Call for submissions: The Feminist Utopia Project

The feminist movement has long centered on certain basic needs: the vote, equal pay, legal autonomy over own bodies. It can feel hard to demand more when we’re stuck within the boundaries of what the mainstream media and electoral politicians tell us is “realistic”–basically, what could get through a fractured House of Representatives. But our goals have to be more radical and inclusive than the Democratic party’s platform. So it’s time to get creative.

——————

Call for submissions – The Feminist Utopia Project

Co-Editor: Alexandra Brodsky, Feministing writer and Harvard Law School research assistant

Co-Editor: Rachel Kauder Nalebuff, editor of the New York Times bestseller My Little Red Book and playwright

Today’s popular feminist discourse is so constrained by discussions of what we can’t have that it’s easy to lose sight of what we should have. We seek written and other printable artistic work that addresses the question of what a feminist world would look like. No single person has the answer, but we believe that together we can come close, and that to get there we must spread the word. We hope that this book, in offering a diverse collection of utopias, will inspire American feminists (as well as potential feminists) to imagine their own visions, redefine the “possible,” and reach for unprecedented justice. 

We invite submissions of essays (400-2000 words) and printable art that describe the writer’s feminist utopia. In light of the length, we are suggesting that contributors focus on a particular aspect of a wider vision: one committed writer, for example, is writing on a world without rape, and another is exploring a vision of a post-prison America. Our hope is that these essays, while of interest to academics, will also be accessible to a wide readership without extensive theoretical background. All proceeds will be donated to feminist non-profits.

We are very excited about the group of activists, academics, and writers who have already committed to the project, including Ai-jen Poo, Irin Carmon, Courtney Martin, Jennifer Baumgardner, Ileana Jiménez, Samhita Mukhopadhyay, Jill Filipovic, Katie Orenstein, Susan Bordo, Crystal Feimster, Miss Major, Marianne Schnall, Diane Shipley, Mary Annette Pember, Cynthia Chandler, Dani McClain, s.e. smith, Judith Resnik, Melanie Cervantes, Dana Bolger, Virginia Rutter, Erin Matson, Ellen Bravo, Harilyn Rousso, Annie Clark, Jennifer Miller, Victoria Law, Martha Ackelsberg, Dena Simmons, Nikki Silver (link NSWF), Kate Cronin-Furman, Amanda Taub, Paula Mariedaughter, Jeanne Neath, Courtney Baxter, Diane Rosenfeld, Laura Paskus, and Sara Marcus. However, professional organizing or publication experience is not required. We are especially committed to including voices from historically marginalized groups.

Please submit essays as attachments to feministutopiaproject@gmail.com with the subject “Submission (LAST NAME).” In the body of the email and the attachment, please include a two or three sentence biography.