Female Rage Hot Sauce’s second “Hot Dogs for Abortions” fundraiser of the summer brought hundreds of supporters together to raise money for the D.C. Abortion Fund, channeling their anger over reproductive rights into advocacy.
The fundraiser, held at Dew Drop Inn on Sept. 17, is the latest iteration of an event that began as a backyard party following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. What started with friends grilling hot dogs and donating at the door has since grown into a recurring fundraiser for abortion funds, raising thousands of dollars along the way.
“After the Dobbs case was handed down … I just wanted to do something that really felt meaningful,” Emily Roe, founder of Female Rage, said. “I was like, I’m gonna host a party in my backyard and invite all my friends, maybe we’ll raise like $500 and give it to an abortion fund. We ended up raising a little over $2,500.”
Roe and Female Rage have since raised more than $16,000 for abortion funds nationwide since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision ended the federal constitutional right to an abortion. More than $11,000 of these funds have gone towards the D.C. Abortion Fund.
Female Rage’s website describes itself as “a feminist-driven hot sauce brand,” adding that Roe turned to the kitchen, her sanctuary, after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing in 2020 filled her with “anger, frustration and a deep desire for change.” The hot sauce company’s mission is to transform the “righteous power of women’s anger” into action and activism.
“Women’s anger is this thing that’s just historically been so dismissed, silenced and demonized,” Roe said. “And anger is a really productive, powerful emotion — you can achieve so much when you’re angry. This is a living example of that, having raised over $15,000 for abortion funds, being fueled by my anger.”
Thursday’s event attracted an estimated 500 people and raised $5,000. It also featured a live performance from Green Slay, an all-women Green Day cover band that uses punk rock to express the frustration of community members. The band formed last year after several members lost their jobs due to the Department of Government Efficiency’s cuts to the federal workforce.
“We were feeling very mad at the government and the state of affairs in D.C. especially, so we found a lot of [Green Day’s] old political protest songs to be super relevant today,” guitarist Claire Huang said.
The band has rewritten lyrics to several Green Day songs to address current issues, including immigration enforcement, the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and federal workforce cuts. They echoed Female Rage’s desire to turn their anger into meaningful advocacy and encouraged attendees to do the same.
“We don’t need permission to be angry, because we’re pissed, and we’re allowed to be pissed and it’s okay to channel that,” Jesse Gwinn, the band’s drummer, said. “It’s liberating to know there’s more women like us that are angry. We’re allowed to be angry and vote and voice our opinions on issues or be mad at the state of the world or what the government is doing.”
Present at the event were also representatives from the D.C. Abortion Fund, which has worked with Female Rage for several years. Alisha Dingus, the fund’s executive director, said the organization receives much of its funding from individual donors and community fundraisers like Thursday’s event.
“We don’t have major philanthropy, we don’t have a ton of foundations, it’s people like you and me giving their hard-earned dollars to help their neighbors get an abortion,” she said. “I think it’s a really beautiful model; it’s mutual aid in action.”
The fund supports people who live in or travel to the D.C. region for abortion care. People typically contact the fund after scheduling an appointment, and the fund sends money directly to the clinic.
“One of the saddest things that’s happened is abortion being pushed outside of our healthcare systems and treated as another thing,” Dingus said. “Getting an abortion is having control over your body, like any other medical procedure, right?”
Removing abortion care from standard healthcare systems, a process referred to as “siloing,” has significantly impeded patient access, Dingus stressed.
“There’s just so many barriers,” Roe agreed. “I think a lot of people talk about the legality of it, but a huge issue is just access. Because even if it is legal in your state, it could be so far away from you and so unaffordable that it’s not even a reality for you.”
DCAF has a weekly budget of about $40,000 and supports roughly 80 people per week — about 3,500 people annually, Dingus said. Many patients come from across the country to receive treatment due to accessibility issues in their own communities.
“Why should this healthcare be controlled by politicians and people who know nothing about you and aren’t going to show up and help you raise this kid they’re forcing you to have?” Dingus said. “And we don’t have the social systems in place to take care of children, so when we force people to have kids… people are forced back into poverty.”
Attendees reflected that notion, including D.C. residents Zoe Smith and Dori Palmer.
“If you’re really worried about the sanctity of life, put your efforts into the life that’s already here. Put your effort into prenatal care, put your effort into foster care and adoption systems,” Palmer said of pro-life politicians. “Because you only care while it’s in the womb, not when it comes out.”
Smith, who works with youth in foster care and juvenile detention, concurred, adding that she has been a firsthand witness to the failures of the American childcare systems.
“I work with youth in foster care, and the system isn’t made to support them,” they said. “There’s a childcare crisis that doesn’t actually care about centering women’s bodies.”
Looking out over the crowd of people present, Smith added that she feels confident in her decision to continue supporting abortion accessibility efforts.
“It’s easy to feel like the world doesn’t give a shit, and I look around, and I’m seeing over 100 reasons why people care,” they said. “And there are people doing good work out there, you know? Look for the helpers.”
Female Rage Community and Communications Manager Mac Burgoyne encouraged advocates to continue showing up to fundraisers and directly engage with D.C. Abortion Fund, which is largely volunteer-led.
“Abortion care and access to reproductive healthcare saves lives,” she said. “Quite literally, without this care, lots of women die and are dying right now. So I think that specifically working with the DC Abortion Fund and having this messaging is integral to the liberation of all women.”
For those struggling with feelings of anger or resentment towards the government or existing political systems, Burgoyne has one message:
“Your rage is powerful. Your female rage is powerful. Use it.”
This article was edited by Isabella Polak, Cara Halford and Gabrielle McNamee. Copy editing done by Avery Grossman, Arin Burrell and Nicole Kariuki. Fact-checking done by Luca Palma Poth.
communityengagement@theeagleonline.com
