. Thus the collection of stories is in constant evolution and growth. It has become a mutable text, as Solomon is flexible and adaptable to how the event is presented in different cultures and countries. The events operate as fundraisers for local women's groups and international causes, with a particular emphasis on female genital mutilation and separately, sex slavery. Currently in Australia, Amnesty International has become involved in hosting Open Mikes as part of their Stop Violence Against Women Campaign . The events attempt to be responsive to the community needs that are raised at the event. Solomon uses the following example to illustrate this point:
The work we did with women who are prostitutes in India (women and girls who had been forced into sexual slavery when they were...