Demi: A Fabulous Feminist

I've known my friend, who goes by Demi Everdeen online, since we were little girls. I thought that since she is someone my age who is using her gifts and talents to make a difference for young people and specifically young women, she would be the perfect candidate for my very first interview.

Demi and her friend have been making YouTube videos as The Fabulous Feminists. Their videos feature topics they feel are important for young women to think about and they promote young women talking with each other about these topics. You can watch their videos here:
The Fabulous Feminists on YouTube
 
My friend also got accepted to a great academic program this summer at Smith College called Discovering Women's History and is currently raising funds so she can attend. Please consider making a small donation. If half of my regular readers would donate $1, my friend would be almost at her goal. Please consider making a donation and investing in the education of a young leader.


What first got you interested in promoting the idea of feminism? What does feminism mean to you?

I think it's something that's been constant. I don't know if I've ever really not been a feminist-I mean, there were times I didn't call myself that because I didn't know that's what it was, but I've always been a feminist. To me, feminism isn't the concept that women are better or anything like that. It's about being EQUAL. I want this whole men-are-inherently-better thing to stop because it's not good for anyone, not so it can be replaced with women-are-inherently-better.

How did you come up with the idea to do the Fabulous Feminist videos? How do you decide what topics you want to cover?
 
We started the videos in about September. It came from the homeschool course on feminism we had been working on-it was just reading things and watching movies, really. But we decided we wanted to produce our own content on Feminism and talk about things from our point of view, and that's when the videos started. Most of the time we think about what's currently going on in the media and what we've been feeling is really problematic, and we end up making a video out of that.

How do you feel about girls who enjoy fashion trends, makeup, and pop culture? Do you think they can still call themselves feminists? Why or why not?

This is one of the things that irritates me most. People can do whatever they want with their bodies and still be feminists. I don't know where the concept came from that wearing heels and makeup is “anti-feminism,” but I think it's gross. Feminism isn't about not wearing those things-it's about having the freedom to wear them if you want to, and being able to not wear them too.

Tell us about the summer program you applied to at Smith College. What do you hope to learn there? How do you think this program will help you in your current work?

The program is about Women's History, specifically. It involves sorting through the Smith archives, where there are lots of letters and other personal belongings from all sorts of famous women! I'm really excited about that opportunity. I also think it'll give a nice historical addition to the things I'm currently working on.

Are there any ways you'd like to expand your work in the future?

Sure, probably! I'd love to continue the videos and maybe get those a little more popular and a little more regular. Right now they kind of just show up on occasion.

Once again you can view the Fabulous Feminist videos here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdS48Vlpzysa9vgzBh9g1iw
 
And you can make a donation to help send Demi to Smith College this summer here:
http://www.gofundme.com/7n506s

A great big thank you to Demi for being my first interview!