This kickass feminist activity book is made for activist girls
Most activity books ask you to join the dots or colour by numbers. This one asks you to plan your own protest march.
I am a Rebel Girl: a Journal to Start Revolutions is a new feminist activity book filled with 100 insightful tasks for girls that allow them to try out things like writing a letter to their local representative, planning a march, or brainstorming what they want to be when they grow up.
Having already had major critical success with their two-volume feminist bedtime story book Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, Rebel Girls founders and authors Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo saw an organic opportunity for their next project.
"We saw our audience making art based on the book series, and wanted to create a tool that would allow girls to find, in themselves, the traits that they would come to admire in the women featured in Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls," the pair told Mashable.
"I Am A Rebel Girl is more than just a journal. It is a feminist activity book designed to give girls the space to explore themselves fully."
Pipped as "a guided journal that helps girls train their rebel spirit and lead the revolution of our time," I am a Rebel Girl has raised over $170K (A$241K) crowdfunding on Kickstarter — well over their funding goal.
Three women artists have contributed their talents to the journal: Camila Rosa, a freelance illustrator and designer from Brazil, Kate Prior, a London-based graphic designer and illustrator, and Martina Paukova, a freelance illustrator from Slovakia.
Stunningly illustrated inside the journal, girls will find some pretty timely activities — some are political, some explore positive body image, and others purely encourage a sense of rebellion and questioning of norms.
I am a Rebel Girl uses a similar style of relatable, modern content to that of Australian author Alana Wulff, whose 2017 teen feminist empowerment book Girlish used quotes from the likes of Michelle Obama, Amy Poehler, Roxane Gay, and Lorde to give young women a new reference tool for exploring their identity.
"Ultimately we wanted the journal to lead to action," said Favilli and Cavallo.
"Some of the activities will help them accept and love their bodies by imagining themselves as a giant or with tattoos; others will help them take political action such as planning a march or identifying rules that don’t make sense to them; some will help them think about their own future by asking them to lay out their career path or plan a day of adventure.
"Each activity was designed to address a particular status quo or standard that they can redefine for themselves."
Designing an activity book for girls is tough work — knowing what a girl wants is complicated. Before launching their crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, Favilli and Cavallo asked a group of girls and their families to test out a few pages of the journal. Turns out, no major changes.
"It’s crucial for our community to have a voice in our new products," said the pair. "Some of their parents even connected with the journal pages!"
Each journal is $20 (A$28) and can be ordered via Kickstarter. Shipping will begin in November.
Rebel Girls will also be bringing a pop-up shop to New York City this December, and although details are under lock and key for now, Favilli and Cavallo said it won't be a typical store.
"We are focusing on making an experience that brings our readers into the stories while helping them create their own."
Topics Activism Social Good
Shannon Connellan is Mashable's UK Editor based in London, formerly Mashable's Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives in the Creel House. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror.
