issue 09 / volume 41

Occult ritual brings straw feminists to life

» ‘We're seeing too much progression, really’

Angela Espinoza
News Editor

his past weekend, members of an Abbotsford-

based occult group successfully animated what
they’re calling “straw feminists.’ Made from bundles
of straw and appearing stereotypically feminine, the
group hopes to use moral panic to their advantage this
Halloween.

Their belief is that societal damages caused by the
straw feminists will improve their chances of winning
this year’s BC-wide Fright for Flight contest. Winners
will be awarded a trip to a horror-themed event of
their choosing based on how many in their respective
communities they've emotionally scarred.

“People are overwhelmed by all the changes
they're seeing with gender equality,’ said reanimation
enthusiast Russell “Cerberuss” Fringle. “We're seeing
too much progression, really.

“The topic is still sensitive for a lot of people, so
whether youre for or against feminism, we feel we'll be
upsetting everyone equally.”

The straw feminist design was based on scarecrows,
: contest, but worries about the possibility of paying for

: property damage.

draped in patched clothes with female gender symbols
of varying shapes and sizes and stuffed with straw.

“The hands were difficult, as we were hoping to
provide them with claws,” said Fringle. “We ended up
putting nail polish on Freddy Kruger gloves.” Faces were

made from cloth smeared with makeup and googly-eyes :

: glued to fake eyelashes.

The hardest part for the group though was the

: ritual itself. “We mainly wanted to see if the ritual

: would actually work.” Fringle added the success of

: the animation ritual opens up more opportunities for
: members of their sect. “We don’t know what those

: Opportunities are yet, but we're glad to know they’re

: there.”

However, despite the success of releasing straw

: feminists into their community, the creatures are

: far from perfect. “As a defence mechanism, the

: straw feminists will burn their bras when placed in

: aconfrontational situation,” said Fringle. “The only

: problem is straw feminists don’t think, so they continue
: to leave their bras on while setting them on fire.

“They light up like a Christmas tree, which I

: suppose is horrifying enough, but it takes days to bring
: them to life, so the bra-burning is more of a setback at
: this point.”

Fringle added that their main scare tactics in turn

: are going well: “They scare the shit out of everyone.
: They’re either threatening men with nonsensical rants
: or screeching at women to do the same.”

Fringle remains hopeful that his team will win the

“The straw feminists have been breaking into stores

: to take sealed tampons and throw them at people. We're
: not really sure what that’s about, but it’s confusing

enough that I suppose it adds to the overall fear factor.”

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