Every single day, people work hard to turn their feminist dreams into realities, and crowdfunding websites like GoFundMe and Kickstarter have helped to put many people’s goals within reach. Last week, we put the spotlight on nonprofit SheHeroes’ Indiegogo campaign, which seeks to fund up to six biographical videos of women in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, math) to inspire young girls. The funding seems to be coming in faster than a speeding bullet and we thought the moment was right to highlight some other fantastic feminist crowdfunding campaigns that have really caught our eye. What do you think? Comment below if you think there’s a campaign that belongs on the list!
Feminists: What Were They Thinking
Deadline: Dec. 6, 2014
Flo Kennedy, Germaine Greer, Jane Fonda, Margo Jefferson, Gloria Steinem. Some of these names may be familiar to you and some may not, but all of these women played a part in the feminist movement. Back in 1977, photographer Cynthia McAdams took their pictures for her collection, Emergence, in an effort to capture the changing energy she felt was, well, emerging from women at the time. The documentary Feminists: What Were They Thinking will capture the personal stories of growing up, sexism and liberation for these women. It will also draw parallels between the state of gender politics of the modern day and back-in-the-day, helping us keep track of our feminist roots.
Flame Con – NYC’s First LGBTQ Comic Con
Deadline: Dec. 4, 2014
Geeks OUT has been organizing events for LGBTQ geeks across the country since 2010. Now they plan to bring their all-new Flame CON to New York City and, for the first time, bring queer folks to the center of geek culture. They plan to host an art show and a cosplay parade, invite dozens of artists and vendors to sell their wares, and host panels they hope will “influence pop culture and the LGBT community.”
Marissa Alexander Freedom Fundraiser
Deadline: N/A
Marissa Alexander, an African American woman from Jacksonville, Florida, faces up to 60 years in prison for firing a single warning shot back in 2010 while defending herself from her abusive husband. She was arrested and prosecuted despite Florida’s self-defense laws. Her attempt to claim “Stand Your Ground” was denied, which is why she now faces decades in prison if she is found guilty in her December retrial. Who else believes a domestic-abuse survivor should not be sent to prison for self-defense? Donations to the Marissa Alexander Freedom Fundraiser will go to the Marissa Alexander Legal Defense Fund. [Ed. note: Marissa Alexander accepted a plea bargain on Nov. 24 and will be released from prison in January. We will update this post with more information about the Marissa Alexander Freedom Fundraiser as it becomes available.]
Speaking the Future: One with Farai podcast
Deadline: Dec. 1, 2014
The One with Farai podcast explores “how visionaries integrate life, work, and passion” and wants to create full representations of marginalized peoples while tackling topics such as Native and indigenous filmmaking, feminism, technology and civil rights struggles. Farai Chideya, a novelist and multimedia journalist, hosts the radio show and has interviewed figures such as Gloria Steinem, Melissa Harris-Perry and Joi Ito. One with Farai is looking to fund its second season.
Support the women saving Syria from the bombs
Deadline: Jan. 12, 2015
The White Helmets—the Syrian Civil Defense—is a group of volunteer rescue workers, firefighters and medics who have put their lives on the line to aid civilians who have suffered from bomb and missile strikes in the Syrian Civil War. Nearly all of the White Helmet members were men until October. But now there are two women’s teams and at least 56 women White Helmets who are trained in medical care and who dig through rubble to find survivors. They’re looking to raise money so they can buy three ambulances for each team.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Birthing Justice: Black Women, Pregnancy and Childbirth
Deadline: Passed
Pushing beyond statistics, the book Birthing Justice seeks to tell the stories of 20 black women on giving birth, childbirth activism and trying to find solutions for the race-based disparities in reproductive and sexual healthcare here in the United States. If the creators are able to raise another $2,000 beyond their original goal, they’ll take Birthing Justice on the road.
Deadline: Passed
CeCe McDonald has had a long journey. A trans woman of color, McDonald survived a violent transphobic attack in 2011, during which a co-ed group physically attacked her and her friends at night, resulting in the death of one of the assailants. Despite claiming self-defense, McDonald was charged with second-degree murder, which was lessened to second-degree manslaughter as part of a plea deal. McDonald served 19 months of her sentence in a men’s prison. Activists rallied around her and, since being released, McDonald has continued to speak out about trans rights and anti-trans violence. This feature-length documentary will tell her story and confront the disproportionate violence faced by trans women of color. Orange is the New Black actress Laverne Cox is a co-producer.
You may be asking yourself: why another menstrual cup? But take a quick look at the donations, and you’ll see that the 7,000+ backers clearly want something new and innovative—and they believe Lily Cup will offer it. The Lily Cup Compact is a collapsible menstrual cup that comes with its own protective case. So once’s you’re done using it, you can clean it, collapse it and store it away. The creators claim that a Lily Cup can do the work of 1,625 tampons and that the medical-grade silicone they use is thinner and more comfortable than the silicone used in many other menstrual cups. Their biggest goal is to get the Lily Cup on the shelves of major U.S. drug stores and make menstrual cups more accessible and mainstream.
Photo via Shutterstock.
