This is our feminist utopia. This is what our feminist utopia looks like. These photos, pieces of art, and quotes compose the stories, hopes, and visions of ten individuals.
Inspired by the moment in time in which we live and the beautiful friends, family, professors, public figures, and strangers that give it color, I wanted to have conversations with students about what their ideal feminist worlds look like. Oftentimes, our thoughts are so limited by what we believe is feasibly possible—what can be accomplished within our reach—that we don’t allow ourselves to visualize what should be done to attain a world we should have. I wanted to provide a space for us all to imagine—to think deeply and creatively about our conception of feminism and its intersection with an ideal, utopian society. In doing so, I hope to highlight the contrast between our realities in today’s gendered society and our dreams of what our world should look like so that together, we can begin to re-envisage our lives as we know them and our futures ahead.
“In my feminist utopia, I would want to be able to feel the range of my feelings and not feel like I have to bite my lip and not feel the embarrassment or the guilt that comes with reacting—reacting in our human way. I want all people to be able to do that—to feel whatever the heck they feel—and still be able to be amazing, excellent, and intelligent people without someone saying, ‘you’re acting like a girl.’”
“In my feminist utopia, people would have a beautiful combination of human traits because we’re all essentially human. Race, class, and sex wouldn’t matter because we would be liberated from the oppression that is currently tied to each of those constructs. We would be our genuine, authentic selves in whatever way is most fulfilling for each of us. It comes down to when all those labels and identities are stripped away, who are we really?”
“In my feminist utopia, everybody would be able to do what one wants without fear of judgment from anybody. It is a place where the expectations of being gay and straight would not exist on a strict binary, but rather in a fluid manner where there would still be space for diverse individuals to come together as a community.”
