Emily May is a woman of her time. If you ask many famous feminist icons who they view as an inspiration in the feminist movement, they might say “Emily May of Hollaback!” May has given many women, girls, and individuals of the LGBTQ community a sense of security when she started an organization that prevents harassment and abuse in the streets of New York City.

     Hollaback is name of the of the company that she co-founded in 2005. May believes that that most of her work was more successful during the “digital age.” She explained, “The internet has provided new opportunities to tackle discrimination, by transforming discrimination from a lonely experience into a larger, public movement.”

     In other words, May has a strong belief that social media plays a very big part in her career in helping to keep the streets of New York City safe. From 2014 until present day, she has won 11 consecutive awards for her hard work and dedication to ending street harassment and violence. 

     Alongside many of the feminist icons who support her movement, a few common citizens of New York believe that without May's program they wouldn’t be able to comfortably walk the Big Apple.

     When interviewed, Ariana Cromwell, a resident of New York City, who had no idea who Emily May was, expressed that she felt appreciative of what May does for the most highly populated and visited tourist cities in America.

     Cromwell stated, “That is incredible how one woman has kept the women, and the LGBTQ community safe from discrimination and being uncomfortable in public. I believe that with all the different people who come to New York, we should accept and celebrate all of our differences.”      

    Advocate Sarah Davis, who had become familiar with May through pride events she had attended on account of her newfound lesbianism, also believes that what May provides for homosexuals is beneficial. She stated that she doesn’t feel “threatened by the many who disapprove of her lifestyle anymore” and that she “finally feels pride when going to the Pride meets.”    

    What these two women had in common was that they both had a similar thing to say about Emily May: she has made the lives of many people in New York better. 

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-Diamond Cronk