I have been following a very significant thread in the feminist blogosphere; What if the feminist blogosphere is a form of digital colonialism? By Mandy Van Deven and Brittany Shoot. It is long, involved, important and provocative. Clearly it provoked dozens of online posts and comments. I read it last night and have been ruminating about it ever since.
My reaction is entirely other than the academic scrutiny that many of the comments offer. I may not even understand everything being said however I feel a strong kinship with “feminist” and “blogosphere” so I want to state some observations.
For the sake of those readers who do not know anything about me, please let me say; I am 60 and have been posting essays for over 8 years. A friend built a database with a GUI for me in 2000, long before I heard the word blog or blog templates were around. I have then and continue now to consider it an art form; one with which I express my feminism. Writing is the fundamental pillar of blogging. It is secondary to inform and, in some cases, change the reader though I do not recommend getting attached to that!
The discussion in the blog on colonialism reminds me of a life laboratory that I found myself in when opening a women’s bookstore in 1976. It was not that far from the start of the Second Wave, 1963. Originally I suffered from the illusion that one could carry every feminist book in print, every magazine, every newspaper; as if the body of information could be contained AND, moreover, digest it. This idea was outlandish, not just because it is as dynamic as humanity itself but because each student of the movement enters at a different level, different experience, different capacity. It occurred to me that First Amendment Rights not only applied to writers but also applies to readers having the right to process and transform at their personal best.
Let me be very forthcoming about the application of this insight. I am confronted on a daily basis by women in the Second Wave who have zero exposure to intersectionality, the matrix of domination or the complexities of triple oppression. But does that make those women any less feminist? I have no idea if my burning desire to stay in touch with the current women’s movement is because I got my first PC in 1982, went to computer school in 1986 or that I have a crazy addiction to books and information but I do know this ~ the place of entry into the movement cannot serve as a DISqualifier for membership.
I may get asked what is GLBTQQAI or hear massive complaints about “these young girls,” but what is the answer , if not , inclusion at all levels and information availability. I do not think it is asking everyone to reach a certain bar to be granted admittance. This is a hard-won observation and I am very interested in advancing its reality. The internet can only be a reflection of the community that it is serving; from genius entrepreneur to brilliant academic to casual reader to bored drifter to in-depth seeker; as many variances as people.
If you cruise way down the page you will find an entry which begins, “I am an activist,” that is the one that is close to my heart. This author asks the bloggers – what is the organic answer? What can be done that will lead, shape and set afoot a preferred feminist blogosphere? As an activist, I start with the solution and ask what can be done from this moment to get to that. Considering only the problem, no matter the intelligence and acuity, only frustrates the readers who have been enlisted. In my mind, that is not the role of an activist ~ that is merely an agitator.
My dream is for a single point of entry; a Feminist Portal which is the opening treasure map from which everyone can find all POV’s feminist. Every organization, every community, every thinker, from trail blazer to the lightest touch who just wants to know that FEMINISM IS ALIVE AND WELL ~ EVER EVOLVING.
An Apology from Brittany and Mandy
Posted by: Brittany and Mandy | February 24, 2009 at 09:09 PM
I met a blogger today that you would have loved. Esra'a from MideastYouth.com. She's from Bahrain and she has a huge network of super interesting people living all over the Middle East discussing racism, sexism, religion, you name it. I sat in awe of her and she made me think of you. Well, what I thought was how you deeply you would fall in love with her if you met her. She's 22 and created a social movement in her dorm room. I hope you'll check out the blog.
Posted by: Mandy B. | February 26, 2009 at 12:32 AM
Feminismm is alive and well, ever evolving into...the hatred of man. Honestly, I'm all for equality, but far too many activists for insert_cause_here seem to push so hard that they pass equality and basically flip the positions of the 2 opposing factors,
Posted by: Teddy | October 12, 2009 at 06:22 PM