Are you sick of being told what it is that matters to you as a feminist? Do you feel moved to express your feminism and connect in a powerful way with feminists from around the world? Want to speak up and be heard?

FACING FEMINISM: FEMINISTS I KNOW is a project in which, through portrait art and words, the many different faces of feminism are visually demonstrated. The project is designed to make a statement in contradiction to the stereotype, the one-dimensional portrayal, of  feminists, that is dominant in the media. In addition to putting a more varied and representative “face” to feminism, and thus being a tool for education and advocacy, this project aims to enlarge the current dialogue about what it means to be a feminist and also to help feminists conceptualize a philosophy of feminism that works for them. It will help to de-demonize the concept of feminism.

Some feminists love wearing heels and perfume. Some don’t. Some have alternative lifestyles while some are stay-at-home mothers. Concomitant with the many things that distinguish feminists individually, there are the things that unite them: their strength and intelligence and their belief that they are entitled to equal opportunity in all spheres of life.

The project is hosted through the MNARTISTS.ORG website, distributed through the media via the magazine EMPOWERMENT4WOMEN, and curated by Annette Marie Hyder. For this series, each feminist is invited to submit a photo of her choosing and a text forum to express her feminism. Each statement is individual to each feminist, and so it shows how individual feminists interpret the freedoms that they want within their common bond.

Happy International Women’s Day!

The photoems can be viewed at EMPOWERMENT4WOMEN.ORG and at the MNARTISTS website.

Annette Marie Hyder