Ermiya Fanaeian is an activist, self-described troublemaker, co-founder of March For Our Lives and an SLC appointed Commissioner. - Photo: @clancycoop
SLUG Style: Ermiya Fanaeian
Art and Fashion
Ermiya Fanaeian is an activist, self-described troublemaker, co-founder of March For Our Lives and an SLC appointed Commissioner.
Every month, SLUG Style features a distinct and unique member of the community and asks them why they do what they do. Exploring more than just clothing, SLUG Style is an attempt to feature the people who give Salt Lake City flavor through personality and panache.
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![“I have been a political organizer for a while,” says Fanaeian. “My political organizing actually started, I think, during my role at the Utah Pride Center. [This] is where I became a queer political organizer and I organized around queer sociopolitical issues.” Photo: @clancycoop](https://www.slugmag.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/SLUG_-Style_Ermiya_Clancycoop_2.jpg)
![Regarding the March For Our Lives rally at the Utah State Capitol in March 2018, Fanaeian says, “We were anticipating from RSVPs and those folks who had expressed interest, we were anticipating about maybe 2,000 [or] 4,000. The day of, we saw it was about closer to 10,000. That was incredible because we had no idea what was going to happen.” Photo: @clancycoop](https://www.slugmag.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/SLUG_-Style_Ermiya_Clancycoop_6.jpg)
![“Folks like Gloria Steinem inspire me. Folks like Janet Mock inspire me,” says Fanaeian. “Folks that I look up to and whose style I think speaks to their political involvement as well as their political careers because style is political. Style is absolutely political. These women are folks who have shown that. To have shown that it is okay to be unapologetically radical [and] unapologetically political through your sense of style.” Photo: @clancycoop](https://www.slugmag.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/SLUG_-Style_Ermiya_Clancycoop_7.jpg)
![“When we saw the need for gun violence prevention and that conversation finally gaining momentum and mobilization across the country, that's when we, as [the youth], around the City of Salt Lake decide it's time for us to take action here in our state,” says Fanaeian. Photo: @clancycoop](https://www.slugmag.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/SLUG_-Style_Ermiya_Clancycoop_3.jpg)
![That's really how [March For Our Lives Utah chapter] started. It was just the young people who were radical. Young people that said, "It's time for change and we're not going to wait for boomers to do that. That's our responsibility,” says Fanaeian. Photo: @Clancycoop](https://www.slugmag.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/SLUG_-Style_Ermiya_Clancycoop_4.jpg)