Advertisement

Brave yearbook quote cleverly makes fierce political statement

It’s not about dress codes, but Caitlyn Cannon’s high school yearbook quote has made a splash thanks to a strong message that mixes humor, positivity, and affirmation.

Cannon’s senior wrote in the Oak Hills High School read “I need feminism because I intend on marrying rich and I can’t do that if my wife and I are making .75 cent for every dollar a man makes.”

Cannon’s yearbook picture was posted to Tumblr, where it took off this week.

To date it’s reached almost 100,000 notes, which has taken Cannon by surprise, to say the least.

Yahoo Canada talked to Cannon about her quote, and the thinking behind making the statement all her classmates will associate with her name from now on.

Yahoo Canada: What made you think of putting this statement in your yearbook quote?

Cannon: I wanted to say something more than a repeated sentiment from a popular book, movie, or song, something that called attention to feminism and made people at least think about it more than they would have.

Yahoo Canada: Did you anticipate any problems with it from administrators, since most yearbook quotes are pretty mundane and not really thought-provoking?

Cannon: When I submitted the quote, I knew it had to be approved anyways, so I didn't even think twice about the administrators. Although now, since it's gaining momentum, I worry that I might have stepped on some toes. However, my school has always been progressive and accepting of the idea of breaking from the traditional, so I hope that they can understand why I quoted what I did.

Yahoo Canada: Did you anticipate this kind of reaction? How does it make you feel to have that quote being echoed as an empowering statement across social media?

Cannon: I had no idea that my quote would be seen across social media, but it does feel good that I helped start some semblance of a conversation, and brought a feminist issue into the light. I worry though that people may try to turn this around negatively on feminism somehow, and since I do not claim to speak for all feminists, that definitely worries me.

Yahoo Canada: Have you had any backlash from it?

Cannon: There has been some, yes, but I try to read these negative comments, understand the point of view, and develop a counterargument in my head so I know what to say when someone actually confronts me about it.

Yahoo Canada: It's not easy to make a statement about feminism, equality and being gay in one sentence - did you spend a lot of time on it? Did you ever worry you might be muddling the message a bit?

Cannon: I actually did not spend too much time on it because I found this quote on Tumblr, changed some of the point-of-view issues with it since I am gay, and went full speed ahead with the quote. I think it's hard to make one statement that captures all of what feminism is trying to accomplish, but I think this quote did a pretty good job of being concise about one huge issue.