Letter from Shrill Society Founder Amanda
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Hi and welcome to our very first issue of The Shout. As many of you know, the viral success of the Nasty Woman shirt I made was a huge surprise—I woke up, went to work, and thought there was a mistake when I had over 20,000 emails. Creating that shirt changed my life: not only everything that comes with going viral or the feeling I had when I wired the first $100k donation to Planned Parenthood, but also the immense community that grew out of that moment.
This community has completely formed the direction of Shrill Society and what we create. What started with the Nasty Woman shirt influenced the creation of the Nasty Woman Planner (237 pages of insights, history, activism, and fun) and the forthcoming Nasty Woman game which gets you and your friends around a table to laugh, learn, and become more active. Also, it got picked up by a major publisher, so we're kind of freaking out over here (we'll make a formal announcement soon!).
I experimented with adding more content in my last few newsletters and got an amazing response. Pointing to the intersections of pop culture, feminism, and politics resonated loudly, and really, that was the original impetus to create the Nasty Woman shirt. I wanted to dive a little deeper into that and provide you something more in-depth and personal, something specifically for you and this community.
I'll still be sending out weekly emails pointing to new designs, press, behind-the-scenes news, and non-profit partners in our regular newsletter. But, in addition to that, I'l be sending out our The Shout twice a month, every other Sunday. The Shout is our community-driven roundup of our favorite pieces of media at the intersection of pop culture, feminism, and politics. The goal is to kick off your week with content that'll get you thinking, offer some motivation, inspire action, and hopefully bring you a little joy.
If you're into it, we'll expand The Shout to include giveaways from our partners, connections to live events (maybe even some hosted by us?), and more. Have an idea or suggestion for what you want to see here? Email me at hi@shrillsociety.com. For now, The Shout is word-of-mouth, so please share this link with your friends so they can sign up, too!
Stay Nasty,
Amanda |
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Miss the last newsletter? Find it here for some Shrill Society updates.
After speaking at SXSW about building meaningful and impactful businesses, I headed to Germany to speak at OMR about building communities, and I also had fun recording the Ladies Who Lovebomb podcast and the Amaphiko podcast. |
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The New York Times hired its first gender editor, Jessica Bennett, who has spearheaded Overlooked, a project to add obituaries for women who had not been given the space for remembrance. Because guess who was overwhelming featured? All-the-men.
Speaking of remembrance, this article contemplates how the writings of Audre Lorde, Maya Angelou, and Toni Morrison have become more popularly accessible, but how their identities have become fractured by readers not willing or interested in understanding them as complicated and complex women. *sips some tea*
My favorite headline: "The NFL's plan to protect America from witches." Women (aka witches) are here to ruin your apple pie-eating football players with their wicked ways.
Did you buy Girl Scout cookies this year? Troop 6000 is NYC's first homeless shelter-based troop and this year they became cookie selling entrepreneurs. But, you can't blame them for your eating an entire box of Samoas in one sitting. That's on you.
On the topic of working ladies, HBO took a "cold, hard look" at its pay discrepensies in its shows and says it fixed all the gender pay gaps because of #TimesUp. Be sure to include this article in a memo to your boss.
Do you love Janelle Monáe's "PYNK" as much as I do? This amazing video highlights the different size, color, and parts women's genitals can have and creates an inclusive celebration for all women. #PussyPants included.
Speaking of feminist art, Judy Chicago's installation The Dinner Party has been turned into tableware you can buy for your very own intimate dinner party. Invite the entire family! |
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Seriously... Janelle Monáe's "PYNK" on repeat.
I'm still a teen goth at heart, so this trailer for the new Mary Shelley movie has got me pretty pumped. While many of the scenes seem a little on the nose, I'm excited to see a film that not only highlights an important historical woman, but also how they'll finesse the metaphors of difficult men and monsters. Bonus points because Shelley is Mary Wollstonecraft's daughter. |
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The New York Times' The Popcast recorded a two-part series, "Was Ashlee Simpson Underappreciated? Discuss." The podcast considers the overwhelming pressures of being a female celebrity in the 2000s. Did you know Ashlee Simpson had one record go triple platinum and another went platinum? Me neither! |
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Winona LaDuke is serious about saving the planet. The environmental activist and writer is our pick for celebrating Earth Day on April 22. She heads Honor the Earth, an organization she started with folk-rock duo the Indigo Girls in 1993, and was active in the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. She’s a leading voice on tribal land claims, clean water, and cultural preservation. She helped found the Indigenous Women's Network and the White Earth Land Recovery Project to buy back reservation land in Minnesota that had been bought by non-Natives.
She’s also created and worked on workforce development, reforestation, wind energy, ancestral diet, and language programs geared toward the health and wellness of indigenous people and the earth. Seeing grassroots politics as core to electoral politics, she ran twice for vice president of the U.S. on the ticket for the Green Party with Ralph Nader. Leading up to Earth Day, spend time learning about LaDuke and researching Native-led environmental movements like the historic and massively influential protests at Standing Rock. |
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