A new movement, Feminist Coming Out Day, came to campus last Thursday, courtesy of Feminists of Smith Unite (FSU).

To celebrate this event, FSU managed a table in the lower level of the Campus Center and encouraged students to write why they are feminists on a small whiteboard. The students were then photographed showing off their personalized messages. The photos will be posted on the organization’s Facebook and Tumblr pages. Event organizers also sold “This is What a Feminist Looks Like” t-shirts.

According to the movement’s Web site, Feminist Coming Out Day began at Harvard University in 2010 as a joint effort between a queer student group and a feminist club at the college. Now, with the support of feminist publishing group Bitch Media, the event is expanding to several high schools and colleges, including Brown University, Stanford University and Wellesley College.

However, according to Ariella Frishberg ’12, chair of FSU, the group did not acquire any resources from Bitch Media or the original Harvard organizations to host the Smith event.

“We got the idea from [the founders of Feminist Coming Out Day],” said Frishberg. “Otherwise, our event is completely separate from them.”
According to Frishberg, the Feminist Coming Out Day movement serves two purposes. The first is to “show the vast array of people who identify as feminist,” said Frishberg. “It is no longer a cause solely supported by white, upper-middle class, straight women, and instead is something that people of all genders, sexualities, classes, races and ethnicities can support.” The event aims to show that anyone can be a feminist.

The second purpose is to show the many reasons why people may describe themselves as feminists, and to fight against negative stereotypes and clichés about feminists.

“We seek to change the stereotype that all feminists hate men and want women to rule the world,” said Frishberg.

These two goals are intended to spark discussion and debate among Smith students.

“We have not done this event on campus before, simply because it is a fairly new national event,” said Frishberg. Feminist Coming Out Day happens to coincide with International Women’s Day on March 8 and Women’s History Month, two other celebrations of past and contemporary women. According to Frishberg, FSU decided that it was great way to acknowledge both this year.

According to Nancy Yerian ’13, one of FSU’s table managers, publicity is a major goal of the project.

“We sometimes forget how much the patriarchy affects us,” said Yerian. The hope is that students will sign up for FSU to join the conversation.”
“Even at Smith, people talk about feminism as if it is a thing of the past and no longer necessary, but that is definitely not true,” said Frishberg. “There are far too many places where oppression and inequality are present, and we each have a responsibility to step up and do our part to stop that. By claiming feminism as our own, we take the first step in acting on that.”
According to Frishberg, if the event is successful, then FSU will hold it again in upcoming years. But before then, there are several ways that Smith students can spread the word about feminism.

“Read, listen, speak, act!” said Frishberg. “There are so many great feminist blogs out there where Smithies can keep up to date on what issues are arising nationally and globally. Keep your minds open and listen to those around you who have different experiences … Speak up when you hear people speaking disparagingly about feminism, and make educated decisions about how you are living your life.”
More information and photos from the event can be found at www.feministsofsmithunite.tumblr.com.