Dinner Party Anyone?

I know that many young feminists will be heading back to their college campuses to start classes next week (actually, I know some that already have). And you are probably thinking, "how am I going to make a difference on my campus this year?" Well, this fall semester is a great time to start! There are many ways your can start off this school year making positive changes on and around your campuses.

Since August is almost over (I know, it went by so quickly), September presents some great opportunities to do some feminist activism and get your college informed and aware about women's issues. Since students will be looking for fun ways to start the year off right, you could host a "Feminist Dinner Party."

This idea comes from 1970's dinner parties previous feminist leaders used to hold so their groups of women could meet and discuss anything and everything, from the personal to the political. Great ideas grew out of these dinner parties and helped to aid in their feminist activism. These women would meet at someone's house and talk over a nice meal and drinks. They would share their stories and listen to others, creating connections, friendships, and lasting bonds of feminism. This is also where Judy Chicago got her inspiration for her iconic feminist installation piece "The Dinner Party."(If you want to read more about these dinner parties, check out the book Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism and the Future)

To create your own version of these "dinner parties" invite friends and peers from your women's studies, social work, sociology, or other classes that you think would be involved in learning for about feminism and activism. Pick a location, anyone who is willing to host the party at their place. You can either make it a potluck or BYOW (bring your own "whatever") or you can offer to set up a light array of snacks and drinks. Get others to help you with the planning and start chatting it up! This is a great way to plan things for further in the year and to hear other people's stories!

You can find other great ideas for campus activism at our website www.feministcampus.org! If you have any other ideas for opening school year events, the Campus Team would love to hear about them! Place your ideas or stories in our comment section, or e-mail us at campusteam@feminist.org.

Photo courtesy of Elin B on flikr.com