Craftivism is a form of activism, typically incorporating elements of anti-capitalism, environmentalism, solidarity, or third-wave feminism, that is centered on practices of craft - or what has traditionally be referred to as "domestic arts". Craftivism includes, but is not limited to, various forms of needlework including yarn-bombing or cross-stitch. Craftivism is a social process of collective empowerment, action, expression and negotiation. In craftivism, engaging in the social and critical discourse around the work is central to its production and dissemination. Practitioners are known as craftivists. The word 'craftivism' is a portmanteau of the words craft and activism. Background Domestic arts (crafts) have been a feminized form of art throughout history. Because of its perceived femininity, it was often rendered invisible from larger conversations about art. Feminist crafters used this to their advantage in attempts to spread occulted messages spreading concepts of second-wave feminism in the 1960s to 1980s. The term craftivism was coined in 2003 by writer Betsy Greer in order to join the separate spheres of craft and activism. Her favorite self-created definition of the term states, "craftivism is a way of looking at life where voicing opinions through creativity makes your voice stronger, your compassion deeper & your quest for justice more infinite" Although the term craftivism is a recent addition to crafting lexicon, the use of craft as a subversive tactic can be found throughout history. First, the word craft is often associated with trickery. To call someone crafty is to identify them as clever and cunning In Greek, one would say to "spin" a plot. Similarly, the French word for trick is tricoter, which means to tie or knot together. In the novel A Tale of Two Cities, the character Madame Defarge, a worker for the French Revolution, secretly encodes the names of those soon to be executed in her knitting. Feminism Craftivism identifies strongly with feminist movements. Craftivism is often interpreted as having emerged from third-wave feminism but feminist activism and craft were unified beforehand./ Practices of craft or "domestic arts" have traditionally existed and been organized spatially within the private sphere. Therefore, the labor and production of craft was generally interpreted as unproductive female labor in the home, as it was never integrated into profit-making systems. Rather, it was marginalized and undervalued. As a result, women's significant and creative work in the private sphere—clothing the family, knitting blankets, weaving the loom—did not receive the