Pocketbook Monologues addresses HIV/AIDS among African-American women

Following a 2007 report on sexually transmitted diseases published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one woman decided it was time to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS among African-American women. Sharon K. McGhee, the news director of Chicago-based WVON radio station, began a campaign to prevent this epidemic from becoming worse, The Kansas City Star reports.

Taking inspiration from The Vagina Monologues, a women's sexuality show, and Sometimes I Cry, a performance about HIV/AIDS-infected women, McGhee wrote and starred in The Pocketbook Monologues. McGhee approaches this health issue using a combination of humor and education to discuss sexuality and the obstacles faced by African-American women with the virus.

McGhee told the news source that "the term 'pocketbook' is a Southern slang [that] older black women used to describe the triangle between their thighs." She added that using the term in the show's name is to "honor the women of old [and] bring the conversation to the women of [now]."

In order to reach a larger audience, she continues to travel the country performing her play and had all the show's monologues published in 2007.

According to the CDC, the HIV infection rate of African-American women in 2007 was 15 times higher than the infection's prevalence among Caucasian women.