As a frequenter of the Feministing community, I've learned a lot about the things I enjoy reading, the things I learn the most from and what stories/articles hit closest to home. Since I discovered the Feministing community, I've come to find that the things that I care about most are the stories of women. The things that affect them on a day-to-day basis, the things that make them ask "What is the appropriate response" or say "Maybe I'm over-reacting or wrong to feel this way".

We all encounter sexism in our daily lives, and its not always possible to find feminist friends offline. The lack of that emotional outlet can lead to self-doubt and intellectual loneliness. It makes me wonder how many feminists have lost their fire because they were so alone in their beliefs that they didn't have anyone to share their ideas, their actions, their words, or their experiences with.

I truly appreciate the Feministing community for being that kind of outlet, but I honestly believe that is just the first step. I think there is an overwhelming need for an active, online space where women can discuss their lives. The importance of this being, if we can see how other women live, we can learn. We can understand that its not a singular experice, that other women are facing the same issues we are facing, or even learn issues that some women are facing that we aren't. We can offer our own insight, our advice, or what helped us pull through in especially difficult times. We could congratulate others on our successes, and lend some compassion when things don't go as planned.

I did an admittedly unthorough check for online spaces like I described above and was a little disheartened. The vast majority were links to news articles, which while important, don't address the need.

If anyone knows of active blogrings for feminists, please let me know.

I strongly encourage feminists of all ages, races, sexes, genders, of all educational and economic backgrounds, to start a blog or update your old one. Visibility is so important. I understand that its not always possible or desired for everyone to dedicate the time to blogging, but if you've thought about it and weren't sure if you should, know that there is the chance that someone could learn from you, or that you could learn from them, simply by sharing your knowledge and understanding.

Until I find a community, I'd like to open my blogroll to feminists everywhere, because I'd love to read what you have to say, just leave a comment or send me a message.

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4 Comments

October 12, 2009 12:20 PM

[0+]  Comrade Kevin said:

I agree with you.

Without an adequate network of feminist friends, sometimes we lose our fire and sometimes we turn bitter. In my opinion, no challenge worth pursuing is easy. It is easy, however, to be overwhelmed by the vast amount of problems and offensive views out there and, like you, I know that solidarity is the best way to keep from being discouraged and to keep up the good fight.

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October 13, 2009 12:50 PM

[0+]  JennyK said:

Thanks for this! I wrestled with the idea of starting a blog for years, and just last week I finally did it. My first post outlined my thought process for making the leap: http://jennyknopinski.wordpress.com/2009/10/01/why-blog/

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October 14, 2009 6:22 PM

[0+]  nobody said:

This is my blog: http://bradmillershero.blogspot.com/

My feminist boyfriend blogs on there occasionally (read: one finished post) as well, something which I am rather proud of.

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October 16, 2009 9:37 PM

[0+]  Mary said:

At the Omega Institute's women + power conference, I had the pleasure and good fortune of connecting with several other twenty-something women from all over the U.S. and Canada and although we all had such different backgrounds and experiences we were all united in our love of feminism and our desire to embrace and promote it in our lives.

We decided to start a rountable blog where we write some individual and some group posts on what's going on in our lives and any feminist subjects we'd like to add our opinions to.

You can find it here and we would love to hear from you/connect with you!
thefwave.wordpress.com

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