Hello! I’m Anita Sarkeesian. In 2012, I launched a modest Kickstarter campaign to fund a small video series deconstructing representations of women. In an astounding, humbling turn of events, Tropes vs Women in Video Games drew international attention—both positive and negative—and Feminist Frequency raised over twenty-five times the amount we sought. We put it to good use: in the four years since, Feminist Frequency has transformed into a non-profit organization devoted to critically engaging with media. Our videos have focused on examining the way women are represented in popular culture, and reimagining the world of video games as a more inclusive place.

Starting today, we’re doing something new: a video series called Ordinary Women: Daring to Defy History.

Rather than heroes, leaders and innovators, women are often depicted and treated as secondary characters in history, objects of affections, damsels to be rescued, or merely the wives, mothers and assistants to the men who achieved important things. Instead, we're taking a look back at the amazing women throughout history who defied gender stereotypes and changed the world, to remind us that the stories we tell about women—in TV shows, comic books, video games and in real life—often reflect the limitations placed on them, rather than the world-changing feats they've already achieved.

With your help, we can bring their stories to life and give these incredible women the attention they deserve.

Gratefully,

The short answer is: everyone. Given how rarely female leaders and innovators seem to show up in the stories we tell about historical greatness, it might be easy to conclude that women haven't really done that many extraordinary things. Worse, the absence of women from these narratives not only impacts the way society sees women, but the way women and girls see themselves. In reality, women have always done important and ground-breaking things, even if they didn't always make it in the history books. We hope that our project can help shift perceptions of what girls and women can do, not just in exceptional cases but in perfectly ordinary ones.

We think the stories of these women are surprising—not to mention incredibly cool—and we hope you'll feel the same way when you meet them. We also hope that like other Feminist Frequency videos, they can be a valuable teaching tool for educators around the world.

Feminist Frequency has an established record of challenging the status quo in ways that make an impact, and we’re going to do it again. This time, it’ll be with a blend of past and present that makes history feel fresh and relevant. We’re committed to telling these stories the right way: accurately and beautifully.

The series will feature original animation where each episode will have a different visual style inspired by the woman at its center. The episode about Emma Goldman, a political firebrand from the early 20th century, will tell her story through silent era black and white animation. For 10th century Japanese novelist Murasaki Shikibu, we’ll use animation that evokes the aesthetics of Heian period art, pictured below, as well as an original musical score played on a Japanese koto and taiko drums. 

Even Anita’s hair, makeup and wardrobe will be informed by the women she’s discussing, with several outfits inspired by styles they wore in famous portraits. We’ve put a great deal of thought and care into each video, and we believe that this attention to detail and nuance will make these stories even more immersive, engaging and entertaining.

While the animation in Ordinary Women is going to be beautiful, it isn’t inexpensive. Feminist Frequency has already invested $20,000 in the project to get the ball rolling, and unlike previous Feminist Frequency videos, we shot in a professional studio with a crew that we paid professional rates. And as always, we're putting our videos out there for free, so that anyone with an internet connection will have access, and there won't be any pesky ads getting in the way.

We’ve been hard at work on Ordinary Women since September 2015 and we have a clear timeline for completing the series. See what we’ve already accomplished on the project and our timeline to get these episodes out to you!

1. FOLLOW "FEMFREQ" ON ALL OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS

Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, and YouTube. And ask all your friends to follow us too!

2. SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT ORDINARY WOMEN

Tell your friends, colleagues, and neighbours that we are trying to write women back into history with our new series! Share our social media posts, our campaign page, and our backer updates!

3. KEEP FOLLOWING OUR CAMPAIGN!

We'll be posting updates on our campaign progress and a few glimpses behind the scenes!

You're still making videos for Tropes vs. Women in Video Games. How do I know you'll be able to finish this series on time?

• Although the scope of Tropes vs. Women in Video Games expanded significantly due to both the intense backlash and the overwhelming support the project received, we’re well into the second and final season of the series, which we plan to wrap up by the end of 2016. As far as Ordinary Women goes, we've shot all the live-action video and the animators are already hard at work, so we're confident about delivering them on time.

Isn’t Feminist Frequency a non-profit? Does that mean my pledge tax-deductible?

• It does! Minus the value of the rewards you receive. At the end of the campaign, we'll deduct that amount from your total donation and send you a receipt.

If you hit your goal, what happens to the money you make after that?

• Any contributions beyond our goal will help us continue to do the work that matters to us (and to you!) like analyzing entertainment through a feminist lens, cultivating media literacy, and raising consciousness around issues like online harassment and social inequality.

Why are you using Seed&Spark instead of Kickstarter?

• We're fans of Seed&Spark because they're a female-run crowdfunding platform whose mission revolves around empowering diverse voices in media. We wanted to use them for Ordinary Women because their approach aligns so perfectly with the goals of our project -- particularly our goals of amplifying women’s voices. We’re still big fans of Kickstarter!

What exactly is included in the FREQ YOUR PROJECT reward tier?

• If you're working on a game, film, comic book or other narrative project and want to make sure you're being inclusive and respectful about gender, we'll read/watch/play/assess it and offer a 1-3 page critique. Specifically, we'll offer suggestions for how to improve your existing content, particularly regarding the narrative and the characters. You'll also be credited on the website and receive both the digital soundtrack and the movie poster.

I know an awesome woman in history you should make a video about! Are you taking suggestions?

• We’ve already scripted episodes for the five women we’re focusing on for the moment, but if there’s enough demand for more episodes, we’ll certainly consider it! Help spread the word about the campaign and make it happen!

Does it cost extra to ship internationally?

• We love our international fans! In order to keep your costs down, we will absorb any additional cost above and beyond what it would take to ship to you domestically.