Feminist Pride Day 2012

Bitch Media | Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are! Feminist Coming Out Day Q&A

Bitch Magazine, the non-profit organization benefiting from our t-shirt fundraiser, posted an interview with us about the event. Read it here and check out the comments for a discussion of whether the “feminist” label can be reclaimed. Want to help support women’s media? Donate to Bitch Magazine: A Feminist Response To Pop Culture.

March: A Month to Celebrate Women | BitchBuzz News

Thanks for the shout-out, BitchBuzz! The Feminist Portrait Project/Feminist Coming Out Day is going on ALL MONTH LONG. Which means a few things:

• You’ll see the Bitch Magazine and Feminist Coming Out Day street team invading more events (like the Planned Parenthood rally) throughout the month. Stay tuned for announcements!
• Some of our campus partners have been swamped with putting on Women’s History Month programming, so they’re jumping on board the campaign a couple weeks late, but working hard to bring events to their school
• A BLOG CARNIVAL is coming! The topic is “feminist click moments” and the list of participating bloggers will be released next week on Bitch Magazine’s website. Want to nominate your favorite feminist blogger or participate yourself? Email lena [at] lenachen [dot] com.

In the meantime, submit your portrait to the Feminist Portrait Project, if you haven’t already (and send in photos of yourself wearing your tee!). “This Is What A Feminist Looks Like” merchandise will be available on IndieGoGo until March 31st.

Feminist Bloggers Convene at Harvard | The Harvard Crimson

Last night’s “Activism & the Feminist Blogosphere” panel (in honor of Feminist Coming Out Day) led to great discussions about the rewards and pitfalls of feminist blogging. Some takeaways:

• Blogging is much more democratic than mainstream media, since it allows marginalized groups and those without the power of capital (like the teenage contributors to The FBomb) to establish a platform for their ideas.
• However, the feminist blogosphere can replicate the same power structures that exist in the “real world” and in mainstream feminist activism, giving a privileged few a louder voice while silencing less powerful/mainstream-friendly groups.
• As Lori Adelman from the International Women’s Health Coalition notes, the feminist blogosphere is also very US-centric, though blogs like the IWHC’s Akimbo seek to leverage the Internet’s global reach to bring attention to how gender inequality affects the lives of women beyond American borders
• Social media is not a replacement for traditional activism, but it has great potential for mobilizing people who might not otherwise hear of or become involved in progressive causes. (For examples, see Sistersong’s protest of an anti-choice billboard suggesting that abortion constitutes African American genocide and Tiger Beatdown’s #mooreandme Twitter campaign against Michael Moore.)
• As Feministing’s Chloe says from personal experience, few writers can rely on blogging as a full-time career. (Jezebel’s Anna North was the only panelist present to do so.) Many bloggers supplement their income by freelancing, taking speaking gigs, or working day jobs at women’s non-profits.
• Feminist media generally has a harder time being profitable because the publications reject most women-targeted advertising, which tends to come from the beauty/fashion industries
• Nearly all the blogs represented by the panelists have had men or transmen as guest contributors, though not typically as part of the staff. (Two exceptions include Racialicious and Tiger Beatdown.)
• The feminist blogosphere is very geographically concentrated, meaning those who live in cities like New York with major media industries are better connected.

Check out this piece from The Harvard Crimson covering our event, and stay tuned for event photos from Harvard University and the rest of our campus partners.

Photo via Vivien Wu

Missy Magazine | 100 Jahre Weltfrauentag und schon der zweite Feminist Coming Out Day

Another mention in a German language feminist pub! This time, it’s from Missy Magazine :)

Feminist Backlash, Then and Now | Ms Magazine Blog

Stephanie Hallett writing for Ms. Magazine talks about why feminist visibility is still important. Check out her piece here. Thanks to Ms. for supporting our campaign!

The Huffington Post | Feminist Coming Out Day: What Does Feminism Mean to You?

Check out this piece on our campaign written by Olivia Goldhill, a writer for The Harvard Crimson.

Village Voice | Today Is Feminist Coming Out Day 2011

New York City feminists and SUNY Purchase get a shout-out in this Village Voice blog post about our event!

Ms. Magazine | Feminist Coming Out Day, International Women’s Day, the Ms. Blog Birthday Party and More!

Hey Ms. Magazine! We love your publication and are super flattered to be featured.

Ms. readers: The Feminist Portrait Project would love to get more submissions from non-students, especially older fems :) Direct them here.

Tiger Beatdown | HAS MY MOTHER’S GENERATION TAUGHT US NOTHING: In Which I Justify Feminist Coming-Out Day

I told her, “I got invited to speak at the Feminist Coming Out Day panel at Harvard.”

And my Mom gasped. I was ready to be praised. I was ready for my Mother to be impressed! “Clearly, you are doing something good with your life,” is what I wanted my mother to say. Here is what she said instead:

“There has to be a Feminist Coming Out Day???”

Check out this piece by Tiger Beatdown founder Sady Doyle, who will be speaking on Thursday at Harvard for Feminist Coming Out Day’s panel about activism in the blogosphere.

Feminist Coming Out Day | fbomb

Julie Zeilinger, creator of The FBomb, talks about how she confronts stereotypes about feminists. The high school student will be speaking this Thursday at Harvard University on a panel about activism and the blogosphere. (Also on the panel are bloggers from Racialicious, Jezebel, Feministing, and The Daily Femme.) Check it out!

Wanna read about Julie’s “click” moment? It happened during a middle school research project on female feticide.