Exeter Feminist Union Fundraiser

About this campaign

SHIP TO EXETER ONLY IF YOU CURRENTLY LIVE THERE

Purchase a sweatshirt to support Women for Women International, a global nonprofit empowering women in conflict affected areas. Women for Women International provides women around the world with vocational training, financial resources, and local support networks to enable them to become changemakers in their own communities. The nonprofit’s reach extends beyond the women formally enrolled in their programs to include whole communities; when women are empowered, they uplift their entire community.

Members of the Feminist Union at Phillips Exeter Academy (a boarding school in New Hampshire) created this design to emphasize the importance of intersectionality in feminism. ‘Intersectionality,’ a term coined by professor Kimberlé Crenshaw, refers to the idea that all facets of a person’s identity––gender, race, sexuality, age, nationality, etcetera––work together to shape their experience. Given this fact, social movements focused on one facet (i.e. traditional feminism) should not ignore the others, but must actively address how they affect each other.

The Venus symbol (♀) has been used to denote femininity for centuries. It is included in the design as a call for equality and as recognition for the historical and current oppression faced by women around the world.

The raised fist represents solidarity. From 20th century trade unions to Spanish anti-fascists to the black power movement, the raised fist has always been a symbol of rallying together around a common cause. For this particular design, members of the Feminist Union especially wanted to give a nod to the black power movement in recognition of the historically whitewashed and exclusionary nature of American feminism.

The unity between the Venus symbol and the raised fist encapsulates intersectionality. By purchasing a sweatshirt, you support modern feminism––global, inclusive, and a driver of tangible change.