Who Needs Feminism Records, 2012-ongoing

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Summary

Creator:
Who Needs Feminism (Project)
Abstract:
Who Needs Feminism started as a class project for Women in the Public Sphere: History, Theory, and Practice in Spring 2012. The project began a campaign of posters and photographs on social media depicting people of varying gender and ethnicity holding white board signs with the text "I need feminism because ...". The Who Needs Feminism records include captures of the campaign's Tumblr and Facebook pages, print-outs of social media campaign activity, news articles on the campaign, and reflection essays written by the 16 students who originally created the campaign.
Extent:
0.25 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English
Collection ID:
UA.31.08.0009
University Archives Record Group:
31 -- Student/Campus Life
31 -- Student/Campus Life > 08 -- Student Organizations - Law, Political, and Social Action

Background

Scope and content:

The Who Needs Feminism records include website snapshots of the campaign Tumblr and Facebook pages, print-outs of social media campaign activity, news articles on the campaign, and reflection essays written by the 16 students who originally created the campaign. Website captures include daily snapshots of the Facebook and Tumblr pages from 2012-2016. Print-outs include posts and submissions on the campaign's Tumblr and Facebook pages, as well as posts on Twitter including the hashtag #whoneedsfeminism and articles written about the campaign at Duke and elsewhere. Also included are some limited statistics from Google Analytics on the Tumblr page in April and early May 2012.

Reflection essays written by the 16 students in Women in the Public Sphere include the students' thoughts on the origin and development of the campaign as well as reactions to what happened as the campaign gained worldwide attention. Several of these essays have not been released for access by their authors and may not be viewed.

Biographical / historical:

Who Needs Feminism started as a class project for Women in the Public Sphere: History, Theory, and Practice in Spring 2012. The class, taught by Dr. Rachel Seidman and made up of sixteen women students, began a campaign with posters around campus and photographs on social media depicting people of varying gender and ethnicity holding white board signs with the text "I need feminism because ..." and describing different reasons for supporting feminism, with the text WHO NEEDS FEMINISM across the top. Posters were hung around campus and the students wrote an editorial for the Chronicle on April 12, 2012 (http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2012/04/who-needs-feminism). The campaign also included pages on Facebook and Tumblr, which allowed members of the Duke community and the public to post their own pictures and comments.

The campaign was designed to draw attention to misconceptions about feminism and who is a feminist as well as to promote discussion about the importance of feminism in everyday life. The campaign's pages on Facebook and Tumblr quickly acquired thousands of views, likes, and posts; by May 9, 2012, whoneedsfeminism.tumblr.com had received more than 91,000 visits. As of November 2016, the Facebook page (www.facebook.com/WhoNeedsFeminism) had more than 39,000 likes, and the Tumblr account had more than 4,500 posts. The campaign also spread to other colleges and universities as well as groups and organizations around the world, and the Duke group created a start-up guide to support these efforts.

The campaign also generated negative reactions, including vandalizing or tearing down the original posters on campus and widespread backlash via social media comments and submissions. A campaign called Women Against Feminism used the original campaign's structure of individuals holding up signs stating "I don't need feminism ..."

Acquisition information:
The Who Needs Feminism Records were received by the University Archives as a gift in 2012 and as regular web captures 2012-ongoing.
Processing information:

Processed by Tracy M. Jackson, November 2016

Accessions described in this collection guide: UA2012-0069

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

In accordance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended, Duke University permits students to inspect their education records and limits the disclosure of personally identifiable information from education records.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Who Needs Feminism Records, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.