I need feminism because

"I Need Feminism Because..." was a social media campaign movement created by the Boston University Women's ultimate team, Lady Pilots, in December 2016. Captains of the team that academic year (2016-2017) were Annika Chan ('18) and Jacki Salustro ('17). The team created a photo series of them holding discs that said "I Need Feminism Because" with handwritten explanations . The project went viral and spawned multiple copy-cat photo series predominantly in the ultimate community, but also in other sports.

Background

The "I Need Feminism Because..." project was partially born out of the results of the 2016 election. BU players on the team were feeling dejected and fearful following the election and how the results demonstrated a greater need for gender equity. The campaign idea originated with Apryl Hsu, a sophomore player at the time. “[S]eeing the lack of morale among women, especially the women on our team who are so passionate about feminism and equality,” post-election was the catalyst that made her bring the idea to the team captains. Hsu had previously done a social justice photo series in a feminist club in high school and wanted to continue it at BU.

Other factors that can be cited as an influence to the project were the sport's governing principle "Spirit of the Game," which outlines that competitive play should never supersede mutual respect and sportsmanship and is vital as ultimate is still largely a self-officiated game with no referees. In 2016, the sport was also making several similar pushes for gender equity, creating a climate the Lady Pilot's then co-captain Jacki Salustro said was ripe for a campaign like that of the Lady Pilots. One such documented push happening at the same time as this campaign was the push to get equal media coverage in the sport’s professional leagues as they developed ESPN deals and coverage. Salustro said specifically the BU campaign “was in line with that initiative."

Project

The "I Need Feminism Because" project had players writing directly on the underside of their discs (Frisbees) outlining why they need feminism. Each person started with the same tag line of "I Need Feminism Because" and then filled in the back half of the statement. Black and white photos were then taken of the players holding their frisbee with the handwritten note. The BU men's team (Ozone) were practicing when they saw the women's team as they started inscribing the discs and decided to join in. Sixty players, nearly all the members of both teams, participated. The messages by the players emphasized why feminism is still vitally necessary ranging from the personal to political. Sample messages from both teams included:

I Need Feminism Because...

• “...we have yet to have a woman president” - Apryl Hsu, Lady Pilots player and credited person for the campaign idea
• “…no one can limit me in what I am capable of.”- Jacki Salustro, Lady Pilots co-captain
• "...I play like a girl."- Annika Chan, Lady Pilots co-captain
• “... sexual assault occurs on campuses without serious consequences.” - Elizabeth Hannigan, Lady Pilots player
• "... my self-worth is not measured by whether men find me attractive." - Lady Pilot Player
• "... emotion should be seen as strength.”
• “…it’s easy to ignore sexism when it’s in your favor.”
• "...I refuse to let my uterus be a political object."
• “...I want to be respected as a male nurse practitioner.” Teddy Kahn, Ozone player and team vice president ('16-17)

All the photos from the project were published to the teams Facebook page on 15 November 2016. The album on Facebook included the following description:

"The Boston University Lady and Manly Ozone Pilots have decided to do a feminist photo campaign! We’ve decided to do this to address one of the most important social issues of our time. As we think it is of the utmost importance that people understand the definition of the word and movement of feminism, here it is: the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women EQUAL to those of men. With this definition comes the subsequent condition that discrimination should not be made based on gender, sexual orientation, skin color, ethnicity, religion, culture, or lifestyle. Gender equity is a goal that the national ultimate community is working to achieve, and we here at BU would like to contribute. Therefore, we encourage you to view the following photos with an open mind, an open heart, and the appreciation that though we may look different, think differently, and have lived different lives, we are all equal in our shared humanity."

Initial response and impact

The campaign resonated beyond BU, both nationally and globally in the ultimate community. Within a month, the Lady Pilot's campaign photo album went viral, garnering 4,500 shares and more than 4,000 likes. Other ultimate teams emulated the campaign, including teams at Northeastern (women's and men's), Duke University (women's), Elon (women's), University at Albany, SUNY, University of Cape Town, and others. Professional teams and large-scale ultimate organizations were sharing the album and contacting the organizers of the campaign, including the Bay Area Disc Alliance and USA Ultimate, the governing body of the sport in the United States.

Their Boston hometown rivals at Northeastern requested that the teams take a joint photograph at a recent scrimmage with a sign that read "We need Feminism because Gender Equality is the Ultimate Goal.”

The Boston Globe, the region's largest newspaper, even covered the campaign in December 2016.

On 5 April 2017 the team was invited to speak at a Boston University sponsored panel "Student Leadership and Activism."

Organizers' response

In response to the outpouring of support & similar photo series, Hsu said “We definitely did not expect that much noise to be made about this.” However she indicated, that “we’re a catalyst for conversation. We’re putting this idea out there, and we want people to keep going with it.” While the public impact is certainly noteworthy, Lady Pilots found the partnership and cooperation from their fellow BU male players to be particularly gratifying. The campaign did receive some negative comments on the album, which the teams chose to ignore in favor of highlighting the positive impact of the campaign.

The women’s team members are pleased by their campaign’s outside reception, but what they find particularly gratifying is the cooperation from their BU male colleagues. Co-captain Annika Chan said the campaign “...has definitely brought our teams a lot closer together...We’ve been able to open up the conversation and actually talk about the issues that have been going on. We’re the future of America, and it’s brought us closer as a family." Teddy Kahn, vice president of the men's team, says that while he's honored to have been part of the campaign, but he wants to emphasize that the creation and credit for the campaign lands squarely on Lady Ozone. "They deserve all the credit. It’s been amazing to see how far it’s spread.”

In March 2017, the team sold "I need feminism because" discs to celebrate the success of their photo campaign and urged purchasers to post a photo of themselves with the disc.

References

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