Hey, you. Yeah, you. Are you a feminist? If you aren’t sure how to answer that question, or even if you are, read on. Feminism is a hot topic these days. You may recognize the word from hearing it on your daily dose of media, seeing it hashtagged on a celebrity’s instagram post, or even reading it on the t-shirt of a passerby. Yet, under the surface of this small, four-syllable word, lies deep controversy. Madisun Campbell and Tenia Reid, two first-years here at Wheaton, have teamed up on a project intended to address such controversy through redefining what it means to be a feminist.
“We decided to modernize it so that it could be made for all women and not just a selective group,” said Campbell.
Their project, which was assigned by Professor Eric Marshall in their English 101: My Generation class, is a magazine formatted into four main sections which cover the topics of women in the army, abortion, sexual assault, and intersectional feminism.
Currently, the magazine is in it’s beginning stages of development. Their intended end goal would be to have the work chock full of pieces done by many different submitters with varying backgrounds, perspectives, and opinions. All of the submissions ideally revolving around one or more of the four topics.
Reid dictated her stance on the submissions, “We kept an open mind on what we wanted and how we wanted it to be portrayed. There was no discrimination on what you could write.”
Campbell continued by adding, “There are arguments to both sides and I’m not going to police it or censor it. The magazine is for everyone. It’s not just for one type of person.”
The pair is open to reviewing any and all forms of writing done by anyone. They are also seeking out themed visual arts. Some graphics have already been included the piece, done by fellow student Rita Trevor.
“There are many different voices in the feminist movement. This project is about (providing a platform for) people who don’t necessarily get a voice,” Campbell said.
Any and all works regarding the topic of feminism or the four subtopics; women in the army, abortion, sexual assault, and intersectional feminism would be greatly appreciated by Reid and Campbell. If you would like to submit something you can email reid_tenia@wheatoncollege.edu or campbell_madisun@wheatoncollege.edu