The Unbuttoning Feminism project grew out of a Feminist Rhetorics class taught by Professor Natalie Fixmer-Oraiz at the University of Iowa in the spring of 2013, and was inspired in part by the article "Who Needs Feminism? Lessons from a Digital World" by Rachel F. Seidman. The goal of Unbuttoning Feminism was to create a safe space for dialogue concerning some of society’s most important issues. To do this, student co-founders Paige Pennigar and Madeline Fitzgerald created a Facebook page and Tumblr account and held button-making workshops at the Women’s Resource and Action Center on the University of Iowa campus, encouraging Hawkeyes and the broader Iowa City community to stop by and make buttons inspired by personal attitudes about feminist issues.

They wanted to see how others defined feminism and create a visual expression of the infinite facets of the feminist movement. In the first two weeks of the campaign, over 200 unique buttons were created, each representing someone’s story. Pennigar and Fitzgerald hoped that by displaying the collection of buttons to the public, the messages would encourage conversation about feminism and feminist issues, “unbuttoning” negative connotations that hinder feminist ideologies today. The buttons were displayed on campus and around town.