About 14 Valentines
Hi Everyone! As we gear up for the 2013 cycle of14valentines, I thought a good place to start off would be to update some basic information regarding the comm.
About 14 Valentines
14 Valentines is a concept/project pioneered in 2006 going into its eighth year year, based on the idea of fandom as a community of women and the power of the relationships there. It's meant to raise awareness of women's issues -- and hopefully as a result increase participation in community women's groups. 14 Valentines will run for two weeks (14 days) for the first half of February, ending on Valentine's Day, also Vagina Day, Victory Against Violence Day and is in a large part inspired by Eve Ensler, her amazing Vagina Monologues, and the organization that grew out of that movement, the V-Day foundation.
The mission of 14 Valentines isn't to solicit money for the cause -- as anybody who has worked at a nonprofit knows, money does not fix all or even some of the problems -- but instead of remind everybody that there is a cause, that it touches each of us every day and that we should embrace the agency we're lucky enough to have and do something good with it. We're all global citizens -- we're a global sisterhood, too.
Please keep in mind that when we say women we are not restricting this to the issues of cis white straight able women in in the West. We understand the different experiences and struggles that come along with intersectionality, and we welcome focus on and representation of women in relation to varied gender identities, races, sexualities, cultures, religions, socioeconomic statuses, etc.
How It Works
Basically, every day for the first 14 days of February an essay at least 1,000 words will be posted to the comm/tumblr that focuses on the theme of that day and talks about the issue. Essays will be written by volunteers who sign up for a particular day/topic.
Participation is not limited to the “official” comm essays, however. You can write your own essays on topical issues, be they personal or informational or activist. Given that this is a project for the fannish community, you can also contribute by the creation of women-centric fanworks of any kind (fiction, fanart, graphics, manipulations, etc.), as well as rec lists (of fanworks or professional works), music mixes, or whatever you can think to do. These fanworks or rec lists do not have to incorporate the daily topic.
Typically, participants include a link back to the official 14Valentines community/tumblr and the essay of the day on whatever contribution they post as a way or promoting the project.
All contributions are linked to on a daily round up post which presents all contributions for the day in one place.
About 14 Valentines
14 Valentines is a concept/project pioneered in 2006 going into its eighth year year, based on the idea of fandom as a community of women and the power of the relationships there. It's meant to raise awareness of women's issues -- and hopefully as a result increase participation in community women's groups. 14 Valentines will run for two weeks (14 days) for the first half of February, ending on Valentine's Day, also Vagina Day, Victory Against Violence Day and is in a large part inspired by Eve Ensler, her amazing Vagina Monologues, and the organization that grew out of that movement, the V-Day foundation.
The mission of 14 Valentines isn't to solicit money for the cause -- as anybody who has worked at a nonprofit knows, money does not fix all or even some of the problems -- but instead of remind everybody that there is a cause, that it touches each of us every day and that we should embrace the agency we're lucky enough to have and do something good with it. We're all global citizens -- we're a global sisterhood, too.
Please keep in mind that when we say women we are not restricting this to the issues of cis white straight able women in in the West. We understand the different experiences and struggles that come along with intersectionality, and we welcome focus on and representation of women in relation to varied gender identities, races, sexualities, cultures, religions, socioeconomic statuses, etc.
How It Works
Basically, every day for the first 14 days of February an essay at least 1,000 words will be posted to the comm/tumblr that focuses on the theme of that day and talks about the issue. Essays will be written by volunteers who sign up for a particular day/topic.
Participation is not limited to the “official” comm essays, however. You can write your own essays on topical issues, be they personal or informational or activist. Given that this is a project for the fannish community, you can also contribute by the creation of women-centric fanworks of any kind (fiction, fanart, graphics, manipulations, etc.), as well as rec lists (of fanworks or professional works), music mixes, or whatever you can think to do. These fanworks or rec lists do not have to incorporate the daily topic.
Typically, participants include a link back to the official 14Valentines community/tumblr and the essay of the day on whatever contribution they post as a way or promoting the project.
All contributions are linked to on a daily round up post which presents all contributions for the day in one place.