For those who have been asking, here’s some news about the campaign formerly known as Feminist Coming Out Day. The official* word:

Turning Feminist Coming Out Day into a national campaign taught us as much about coalition-building and progressive activism as it did about our own relationships to feminism. Along the way, we met incredibly passionate people, got a crash course in online publicity, and learned how to incorporate feedback and criticism from our constituents (i.e. all of you lovely people). A year later, we’ve both moved on to other projects, so we’re handing over the reins to an organization with the resources necessary to do the campaign justice…

* Well, as official as it gets, ‘cause I wrote it.

It’s been two years since Feminist Coming Out Day/Feminist Portrait Project first got started. In 2010, it was just a single event at Harvard. I came up with the idea as the women’s events chair of the Queer Students & Allies, but I can’t take any credit for the execution. The art exhibition was inconveniently scheduled for the same week as my senior thesis deadline, and at the time, I was not contemplating gallery lighting or installation matters. Luckily, we were collaborating with the feminist club, the Radcliffe Union of Students, and Abby, the then-president, knew her way around art. She and I were clearly meant to work together.

Here’s a photo of us from the opening reception:

I am probably underfed and unshowered in this photo.

A year later, I had graduated. Abby was still a sophomore. There would be no question that Feminist Coming Out Day would be happening again at Harvard, but this time, we were talking about taking it national. So, first came our own domain, then we put up a teaser page, some social media, and finally, a website, a fundraising campaign, and at some point … the wheels started turning on their own and we became inundated with emails. Abby helped student clubs come up with their own spin on the event. I wrote blog posts and handled t-shirt orders. Submissions started pouring in from around the world for inclusion in the digital Feminist Portrait Project. Groups sent in event listings and photos of their on-campus celebrations. It was really incredible to see it all happen.

Here’s a photo of Abby and me after the 2011 event at Harvard:

I remember being sick (and therefore, likely underfed and unshowered) in this photo.

After the campaign, we were really tired. 2011 totally exceeded our expectations, and though we wanted to see a 2012 event happen, the idea of devoting 3-4 months of near full-time hours to the campaign (on top of real life and existing obligations) … well, it seemed overwhelming, and to be honest, doing it justice would require much more support than what we were capable of offering. I also knew that I was ready to move on, from Boston and also from this particular project. While I can’t speak for Abby, my own feelings about feminism have changed a lot over the past two years, and I have a much better sense today for how to best spend my time and how to best engage with the movement. I couldn’t make Feminist Pride Day fit into my life without compromising all my other plans.

Though we started talking to the Feminist Majority Foundation about adopting our project for their campus programs way back in August, I haven’t offered many public updates (and for that, I apologize). Partly, I wanted to get things finalized before making any big announcements, but I also thought it’d be wise to wait an appropriate amount of time before reflecting on something that took up so much of my emotional and physical energy. Immediately after the 2011 campaign, it was hard for me to determine whether I was tired from the project or tired of the project. And because it’s the closest thing I’ve had to a start-up baby and I’m kind of a control freak, it wasn’t easy to decide whether to let go. These days, I am 100 percent certain that I made the right decision. We came up with a new name, wrote up a handy toolkit, and passed it on to the Feminist Majority Foundation.

It astounds me that just a year ago, I was living out of “This Is What A Feminist Looks Like” t-shirts! I am now richer for the experience and have gained a fantastic friend/partner in Abby, who I’m certain I’ll be collaborating with again in the future. But as far as Feminist Pride Day is concerned? The campaign will be best served by a national organization and I’ll have more to learn from pursuing creative endeavors outside of explicitly feminist spaces.