Originally posted at Adventures of a Young Feminist .
Today, I received an email from a reader who raised concerns about armchair philosophy and me not taking any action to further the cause of feminism. From the outset, I would like to say that I have since addressed the issues that this individual had and we have worked towards a resolution, so this is in no way an attack on this individual. I simply wanted to express my inspiration for this post.
The question I want to address is: is blogging an act of feminist activism?
Of course the blogging in question would have to be feminist in nature; not all blogging could be considered a form of feminist activism. (Note: feminist in nature does not necessarily mean specifically about feminism, just with a feminist leaning.)
I think that there is a general conception in society that feminist activism is all about marches and "taking to the streets." In the 70s, that's what got people's attention. "Sisterhood" was strong and radical things needed to happen (not that radical things don't need to happen today). Today, in the third wave, we are all about individual freedom and choice (I know I am generalizing, which is usually not a good thing, but the purpose of this generalization is to show the difference in activism between the 70s and today).
Today, activism can take many forms. Activism, to me at least, is all about enacting change in any way that you can. This can be done through volunteering, participating in activism organizations, writing letters or otherwise contacting elected officias, companies with sexist practices, etc. with your concerns, and anything else you think can make some sort of change. And yes, activism still involved protesting, but it is not the only part!
For me, part of feminism is making sure that everyone's voice is heard, especially the voices of people who are usually silence by society. I see blogging as a great way for these voices to be heard. Anyone can start a blog, therefore anyone's voice can be heard.
Feminist blogs are a great addition to the conversation that is going on in the blogosphere (I must admit that I am a little biased). And because of this, the voices of the people who write feminist blogs (and comment on them!) are being heard. While this may not seem like a lot, feminist blogs raise awareness about feminist issues, therefore are enacting a form of change. Raising awareness about feminist isseus is an important part of activism and that is precisely what feminist blogs do!
I do not want this post to seem like some form of excuse of a guilty conscious for not participating in other forms of activim, because that is not true. I started my blog as a compliment to other forms of activism that I participate in. As the reader who emailed me correctly said:
any attempt to change must surely be active - it must involve a discourse between yourself and others, between culture and the individual, and through this active self sacrifice and imposition of a different 'narrative' the forms and connexions of power may shift in a way that you consider favourable.
Activism has to be active, has to be about conversation, and ultimately comes down to some form of self-sacrifice.
I see blogging as active because you are doing something about your personal beliefs in feminism rather than just sitting there wallowing in your anger over the state of the world. But if you are going to enact change, there has to be more than blogging. You have to partake in other forms of activism to enact change. This is not to say that feminist blogging is not adequate activism (because I would not completely negate all that I just said). Feminist blogging is just one aspect of feminist activism that is used to raise awareness of feminist issues and enact change. So to Feministing and all the feminist bloggers out there: keep doing waht you are doing and be proud of the change that you are enacting through raising awareness about these very serious and important issues.
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Thanks for the post, Laura. I completely agree - feminist blogging and participating in the feminist blogosphere is a form of activism. It isn't just about raising awareness, although that is supremely important. Bringing the public's attention to institutional inequalities and inviting citizens everyday to sign petitions, write/call their legislators, boycott companies who practice inequality, publicize marches and feminist events, encourage people to support a particular non-profit, check out a new feminist artist/journalist/writer who is challenging the status quo, providing a platform for the grassroots individuals who are working for change below the mainstream radar, and engaging in an ongoing, stimulating, paradigm-shifting discourse that would otherwise be impossible. The feminist blogosphere is totally kick ass, in other words. :)
I enjoyed your post a lot and I think it raises some good points.
I think feminist blogging can be a form of activism, but not exclusively. When a feminist blog draws attention to a specific issue and draws action plans, then it's definitely a form of activism in its own right. When a feminist blog discusses feminist issues, but not anything to be done about what's discussed, then it's not activism.
I wouldn't consider what I do here to be a form of activism, but more an act of solidarity with other feminists. We're not going out and fighting the battles, organizing rallies or writing our Congresspeople here, but discussing the issues.
In my personal life outside of feminist blogging, I'm more of an activist challenging sexist ideals when they come to me and educating about those ideas.
I use the feminist blogosphere to further my activism. I wouldn't consider all blogging to be activism.
I'd just like to add that participating in a blog such as this may not be activism in the traditional sense, but it's still important, along with writing letters to government officials and living by feminist principles in everyday life. Not everyone lives in D.C. or some other metro area where there are marches or rallies on a regular basis. Not trying to sound cranky, just pointing that out.