The once-defunct Feminist Collective (FemCo) is coming up on its second year of revival as a student organization.
“Our goals are to try to build community and address some feminist issues across campus,” co-president Stefne Ricci said. “Feminism, to me, means finding liberation for all people and seeking that out.”
Treasurer Alexandra Soucy shared a similar view. “Feminism, to me, is mostly about equality amongst genders,” she said. The month of March marks National Women’s History Month, which Ricci said carries importance. “I think so much of history, women were always there…I think it gives us a chance to address that history,” she said. Soucy and Ricci both mentioned that an important aspect of the month is to be inclusive of transgender and non-binary identifying individuals as well and to share their stories.
Ricci said a typical FemCo meeting consists of community building through sharing experiences and discussing topics such as intersectionality. Ricci also noted that the organization tries to find ways they can support the campus community.
In recent months, FemCo has partnered with the Reproductive Freedom Fund of New Hampshire (RFFNH), a volunteer-run organization which provides funds to those seeking to get abortion care in the state.
From the partnership with RFFNH, FemCo has been supplying pregnancy tests, as well as the emergency contraceptive Plan B pill free of cost, according to recent posts on the organization’s Instagram page.
“We act as a third party to resources that [The Wellness Center and Cultural Center] offer,” Soucy explained.
Additionally, FemCo is looking to increase access to menstrual products on campus. In recent months, the organization has provided pads in bathrooms within the L.P. Young Student Center, as well as the Diversity, Belonging, and Equity office.
A Dec. 13, 2022, Instagram post stated, “In the future, we hope to also provide tampons and menstrual cups, as well as expand the list of areas on campus where these products will be accessible.” After last year’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling by the Supreme Court, which overturned Roe v. Wade, feminist and progressive activist groups have been voicing their opposition to legislation aimed to restrict access to abortion care. SheThePeople writer Camila Gomide remarked at the time of the decision that it was “a setback to feminism.”
Soucy shared that concern, and said a recent FemCo meeting included discussion about statewide and federal legislation regarding reproductive healthcare, and at the end of the meeting members submitted testimony in support of, or against, certain bills.
“I know a lot of people find the word ‘feminist’ or ‘feminism’ to be scary…I think it’s important that people look beyond that and see what we’re talking about and see what’s going on,” Soucy said. In terms of upcoming events, FemCo is planning to host its second annual ‘Sex Toy Bingo’ night on April 6 at 7 p.m. in the Mabel Brown Room. The event, limited to those 18 and over, consists of standard games of bingo, but winners of each round win a sex toy.
Last year’s Sex Toy Bingo night at the Night Owl Café saw a massive turnout, with students having to be turned away to prevent overcrowding.
Co-president Alyssa Hamilton said at the time that one of the aims of the event was to promote sex positivity.
FemCo meets every Thursday at 6 p.m. in Science Center 129.
Nathan Hope can be contacted at
nhope@kscequinox.com
