Candace Reels
⤏ IN CONVERSATION WITH ASHLEY LUKASHEVSKY
⤏ PHOTOS BY KANYA IWANA | MAKE-UP BY FRANCESCA MARTIN | STYLING BY LINDSEY HARTMAN
⤏ ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 2018
Candace Reels is a 28-year-old entrepreneur, activist, and connoisseur of feminist memes. She is the youngest ever organizer of the LA Women’s March and her wildly popular instagram page @FemaleCollective celebrates intersectional feminism, self-love, and social justice. Plus, she can pull off a blunt bob like it’s nobody’s business.
ASHLEY: Where did Female Collective come from?
CANDACE: I had turned 26 and was feeling very weird. After you pass 25, you’re like, “What am I doing with my life?” I didn’t like my job, I was just sad and not motivated. I went on Instagram looking for ways to motivate myself but didn’t really see anything I connected with. I started my own Instagram account and posted stuff that motivated me — stuff like Maya Angelou and Angela Davis. I started seeing that I wasn’t the only one who was needing to be motivated and feel inspired. A lot of people started commenting things like, “This is exactly what I needed today.” It just started growing from there.
A: How does it make you feel when you get words of encouragement like that?
C: It feels good because it helps you connect with other people! You start to realize that you’re not alone in this world and that other people are dealing with the same things that you’re dealing with. It’s always good to have affirmations and have people tell you that you’re doing a great job. Of course you can always tell yourself you’re doing a great job but to have other people say it can be really meaningful.
A: When did you first realize that you were a feminist?
C: I never really knew the term for it, but I feel like I’ve been a feminist for my whole life. It’s how my parents raised me — to really be a strong woman and establish myself. But it was never a word used in our household.
A: What does your family think about what you do?
C: My family is very proud. I guess they sort of saw me doing this before I even did. I always thought that I would be doing my thing in the background and no one would pay attention. My mom always said I’d be the type of person to motivate others. When I was younger I always questioned why girls were expected to wear certain things or behave in certain ways. She saw at a young age that I really cared about what girls were going through. I never understood why women were seen as inferior to men, it made zero sense to me. I guess without knowing it I was sort of led onto this journey. But, I think that’s just how it happens. Somehow life leads you to where you need to be going, no matter the ups and downs, you always land where you’re supposed to be.
“Is it something that you’re just using as a marketing tool or do you actually care about feminism?”
A: I love that. It sounds like this was always a constant thread throughout your life. So what were you doing before you created Female Collective?
C: Before Female Collective, I was a fashion buyer for a startup company that worked with Youtube girls. You know those girls who film videos about what they wear and stuff like that? I hated it. The fashion world can be very shallow. I love fashion, and it’s always been a big part of who I am, but I wanted to do more with it. Instead of being like, “We wear cool clothes” I wanted to talk about, “Why do you wear these clothes?” I’m a shy person, so I express myself through what I wear. That’s sort of where the graphic tees came in. They allow women to express who they are without even saying a word. You’re a walking billboard for what you want to represent.
A: Absolutely. This comes up a lot, but what do you think about feminism as a marketing tool? I feel really conflicted about it all the time, and it’s pretty gaggy. Do you worry about the intentions of corporate feminism?
C: It’s a fine line. Feminism has become very trendy now. A lot of corporations want to get involved with feminism, but you have to be very careful. You have to see who’s really authentic about their practices. Is it something that you’re just using as a marketing tool or do you actually care about feminism? My degree is in marketing so seeing the way feminism is being used now is interesting. Female Collective is just me on an account, expressing my own feelings. I feel like that’s how you really become successful — you stay true to yourself.
A: I was walking down the street with a friend and in front of Mac was a huge, like “WE LOVE LGBTQ PRIDE.” We were talking about how corporations don’t care about the identity of whose money they are getting. Corporations like Black money, they like trans money, they don’t care who the money is coming from as they are making more of it. How do you know when online feminists are just being performative?
C: Look at what they post and what they’ve been posting. You can sort of see how long they’ve been in this. Also, see if they get defensive after being called out on a public forum. When you’re a decent person and you’re actually educating yourself, you should be like, “Okay, I can do better.” If you’re really about educating yourself, and realizing your privilege, you should be able to listen to criticism. It’s okay for someone to call you out. People call me out all the time and I listen to them. Yes, I’m a Black woman, but I have certain privileges in life. I grew up in a nice town, I have both of my parents, and I went to college. If you aren’t educating yourself and learning, then why are you here? I want to continue to grow and learn for the rest of my life.
“I want to continue to grow and learn for the rest of my life. “
A: What advice would you give to people who are trying to enter the space of online activism?
C: Just make sure that you are being true to who you are and you’re not just trying to jump on a trend that’s really hot right now. Make sure that you are posting about what you actually care about because people will know whether you’re being authentic or not.
A: Since so much of what you do is on social media, can you talk about the way that you view platforms like Instagram and their potential to create social change?
C: Social media is such a back and forth thing. It has a really dark side that we all experience, but I think one of the great things about it is that you’re able to connect with people who are outside of your local community. Yes, you can look at the news, but sometimes it’s good to learn from people who are personally affected by the issues you read about. I would say that the Black Lives Matter movement started because of our phones. We’re able to record and make public what’s happening in the world. Before we wouldn’t know about all of these people being killed constantly. It’s scary to know that this is happening, but it’s necessary to know so that we can create change and do something about it.
A: I’ve found that when I follow the news app, I see Fox News and random platforms talk about stories I don’t care about — Trump’s tweeting, what Melania’s wearing — all these distractions from the larger problems. It takes so much effort to filter through all of this information. How do you get your news?
C: I get my news on my phone and also on social media. Shaun King is a great source to follow because he posts what he cares about and does his best to really research before posting. Brittany Packnett keeps you in tune with what’s happening and also gives great advice on what you can do to help.
A: What do you do to take care of yourself when you’re feeling depleted?
C: I go home and talk to my mom. My mom does a good job of reminding me why I’m doing this. I get really down on myself sometimes thinking that I’m not really doing anything with my life or I haven’t accomplished anything. My mom reminds me to look at how far I’ve come and what I’m doing now. That’s a thing I’ve been doing a lot lately, I’ve been going home a lot to just get away. I would say just do whatever makes you feel good. It could be making your bed in the morning, something simple like that, that helps you get back to being present.
A: Tell me something that excites you and that you are hopeful for in the future.
C: I’m excited for the midterm elections. We’re going to change the House. I’m hopeful for a better future, a more conscious future where we have empathy for others. And I see that now! There are so many young people who are not fearful. They’re so hopeful and that keeps me hopeful! All the kids out there being themselves, that’s what we need more of. Let’s stop being other people and be who we are. That’s how we’re going to change the world.
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⤏ ASHLEY LUKASHEVSKY (SHE/THEY) IS A VISUAL ARTIST, ILLUSTRATOR, AND BANCHAN BITCH ORIGINALLY FROM HONOLULU. SHE BELIEVES THAT ART CAN BE USED TO CREATE A BLUEPRINT OF THE WORLD WE WANT TO LIVE IN.