Awareness at What Cost? The Intersectional Feminist Sweatshirt
By: Feminist Union
Three photoshoots, two new colors, one pink-hued Instagram feed. You may have noticed the new FEMINIST sweatshirts around campus and their accompanying promotional materials. But beyond the photoshoots and giveaway reposts, we especially hope that you have noticed the intersectional symbol on the back––a raised fist within the Venus symbol––and considered what it means for our product and our fundraiser as a whole.
“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, religion, etcetera––work together to shape their lived experience. Because these identities are inseparable in each individual, they should likewise be addressed together in social movements. American feminism has a history of disregarding every facet of identity other than gender, as shown by the exclusion of queer women, women of color and other minority groups from the movement.
We acknowledged these truths by adding an intersectional element to the design of our FEMINIST sweatshirts. The Venus symbol (♀), used for centuries to denote femininity, is a call for equality—a call for recognition of the historical and current oppression faced by women around the world. The raised fist represents solidarity and gives a nod to the black power movement, in recognition of the historically whitewashed and exclusionary nature of American feminism.
We have grappled with this history in many Fem Club conversations and will continue to do so. One such conversation has been centered around the relationship between the feminist movement and civil rights/black power movements throughout American history. The two groups worked in tandem for much of this country’s history but often found themselves divided, like, for example, when black men gained legal suffrage decades ahead of white women. How can we reconcile these historical tensions to better act on the shared values and goals of each movement?
We have also considered the implications of commercializing feminism. Whenever a symbol or idea is popularized, there exists a tension between preserving its integrity and packaging it to be easily understood. In the case of our sweatshirts, we sacrificed elaborations on intersectionality in order to create an aesthetically pleasing product. We chose to design a sweatshirt that would start a conversation about intersectionality, not one that would educate its wearers. On the spectrum between a comprehensive but esoteric means of conveying information and a popular but unsubstantial product, we attempted to find a middle ground. Admittedly, however, we did lean towards the latter, and that choice was intentional. We hope that the thought given to aesthetics and marketing serves to bring the sweatshirt to a wide audience and start more conversations about feminism and intersectionality.
In recent years, the presence of activism in mainstream media has grown considerably. Companies perpetuate and profit from this growth, using the media to sell products with trendy “feminist” branding. Frankly, many of us (consciously or not) enjoy the social affirmation that comes with toting a bag or sweatshirt that announces to the world our awareness and social conscience—we pay to appear “woke.”
As co-heads, we acknowledge that we took advantage of this desire for social validation. We decided, ultimately, to harness our culture’s wish to appear “woke” for a good cause since proceeds from the shirt sales will go to the Women for Women International nonprofit organization.
When designing the FEMINIST sweatshirts, we were faced with a choice. We could sell the same sweatshirts as before––sweatshirts that brought to mind the “white feminist” Fem Club of years past. But we didn’t want people to tote the term without a qualifier, an acknowledgment of the nuances of feminism (not to mention its history of whitewashing and exclusionary actions). We decided to go a different route and update the sweatshirt to reflect the change in our club and our values: we no longer consider ourselves simply feminists. Rather, we are intersectional feminists. The two ideas are inseparable, and our new design shows that.
We are so grateful for community members who have approached us with their concerns and excitement about the FEMINIST sweatshirts. The sweatshirts have given us an opportunity to engage in dialogue about the commercialization of feminism and Fem Club’s role on this campus and to make a real impact with our fundraiser.
More than anything, we hope that this is only the beginning of a conversation about intersectionality. Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions or concerns, and be sure to hold those wearing our sweatshirts accountable to understand the meaning behind the symbols they wear.