Photo from the 2022 UWB GWSS end of year celebration

This portfolio of my work from The Power of Feminist Writing course is made up of experiences with my peers, professors, guest speakers, and a variety of readings from different genres that are all about or made by feminist writers, professors, and students. I was able to document many of the guest speakers and my own reactions to the prompts that they each provided in short workshops at the end of their class visits. This portfolio contains three sections, journal entries, drafts, and final projects. All made to highlight the necessity of feminist texts, and just as importantly this portfolio shows that feminist texts belong everywhere and that they are everywhere you just have to look. This portfolio shows me, my voice, and that it matters.

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The five journal entries were written every two weeks in response to specific prompts including what feminists text are, the importance of the audience, the goals of feminist writing, the voice of the writing, and the reasons that feminist texts are needed. Each journal entry analyzes multiple readings over the previous two weeks to support my writing based on the given prompts and information in the pieces. The last journal was a bit more specific and covered a singular memoir that was read. This specific journal entry was different because each student had their choice of several memoirs to read. I choose Chanel Millers Know my Name: a Memoir. The journal entry is a sliver of what was shared in the class space while recommending that absolutely everyone should read. If you choose to, take care as it is a book about sexual assault and the treatment of survivors. This is a text that everyone should read when they are ready.

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The seven drafts section of this portfolio contains many group photos with this class’s guests and the drafts from seven short workshops each time we had a guest. The drafts include writing in a variety of styles and in response to different directions: fiction, memoir, poetry, theater, and a memoir prompt. I also took the chance to step outside of my own comfort zone and be more creative. You will also find a watercolor piece made under the direction of an amazing children’s book author Sondra Segundo and a flier that I made for a club that I am a part of that has a focus on prison abolition as a form of activism writing. The drafts were made in short 10 – 20-minute chunks of writing. Some of the exercises were provided with more guidance than others, some were just one sentence, and others were multistep processes.

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The three final projects could be selected from a slightly longer list than just the drafts from the in-class workshops. When it was time to make my selections, I knew right away that I would make a zine. I wanted to create something that would remind m of when I was in high school when I used to create things all the time. I have been wanting to reconnect with that part of me over the pandemic, so naturally, I took advantage of the opportunity to continue this endeavor.  I picked body positivity/neutrality movements and included what I believe to be, a very important topic for anyone with a vagina. I edited the poem that I found challenging, I didn’t think being asked to just look at my hands would be so difficult, but my hands carry with me so many feelings, and I have a deeply instilled habit of never looking at them while hiding them from everyone else. Lastly, I chose to finish my pitch to Ms. Magazine building connections between book banning in the United States and feminist texts. Someday I would like to have a piece published by them, and even if it is not this piece, I wanted to take advantage of the practice in the future and build on writing that is not purely academic. I want more writing skills than just academia.

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This portfolio that I cultivated from the work that I made in the Spring 2022 BIS 490: Special Topics Course: The Power of Feminist Writing is something that I hope I continue to add to as I write more in my academic career, and past it. It shows the ways in which feminist text counters the act of voices attempting to be silenced and shows the importance of representation. Proudly, this portfolio is a demonstration of me being brave, vulnerable, and included. I was in every picture instead of being the one taking the photos, I asked brilliant people brilliant questions, spoke in class every single time I had something to say, and wrote my heart out. This portfolio is an invitation to take a glimpse into this class experience and enjoy it as much as I did participating and creating in it.