Join us later this month for a series of live and virtual readings, performances and talks exploring selfies and feminism!
Featuring:
Veronica Arreola
Marisa Crawford
Kate Durbin
Morgan Parker
Jennifer L. Pozner
“The selfie suggests something in picture form—I think I look [beautiful] [happy] [funny] [sexy]. Do you?—that a girl could never get away with saying. It puts the gaze of the camera squarely in a girl’s hands, and along with it, the power to influence the photo’s interpretation.” – Rachel Simmons, Slate
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Veronica I. Arreola is a professional feminist, writer, and mom. She took her degree in biological sciences with a minor in women’s studies and turned it into a career working on diversity issues in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Veronica is the assistant director of the UIC Center for Research on Women and Gender and directs their Women in Science and Engineering program. Her blog, Viva la Feminista, has been named a top political blog by Blogher, Women’s Media Center and LATISM. Veronica’s work on behalf of women and girls has been recognized by her coworkers with a UIC Woman of the Year award, the community with a Chicago Foundation for Women Impact Award and the White House with an organizational Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. Her current project, #365FeministSelfie, aims to have people take a close look at themselves every day and see the beauty everyone else sees.
Marisa Crawford is the author of the poetry collection The Haunted House (Switchback, 2010), and the chapbook 8th Grade Hippie Chic (Immaculate Disciples, 2013). Her writing has recently appeared in Fanzine, The Hairpin, and Bitch, and is forthcoming in Electric Gurlesque (Saturnalia, 2016) and The &NOW Awards 3: Best Innovative Writing (&NOW, 2015). Marisa is founding editor of the new feminist blog WEIRD SISTER. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Kate Durbin is a Los Angeles based artist and writer whose work deals with popular culture, gender, and digital media. Her books include E! Entertainment, The Ravenous Audience, and Abra, an iPad app and artists book created with support of an NEA grant from Center for Book and Paper Arts at CCC. She is founding editor of the online pop cultural criticism journal, Gaga Stigmata, and her tumblr, Women as Objects, archives the teen girl tumblr aesthetic. She has recently performed at MOCA and The Hammer Museum. Her performance piece HELLO, SELFIE! presents a new form of passive aggressive performance art, reveling in teen narcissism and the girl gaze.
Morgan Parker is the author of Other People’s Comfort Keeps Me Up At Night (Switchback Books 2015), selected by Eileen Myles for the 2013 Gatewood Prize, and There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé (Coconut Books 2016). A Cave Canem fellow, graduate of NYU’s Creative Writing MFA program, and poetry editor for Coconut Magazine, Morgan lives in Brooklyn where she is Education Director at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA). She also contributes writing to Weird Sister. You can find her at www.morgan-parker.com.
Jennifer L. Pozner is a media critic, journalist, and the founding director of Women In Media & News, a media analysis, education and advocacy group. Her first book, Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV, was called “required reading for every American girl and women” by MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry. Colbert Report writer and comedian Cecilia Lederer described Reality Bites Back as a ““F*CKING AMAZING BOOK!!! Insightful, well written, and an easy funny fun read.” Jennifer has spoken about gender, race, class, and the media — and conducted media literacy workshops and media trainings — for more than 300 schools, conferences, non-profits, and businesses throughout the U.S., Canada, and Turkey. Her writing has appeared in outlets including the New York Times, Newsweek, Ms. Magazine, Elle Canada, Macleans, The Daily Beast, Salon, and AlterNet, and she has offered media commentary on NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, FOX, Comedy Central, NPR, CBC, Pacifica, and Free Speech TV. To learn about WIMN and media trainings, see www.WIMNonline.org and to learn about her book and multimedia lectures and workshops, see www.RealityBitesBackBook.com
